Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Electrical Design: The Complete Guide

Opening a restaurant in Ontario? The electrical design alone can make or break your permit timeline. From 200A to 600A services, kitchen hood interlocks to grease exhaust fans " here's what every owner and contractor needs to know before construction begins.

Why Restaurant Electrical Design is Different

Restaurants are among the most electrically intensive commercial spaces per square foot. A typical 2,000 sq ft restaurant can require a 400A, 600V 3-phase service " the same as a small industrial facility. The combination of heavy cooking equipment, refrigeration, HVAC, lighting, and fire safety systems creates unique engineering challenges that demand specialized expertise.

"The number one cause of restaurant permit delays in Ontario is an undersized electrical service. Owners budget for the kitchen equipment but forget the electrical infrastructure to power it. By the time they realize, they're 6 weeks behind schedule."

Typical Electrical Load Breakdown

Understanding where the load comes from is the first step in proper service sizing:

Equipment Category	Typical Load	Voltage	Notes
Commercial Range/Oven	15"30 kW	208V 3~	Dedicated circuit required
Deep Fryers (each)	10"15 kW	208V 3~	Often 2"4 units
Walk-in Cooler/Freezer	3"8 kW	208V 1~/3~	Compressor + evaporator fans
Dishwasher (Commercial)	10"20 kW	208V 3~	Booster heater adds significant load
Kitchen Hood Exhaust	2"5 kW	208V 3~	Must interlock with fire suppression
HVAC System	15"40 kW	208V/600V 3~	Makeup air unit often required
Lighting (LED)	3"8 kW	120V	Dimming controls for dining area
POS/IT Systems	1"2 kW	120V	Dedicated clean power recommended

Service Entrance Sizing

Based on the CEC demand factor calculations (Rule 8-200), a typical full-service restaurant requires:

• Small café (800"1,200 sq ft): 200A, 120/208V, 3-phase
• Full-service restaurant (1,500"3,000 sq ft): 400A, 120/208V, 3-phase
• Large banquet hall (3,000+ sq ft): 600A+ or 347/600V with step-down transformers

Critical note: Toronto Hydro and most Ontario LDCs require a minimum 4"6 week lead time for new commercial service connections. This must be coordinated early in the design phase.

Kitchen Hood & Fire Suppression Interlocks

Ontario Building Code and NFPA 96 require specific electrical interlocks between the kitchen hood exhaust system and the fire suppression system. This is one of the most commonly failed ESA inspection items:

• Fire suppression activation must shut down all cooking equipment under the hood
• Gas valve must be electrically interlocked with the shunt trip breaker
• Exhaust fan must continue running after suppression activation
• Makeup air unit must shut down to prevent feeding oxygen to fire

Common Design Mistakes

After designing dozens of restaurant projects across Ontario, these are the errors we see most frequently:

• Undersized service entrance " adding equipment later without capacity is extremely expensive
• Missing GFCI protection " CEC requires GFCI on all 15A and 20A receptacles within 1.5m of sinks
• No emergency lighting plan " OBC requires illuminated exit signs and emergency lighting on separate circuits
• Patio power not planned " outdoor heating, lighting, and receptacles require weatherproof rated equipment

The Permit Checklist

To obtain an electrical permit for a restaurant in Ontario, you typically need:

• Electrical floor plan showing all receptacles, equipment, and panel locations
• Panel schedule with load calculations per CEC
• Single-line diagram showing service entrance, distribution, and metering
• Fire alarm and suppression interlock details
• P.Eng stamp and signature (required for most commercial projects)

Frequently Asked Questions