Restaurant Kitchen MEP Cheat-Sheet for Lebanon: A Specifier's Reference Guide

If you've ever received a kitchen equipment submittal at 40% design development and found yourself hunting through five different manufacturer PDFs for a single extraction CFM figure, this one's for you. After 45 years specifying, installing, and commissioning commercial kitchens across Lebanon and the MENA region, we've learned that the gap between foodservice consultants and MEP engineers is where most project delays are born.

This cheat-sheet consolidates the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing values you need to coordinate a Lebanese commercial kitchen — from the cable cross-section on a 3-phase combi oven to the gas train pressure on a charcoal grill, to the makeup air balance on a Type I hood. It's designed to sit next to your drawings during DD and CD phases.

Why Lebanese Kitchens Need Their Own MEP Reference

Equipment catalogs are written for the country of manufacture. An Italian pizza oven spec sheet assumes 400V/50Hz three-phase service with neutral and a 22 mbar natural gas supply. A North American brand ships with 208V/60Hz assumptions and imperial duct sizing. Lebanon sits at the intersection of both supply chains, and the MEP engineer becomes the translator.

A few realities shape every kitchen project here:

• Dual power sources. EDL supply plus generator backup means your load calculations need to account for generator sizing, not just grid capacity. A 40 kW combi oven matters when the generator is 100 kVA.
• LPG is dominant. Natural gas distribution is limited, so most kitchens run on bulk LPG with pressure regulators set to 37 mbar — different from the European natural gas default.
• Water pressure varies. Municipal pressure fluctuates; booster pumps and pressure-reducing valves are standard, and dishwashers/combis need 2–5 bar stable.
• Humid coastal climate. Extraction and makeup air calculations should assume higher ambient humidity than inland European reference conditions.

With that context, here are the numbers.

Electrical: Cable Sizing, Phase, and Load

Lebanese commercial kitchens are almost always served at 400V three-phase + neutral (TN-S or TN-C-S) for heavy equipment, with 230V single-phase for countertop units. Your equipment schedule should list phase, connected kW, and required cable cross-section for every line item.

Typical loads by equipment category

• Combi ovens (6–20 grid): 10–38 kW, 3-phase, 4–10 mm² cable, dedicated 32–63A MCB.
• Induction ranges (4-zone): 14–22 kW, 3-phase, 4–6 mm² cable, 32–40A MCB.
• Electric deep fryers (double): 16–24 kW, 3-phase, 6 mm² cable, 32–40A MCB.
• Dishwashers (hood-type): 8–15 kW, 3-phase, 2.5–4 mm² cable, 20–32A MCB with high-limit thermostat.
• Blast chillers (20 kg): 2–3 kW, single-phase, 2.5 mm² cable, 16A MCB with dedicated RCBO.
• Walk-in cold room condensing units: 1.5–8 kW depending on volume, single or 3-phase, dedicated circuit.

Two rules that save commissioning headaches: (1) every motor-driven refrigeration unit gets its own 30 mA RCBO, never a shared residual current device, because nuisance tripping will take down your entire cold line. (2) Combi ovens with boilers need a dedicated earth bond to the water inlet — not optional, and often missed.

For the exact electrical specs on the units you're specifying, our cooking equipment catalog lists connected load, phase, and recommended cable size on every product page.

Gas: Pressure, Pipe Sizing, and Safety

Most Lebanese kitchens run LPG with a primary regulator at the bulk tank stepping down to around 1.5 bar on the distribution main, then secondary regulators at each equipment connection delivering 37 mbar (propane) or 29 mbar (butane mix) at the appliance inlet.

What to specify on drawings

• Manifold pressure at appliance: 37 mbar for LPG, 20 mbar for natural gas where available.
• Pipe sizing: Calculated on total connected kW at 1% pressure drop, not rule-of-thumb. A 6-burner range + salamander + pasta cooker on one branch typically needs DN25 minimum.
• Gas train components: Manual isolation valve, solenoid valve interlocked with the extraction hood, pressure gauge, and union — per appliance.
• Emergency knock-off: Manual gas shut-off button at each kitchen exit, interlocked with the main solenoid. Non-negotiable for insurance sign-off.
• Gas leak detection: Required in any room with >20 kW gas-fired equipment. Sensors at low level for LPG (heavier than air), high level for natural gas.

Pizza ovens deserve special attention — a traditional deck oven can draw 25–35 kW of gas and needs its own dedicated gas line with a stabilizing regulator. Browse specs across our pizza essentials collection to confirm inlet pressure and connected load before you size the pipe.

