5 Tips on Choosing Your Range Hood

Every kitchen should have a range hood. Range hoods are beautiful appliances that will impress your guests. They’re functional too!

With a range hood, your kitchen will stay fresh and clean. No more cooking fires and blaring smoke alarms. Thanks to your efficient kitchen vent, you’ll have peace of mind while cooking. If this sounds good to you, take a look at our five tips on what to consider when choosing your range hood.

Type

One of the first things to consider when picking the right range hood for you is the type. The most common types are wall mounted, island, and under cabinet hoods. Wall mounted range hoods mount on the wall in your kitchen, island hoods mount over your island, and under cabinet hoods mount under your kitchen cabinets – hence the names.

The type you choose will often be determined by your kitchen design.

For example, if you have a range between your kitchen cabinets, you’ll need an under cabinet range hood.

These aren’t the only types…

Indoor or Outdoor?

If you have a nice outdoor patio, kitchen, or bar, consider purchasing an outdoor range hood. Outdoor hoods are more powerful than indoor hoods to compensate for the high heat and heavy smoke produced by grills and the excess wind and movement in the air around your grilling or cooking area.

Some outdoor hoods like these are manufactured with a durable stainless steel finish to prolong their life; these hoods will last several years.

Size

Another important thing to consider is the size of your hood. Most residential range hoods are between 30” and 60”. Some range hood distributors have 24” sizes, but it’s not common in today’s kitchens.

To maximize the efficiency of your hood, it should extend three inches beyond your range on each side. This gives you maximum coverage and is especially important for island range hoods. They are exposed to your kitchen air on all sides, so the more coverage, the better!

The most popular hoods are 36” and 42” because most ranges today are 30” and 36” wide.

CFM

CFM describes the power of your range hood. It stands for cubic feet per minute and describes the amount of air that your range hood motor pulls from your kitchen.

The CFM you want will vary depending on your kitchen habits. Avid cooks want a higher CFM range hood – or those who cook high heat foods or greasy foods.

900+ CFM is great for those cooks. If you don’t cook often, then a hood between 600 – 900 CFM is a great option. Don’t go lower than 600.

Residential hoods typically operate between 400 and 2000 CFM. You can find some hoods under 400 CFM if you want a low-profile range hood. But again, we wouldn’t recommend anything lower than 600 CFM.

Ducted or Ductless?

Along with power, you have one other feature of your hood to decide on. Will it be ductless or ducted?

The most efficient way to clean your kitchen air is to buy a ducted hood. Ducted hoods filter air through ductwork outside your home. This way, all of the harmful contaminants in your kitchen air exit the home.

The alternative to ducted hoods is ductless hoods. These range hoods pull air inside your range hood and then send it back into your kitchen through filters. The filters catch some dirt and grease, but the air doesn’t leave your home so you’re still living with most of the contaminants.

But, any range hood is better than no range hood. Ductless hoods work for those who live in apartments or condos, where they can’t install ductwork and vent their hood to the outside.

We hope you take these five tips into consideration when picking a range hood for your kitchen. It will save you valuable time cooking and significantly decrease your indoor air pollution, helping you live a healthier lifestyle. Thanks for reading!