When you are designing a kitchen, one of the most important appliances to consider is the range hood. If you intend to use the stove in your kitchen, a range hood is an essential appliance to have. When you are cooking, the smoke and particles released will stay in the air if there is no air filtration system in place. Grease, heat, and moisture will also accumulate in the kitchen when cooking. In that case, a range hood will help to get rid of all these from the kitchen, removing any smoke or unpleasant smell that came from the cooking. With a wide variety of different styles of range hoods, we understand it can be a tough process choosing the perfect one. Here is a guide to help make that process easier for you.
VENTILATION
When you are installing or replacing a range hood, do take note of the shape, size, and the mounting type before you head to the store. The range hood should be at least as wide as the cooktop or the range. Always remember to read the specified requirements for the ideal mounting height. An important decision you need to make is how to duct your hood. You can choose among these three options for your exhaust:
- Vented or Ducted
- Non-vented or Duct-Free
- Convertible
TYPE OF RANGE HOODS
There are a wide variety of range hoods you can choose from.
- Under cabinet hoods
- Wall-Mount hoods
- Chimney hoods
- Island hoods
- Downdraft hoods
- Range hood inserts
- Pro hoods
- Custom range hoods
STRENGTH OF RANGE HOODS
The power or air movement for range hoods is calculated in cubic feet per minute (CFM). If you regularly do cooking that involves strong odors or steam, it is recommended to get a range hood that has a minimum of 350 CFM. However, the higher the CFM, the noisier the hood will be.
FILTERS FOR RANGE HOODS
Ducted hoods use aluminum filters to trap and collect grease before the smoke and smell are forced outside. It is important to wash the aluminum grease filters every month, depending on how often you cook. If your cooking style involves a significant amount of grease, wash them more often. On the other hand, a non-duct hood uses filters made of charcoal to trap the grease. These charcoal filters cannot be washed and need to be changed once every few months, depending on how often you cook. Some hoods come with filter indicator lights that will send you an alert when it is time to change the filters.
SOUND LEVELS
Range hoods that have lower sones means that it makes lesser noise. You can use sones to compare different units but do take note that the higher the CFM of the range hood, the higher the sone rating will be. You can use sone ratings to search for the hood that makes the least noise at normal levels of operation.
OTHER FEATURES THAT MAY BE IMPORTANT
- You can preset the automatic shutoff to shut the fan off after a certain period of time.
- Change filter indicator lights send alerts when you need to clean or change the filter.
- When the range hood detects high heat, the heat sensor will automatically change the blower to high speed.