Water and Drainage: Supply, Quality, and Waste

Most equipment tolerates cold water supply at 2–5 bar, but a few line items are finicky:

• Combi ovens: Cold supply at 1.5–6 bar, softened water (≤7°dH), ¾" BSP connection. A combi fed with hard unsoftened water will scale its boiler in under six months.
• Ice machines: Cold supply at 1–8 bar, filtered (5-micron + carbon), ¾" BSP, with a dedicated drain — never shared with a sink.
• Dishwashers: Hot supply at 55–60°C, 2–4 bar dynamic, ¾" BSP. Pre-wash a softener if total hardness exceeds 7°dH.
• Espresso machines: Soft filtered water, 2–6 bar, ⅜" BSP typical.

Drainage specifics

Every drain from cooking equipment needs a grease interceptor before it joins the building sanitary stack. Municipal code in most Lebanese cazas now requires this, and health inspectors check. Drain diameters: Ø50 mm for combi ovens and dishwashers, Ø40 mm for sinks, Ø32 mm for ice machine condensate. All floor drains in cooking zones should be trapped and sized for the peak flow of the equipment above — undersized floor gullies are the single most common retrofit we see.

Extraction and Ventilation: The Numbers That Matter

Hood extraction is where architects and MEP engineers most often disagree, and where under-designed kitchens become unbearable to work in. The rule of thumb: calculate extraction by cooking-line kW, not by hood area.

Extraction volumes by equipment type

• Light-duty (steamers, kettles): 300–450 m³/h per linear meter of hood.
• Medium-duty (ranges, ovens, griddles): 600–900 m³/h per linear meter.
• Heavy-duty (charbroilers, woks, solid fuel): 1,200–1,800 m³/h per linear meter, plus UV or ESP grease treatment.
• Extra-heavy (shawarma grills, charcoal): 1,800+ m³/h per linear meter, with spark arrestor and fire suppression.

Makeup air should replace 80–85% of extracted volume — the remaining 15–20% comes from the dining room, maintaining a slight negative pressure in the kitchen so odors don't migrate front-of-house. Makeup air should be tempered (not unconditioned outdoor air directly onto the cook line) in Lebanon's climate; a non-tempered makeup system makes summer service miserable.

Clearances and duct routing

• Hood overhang: 150–300 mm beyond equipment on all open sides.
• Hood-to-floor height: 2,000–2,100 mm (lower = better capture but harder access).
• Duct velocity: 7.5–10 m/s minimum to keep grease airborne until the fan.
• Duct material: Welded stainless steel or galvanized with continuous welded seams — never riveted or sealed with mastic.
• Access panels: Every 3 meters or at every change of direction, for cleaning.

Clearances, Service Access, and Coordination

Equipment needs air, service access, and clearances from combustibles. A few values MEP drawings should reflect:

• Behind combi ovens: 50 mm minimum, 100 mm preferred for airflow and service.
• Behind refrigeration: 75 mm minimum for condenser airflow; front-breathing units can go wall-to-wall.
• Above fryers and ranges to combustible surface: 450 mm minimum, or protected with non-combustible cladding.
• Aisle width (cook line to prep): 1,200 mm for single-operator, 1,500 mm for two-way traffic.
• Door swings: Check that oven and fridge doors don't collide — a common clash on tight layouts.

If you're early in design and want to skip the spreadsheet, drop your layout into the free IPEC Commercial Kitchen Planner. Snap walls to your room dimensions, drag equipment from the live IPEC catalog, and export an A3 PDF with connected kW, phase, water/drain Ø, gas pressure, extraction m³/h, and clearance flags pre-resolved per SKU — the same data your MEP consultant needs to close out the drawings, generated in five minutes. Need a stamped tender pack? The planner output is the brief our project team picks up from.

Putting It Together: A Workflow That Actually Works

The cleanest projects we've delivered follow this sequence:

1. Concept stage: Operator defines menu and covers. Foodservice consultant produces equipment schedule with connected loads.
2. Schematic design: MEP coordinates total electrical load with EDL supply + generator sizing, total gas load with tank capacity, total water demand with booster sizing, total extraction with shaft routing.
3. Design development: Individual service drops coordinated to each equipment footprint. Clearances verified.
4. Construction documents: Equipment schedule frozen with model numbers, connected loads, and service connection details. Shop drawings issued.
5. Commissioning: Every equipment service connection tested under load before handover — water pressure, gas pressure, amp draw, extraction CFM.

Skipping stage 4 is the single most expensive mistake on a kitchen project. A 20 kW piece of equipment hung off an undersized cable is not an inconvenience; it's a fire and a re-tender.

Use This as a Starting Point, Not a Substitute for Verification

Every value in this cheat-sheet is a typical range based on equipment we regularly supply. The authoritative figure is always the specific model's technical datasheet — which is why our product pages list cable cross-section, phase, water/drain diameter, gas pressure, extraction volume, and required clearances for every SKU.

If you're specifying a commercial kitchen in Lebanon or anywhere in the MENA region and want an equipment schedule coordinated against your MEP drawings, get in touch with our project team. We'll work from your preliminary layout and produce a spec'd equipment list with full service connection data — the document your MEP consultant actually needs to finish their drawings.