Ecology Unit Specification: The Clauses to Write Into a Kitchen Exhaust Tender, and the Document That Answers Each One

An ecology unit specification is the set of clauses in a kitchen exhaust tender that fix what the electrostatic, UV-C and carbon stages must do and how that is proven. The clauses that go wrong are the ones no supplier can evidence, such as a cleaning interval. Paste the 30 clauses below, each with the document a bidder must file.

This page helps you decide which clauses to write into a kitchen exhaust tender or equipment schedule for an ecology unit, and what each clause makes a bidder file. It also shows which familiar clauses to rewrite because no supplier can evidence them. It does not size the unit, choose the stages your discharge needs, quote a price, or read the approvals a market requires. For configuration tables, see the kitchen ecology unit page and the LK-E series. If you are the buyer sending an enquiry rather than the consultant writing the tender, the ten inputs are on our electrostatic precipitator quotation page.

Specification clause, datasheet, submittal, certificate: four documents, four authors

A specification clause is written by the consultant and answered by a document, and a datasheet is the maker’s own declaration. A submittal is what the bidder files against each clause; a certificate names models and nothing else. An ecology unit tender goes wrong when one of these is treated as another.

A catalog PDF is pasted in as the specification, so the tender asks for one maker’s dimensions. A datasheet percentage is read as a test result. A certificate for one series is read across the whole train. Decide, line by line, who writes each line and which document answers it.

In the United Kingdom the clause can sit under Section 24 of BESA DW/172, the pollution-control section of the kitchen ventilation specification. The specification is in its second edition (2018), with addenda of April 2020 and May 2024. How that section reads for an in-duct electrostatic precipitator is set out in our DW/172 Section 24 guide. Elsewhere the clause is written from scratch, which is where this sheet is meant to be used. The six documents a supplier can hand over for checking are covered in the commercial kitchen ESP buying guide. This page turns them into clauses and the submittal that answers each one.

A line belongs in the tender when its author is the consultant and its answer is a document; it belongs on the datasheet when only the maker can state it.

This table answers who writes what. It does not answer which clauses to write; that is the sheet in the next section.

Catalogs, datasheets, the installation and commissioning manual, the certification package and the test reports are sent on request and emailed within one business day. The list is on our downloads page. We do not publish a specification PDF, because a specification is yours to write; what we can give you is the clause set below and the document against each line.

The 30-Clause Ecology Unit Specification Sheet

The sheet gives 30 clauses in eight groups, A to H, and against each one names the document we file or states that no supplier can evidence it. The groups follow the order a reviewer reads a schedule: scope and stages, performance basis, construction, electrical, certification and documents, submittal package, acceptance, warranty and spares.

The blanks marked ____ are yours; they hold the design airflow, the supply, the approvals your market needs and the warranty term you want. The fourth column is our side of each clause. It says what we submit. It never says that our equipment meets your clause, because that judgment is the reviewer’s, made on the documents.

Four clauses carry most of the evidence: B1, B3, E1 and H3. The efficiency clause, B1, asks for the test method, the test airflow, the model tested, the report number and the laboratory’s accreditation together. A percentage without those five is not a result. The pressure-drop clause, B3, asks for the figure per stage as a complete module at the design airflow. A collecting cell alone reads far lower than the complete module it sits in.

The certificate clause, E1, asks every certificate to name the models offered, because a certificate covers what it names. The cleaning clause, H3, asks for a written interval for the site and bans a number in the specification, because the interval follows the menu, the hours and the airflow.

The 30-Clause Ecology Unit Specification Sheet. Paste a clause when a bidder can answer it with a document; strike or rewrite it, as the next section shows, when the only possible answer is a promise. Compare each submittal against the fourth column.

This sheet answers what to write and what to ask for. It does not size the unit or decide which stages your discharge needs; that is the design consultant’s call and the product page’s configuration table.

The sheet covers the treatment modules between the hood filters and the fan. Capture at the hood, the fan duty, the terminal and the fire protection downstream are separate clauses in the ventilation specification, not in this sheet. If the airflow, the menu, the stage count or the market changes, every clause from A2 onward is re-read against the new figures before the tender goes out.

Clauses no supplier can evidence, and what to write instead

Five familiar clauses cannot be evidenced before installation. They are a cleaning interval, an odor removal percentage, a lamp life, a standard “met” by inference, and a certificate for the whole range. Each has a reason, and each has a rewrite that keeps the intent and adds a document. We cannot evidence them either, so the fourth column lists what a bidder, ourselves included, can file instead.

Keep the intent of a clause when its only answer is a promise, and change what the bidder must file.

This table rewrites those five clauses. It does not promise that the rewritten clause will be met; it makes the bidder file something that can be read.

