7 Things You Need to Know to Buy a Range and Hood for Your Kitchen

A range hood is an optimum remedy for greasy cooking sessions, excessively hot and moist kitchens. Generally, it is an enclosure above your range installed with a fan that sucks up all the steam, fumes, smoke, and grease.

Initially recommended for safety and convenience in commercial kitchens, range hoods have become the main feature in modern kitchen design for aesthetic and functional reasons. If you're considering renovating your kitchen, a designer will recommend that you get a range hood.

A range hood not only makes your kitchen more appealing in regards to modern aesthetics, but it is also a practical feature in your kitchen. With the many types in the market to consider, here's everything you need to know to buy a range and hood for your kitchen as you weigh your options.

1. The Exhaust System: Vented and Non-vented

A vented exhaust system is a duct system that directs the waste out of the kitchen to the outsaide. For a vented system, the kitchen hood is mounted outside to an exterior wall. With a non-vented exhaust system, the waste air is cleaned, filtered, and recycled back into the kitchen. A non-vented system is less efficient and harder to maintain.

2. Range Hood CFM 

Getting your range hood CFM right is of the utmost importance as it can't increase later. Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) is a capacity used to determine the efficiency of heating and ventilating systems. The Home Ventilating Institute recommends getting your range hood's CFM exactly, as too low will not function accordingly.  There is typically a recommendation of CFM based on the cooktop BTU.

3. The Kitchen Layout

Your kitchen layout will establish how much space you can spare and how best to place your range hood. Keep the manufacturer's advice in mind, if you can align the range hood 24" to 36" above the cooktop. From downdraft to telescoping range hoods, your kitchen layout dictates the type of range hood you should get and where it should be mounted.

4. Fan Power

Your kitchen size determines the fan power of your range hood. Fan power needs to be powerful enough to suck out the waste air from your cooktop. You can calculate it by multiplying the ceiling height by your kitchen's length and width. The idea is to get a range hood capable of cleaning the air in your kitchen more than eight times per hour.

5. Range Hood Noise

The downside of choosing an extremely powerful range hood is the noise it makes. A range hood that draws air towards its edges and perimeter is more efficient and quiet than one that moves the air over a large area.

6. Installation Cost, Time, and Maintenance

Labor, connectors, and fittings are all installation costs worth deep thought about. Price is as important as maintenance. Low maintenance, easy to clean hood with easily replaceable parts is worth consideration.

7. Budget

The range hood you settle on after all this research should be within your budget. Here are a few factors that determine the budget:

• Quality
• Material
• Size
• Power
• Type of Hood
• Installation Cost

Edesia Kitchen & Bath Studio is an award-winning certified home improvement contractor based in Boston. Contact us for more information on range hoods or to schedule an in-person consultation.