Keep the word “design” on every tier. A design tier is a class the maker assigns to a build, and it belongs on the datasheet with that word attached. A tested figure is one model, one airflow, one report. Our LK-E tiers are written E0 ≥90%, E1 ≥95% and E2 ≥98% design, and the measured values we file sit under B1 with their report numbers. When a tender carries a bare “98%” it has asked for neither, and every bidder can tick it.

One schedule row, written out

A tenderable schedule row carries seven things: airflow per run, stage list, efficiency basis with its report number, pressure-drop basis, supply, certificate numbers and access clearance. Everything else goes in the clauses. The row below shows the consultant’s entry and, beside it, how a bidder fills it. Where a cell would hold a number without a basis, it stays blank and points to the clause, because the bidder supplies the basis, not the consultant.

Teaching example only — not Polygee test data, not a product claim, not an acceptance threshold.

A schedule cell takes a number when a report or certificate stands behind it; otherwise it takes a blank and a clause reference.

This row shows where a basis belongs and where a blank belongs. It does not size EU-01 or pick its tier; the airflow and the menu do that, and the entries in the third column are examples of form, not an offer.

Scope and limits

Acceptance clears in three layers, and a complete submittal clears only the first.

1. Layer one, equipment evidence: the datasheets, drawings, certificate copies and test reports this sheet makes a bidder file.
2. Layer two, installation and interfaces: the duct route, the access side, the supports, the supply, the isolator and the fan duty decide whether the configuration goes in as submitted.
3. Layer three, whole-system operation: delivered airflow, capture at the hood, the cleaning interval kept and the consumables changed decide the result at the discharge.

Passing one layer does not clear the next. A complete submittal belongs to layer one only.

• This page does not replace the consultant’s design. The airflow per run, the stage count and the discharge condition are design decisions; the sheet only makes them tenderable.
• It is not a compliance opinion. Whether a market requires an approval, and which, is the project’s question. State the approvals in clause E4 and in the enquiry, and we tell you which documents we hold for the quoted models.
• No price appears here. The quotation follows the configuration; what moves it is set out in ecology unit price.
• Certificates cover the models they name. Our CE certificate names LK30–LK480, LK30E1–LK150E1 and the UV series; our RoHS certificate does not cover the UV or carbon modules; our IP55 certificate does not cover them either. Check every model number in every offer, ours included.
• No cleaning interval, lamp life, odor percentage or fan figure is given. The cleaning interval and the lamp and carbon replacement schedules come in writing with the proposal; the fan, where supplied, is selected to the total static pressure of the configuration.
• Efficiency figures apply where they were measured. Each report names one model at the airflows it tested; request the report itself and check the model and the test conditions before treating any figure as a performance basis.
• The hood, the fan, the terminal and the fire protection are outside the sheet. They are clauses in the ventilation specification, with their own documents.

Buyer record

Have six inputs ready before the tender goes out, require six items of every bidder, and re-read the sheet when the airflow, menu, stages, discharge condition or market changes.

• Have ready:
  • The design airflow per run and the number of runs.
  • The menu and the fuel, including charcoal or wood.
  • The condition that imposes any odor requirement, in writing.
  • The supply as measured at the panel.
  • The market and the approvals it requires.
  • The reviewer the submittal goes to, and the document list they issue.
• Require of every bidder:
  • A clause-by-clause reply, naming the document that answers each clause.
  • The datasheet of the model offered, not of the series.
  • The general arrangement drawing with flanges, clearances and weights.
  • Certificate copies with the model list visible.
  • The full test reports and the installation and commissioning manual with its wiring diagrams.
  • The warranty boundary and the cleaning interval, in writing.
• Stop and ask when: a percentage arrives without a report. A certificate arrives without a model list. A pressure drop arrives without saying whether it is a cell or a complete unit. A scope arrives without saying whether the fan is in it.
• Re-read the sheet when: the airflow, the menu, the stage count, the discharge condition or the market changes. Every clause from A2 onward moves with those.

Key takeaways

• Clause test: a clause is enforceable when a document can be put against it, not when a bidder can write “complies”.
• Efficiency: method, airflow, model, report number and accreditation together, not a bare percentage; a design tier carries the word “design” and sits apart from the tested figure.
• Pressure drop: per stage, each as a complete module at the design airflow, not a cell-only figure.
• Certificates: the model list on the copy, not the logo or the series name; the 30-Clause Ecology Unit Specification Sheet asks for the copy in E1.
• Cleaning: a written interval for the site with the proposal, not a number in the tender.

Frequently asked questions

What should an ecology unit specification include?

Eight groups of clauses: scope and stages, performance basis, construction, electrical, certification and documents, submittal package, acceptance, and warranty and spares, each worded so that a document answers it. The 30-Clause Ecology Unit Specification Sheet on this page gives the clause text for each group. Blanks are left for the design airflow, the supply, the approvals your market needs and the warranty term. Anything that can only be answered with a promise, such as a cleaning interval or an odor percentage, is rewritten so the bidder files a document instead.

Is a design efficiency the same as a tested efficiency?

No. A design tier is a class the maker assigns to a build, and it belongs on the datasheet with the word “design” attached. Our LK-E tiers are E0 at or above 90%, E1 at or above 95% and E2 at or above 98%. A tested efficiency is a result for one model under the conditions of one report. For the LK-E stage, report ZY-W2020-1116-02C records three results for LK40E2, 96.2%, 96.9% and 94.0%; for the in-duct LK series, report ZY05W230298 records LK160 at 97.6% at 16,000 m³/h. Specify both separately and do not let a tier be filed as a measurement.

Does a CE certificate cover the whole range?

No; a certificate covers the models it names. Our CE certificate FQC2602501 names LK30–LK480, LK30E1–LK150E1 and the UV series, and a model not on that list is not covered by it. Write the clause so that every certificate filed names the model numbers offered, and match the offer against the copy rather than against a logo or a series name.

Can I specify a cleaning interval for the ESP cells?

Not as a number in the specification. The interval follows the menu, the operating hours, the airflow and the capture at the hood, so the same cells load at different rates in different kitchens. Write the clause so that the bidder states the interval in writing for your site with the configuration proposal; that is what we do. Keep the figure out of the tender text.

What do you submit against a tender specification?

A clause-by-clause reply, naming the document that answers each clause. The documents are the datasheet of the quoted models, the general arrangement drawing with flanges, clearances and weights, and certificate copies that name the models offered. The full third-party test reports and the installation and commissioning manual with its wiring diagrams complete the set. The datasheet, certificate copies, test reports and the manual are emailed within one business day on request; the general arrangement drawing is prepared for the project. The commercial side is a proforma invoice with Incoterms and lead time, within 24 hours on business days, with the warranty boundary and the site cleaning interval in writing.

Writing an ecology unit specification for a tender?

Send us the clause list you intend to issue, the design airflow per run and the number of runs. Add the name of the reviewer the submittal goes to, with their document list. We come back with a clause-by-clause reply, naming the document that answers each clause. With it comes a configuration proposal for the stages your condition assigns. The quotation is a proforma invoice on EXW, FOB, CIF or another Incoterm arranged to suit you, with the lead time. It carries the datasheets of the quoted models and the certificate copies that apply to them. The full third-party test reports are emailed within one business day on request; the general arrangement drawing is prepared for the project and follows on request.

Send your clause list →

Why we write this. We prepare the submittal package that a bidder files against a kitchen exhaust specification. The questions consultants put to us first are which certificate covers which part of the train, and what to write instead of a cleaning interval. This page answers them clause by clause, with the document that answers each line. It does not size or configure equipment; sizing and quotation live on the kitchen ecology unit page.

References & further reading

1. Efficiency test method: ASTM F2519-05(2025), Standard Test Method for Grease Particle Capture Efficiency of Commercial Kitchen Filters and Extractors, ASTM International, shown Active on the ASTM store. Clause 1.1 covers components and systems that capture grease before it enters the exhaust duct; clause 1.2 measures new or clean filters. store.astm.org (ASTM F2519)
2. Ingress protection: IEC 60529:1989+AMD1:1999+AMD2:2013 CSV, Edition 2.2, Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code), International Electrotechnical Commission. EN 60529 is the European adoption; our IP55 certificate BKC-190300574C is issued to EN 60529. webstore.iec.ch (IEC 60529)
3. UK kitchen ventilation specification: BESA DW/172 Specification for Kitchen Ventilation Systems, Second Edition (2018), with addenda of April 2020 and May 2024, Building Engineering Services Association; Section 24 covers pollution control. publications.thebesa.com (DW/172)
4. Named, not linked: Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, under which, with the EMC and Low Voltage directives, CE certificate FQC2602501 is issued. ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 are the management-system standards behind certificates ABZB25Q30072R3M, ABZB25E30043R3M and ABZB25S30027R2M. HJ/T 62-2001, the Chinese technical requirements and test specification for catering fume purification equipment, and DB31/844-2014, the Shanghai catering fume emission standard, are the standards cited in SQEP report 2024I20-35-5322488001. Certificate and report copies are sent on request from the ESP certifications page.

Related reading

• What is an ecology unit: the three stages, what each one controls, and which number no supplier can give before seeing the kitchen.
• Commercial kitchen ESP buying guide: the six documents a supplier can hand you for checking, and how to read a certificate scope.
• ASTM F2519 explained: what the method measures, why it measures clean equipment, and when two efficiency figures cannot be compared.
• Electrostatic precipitator quotation: the buyer’s side of this page, the ten inputs that make a quotation comparable and what comes back.
• Kitchen ecology unit: the configuration table behind the sheet, eight sizes, stage tables and flange dimensions.