The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in a home, where the most important magic of a family happens. It’s where all the meals are made. Its where children learn to cook, bake, and create fun cooking memories. Families that cook a lot end up spending a lot of time in the kitchen.
Your kitchen can become choking, if you don’t have a range hood that takes out all the unwanted smells.
Without a range hood directly above the cooking range, everything can accumulate inside the kitchen and around your home, making you and your family cough and sneeze.
Breathe in all these harmful smoke and odor can harm your health in the future.
The good thing is, there are different types of range hoods available in the market that you can use in your kitchen.
Types of Range Hoods
The reason a kitchen range hood is needed is to carry out all the steam, smoke, odor from your kitchen during and after cooking so that your kitchen always stays fresh and smells nice.
Under-Cabinet Range Hood
This type of range hood is small in size and compact, just the size of your cooking range. They are fixed under the cabinets above your stove, gas cooker or cooking range, and they directly capture and remove the smoke and smell from your cooking.
This type of range hood is the most common in American homes, and they are actually of two types: with and without a duct. The ducted range hoods, as its name imply captures all the smoke and smell and carry them through pipes, releasing them outside.
The ductless range hood, on the other hand, is ductless and don’t have ducts to carry the smoke and smell outside. What they do is to filter the dirty air they capture, giving it back into the room, clean and fresh.
Pros of Ducted Under-Cabinet Range Hood
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Ducted range hoods are fantastic for kitchens with large spaces and kitchens where cooking is very constant. Ducted range hoods are effective in cleaning up kitchens with a large amount of filthy air and particles.
They run more quietly than most other range hoods and are more effective.
Cons of Ducted Under-Cabinet Range Hood
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Ducted range hood, of course, needs access to ducts to function correctly. Ducts would have to be constructed if there weren’t any before.
Pros of Ductless Under-Cabinet Range Hood
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Very easy to install and use.
They are the best for medium-sized kitchens with moderate cooking.
Cons of Ductless Under-Cabinet Range Hood
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Because they are just filtering the air and returning it, the kitchen could become quite humid without windows.
Wall-Mounted Range Hood
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Wall mount range hood has a design that is similar in shape to traditional chimneys and is installed directly in your wall and is aligned with your kitchen’s pre-existing duct system for ventilation.
Wall mount hood is typically wider on the bottom, offering more coverage of your cooking space when compared to under cabinet hoods.
Pros Of Wall-Mounted Range Hood
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Because of their size, they can completely clean up your kitchen’s dirty air.
You don’t have to worry about your kitchen being humid, even if you don’t have enough windows.
Cons Of Wall-Mounted Range Hood
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A wall-mounted range hood isn’t great for small kitchens because they take up space.
Island Hood
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Island hood hangs from your ceiling just over your cooking range. They are needed when your cooking range is in the middle of your kitchen, and not attached or close to any wall. They have a similar design to the wall-mount hood, the difference being that they hang from your ceiling.
Pros Of Island Hood
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If you have a large kitchen with your cooking range in the middle, an island hood is the best way to add some value to your kitchen.
Cons Of Island Hood
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Island hoods need to be connected to vents inside the ceiling, which is not always possible because that might require additional construction work.
Downdraft Ventilation Hood
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They aren’t very common, but they are rather effective. They are a kind of exhaust fan that comes with a hidden cooking range.
It is only used when needed. When the kitchen starts to get humid and smelly, you turn on the fan. When it’s not needed, it stays hidden in the cooking range.
Pros Of Downdraft Ventilation Hood
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Perfect for small kitchens lacking space.
Cons Of Downdraft Ventilation Hood
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Not effective for large kitchens.
You will need to replace the whole cooking range if it breaks down.
Wall Ventilation Fan
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It is also common to just install a ventilation fan on their walls instead of a whole range hood. They just need a power source to operate and only requires a small space to install.
It is a simple fan that you can fix in your kitchen walls or windows, so they would pull all the air containment out of the house.
Pros Of Wall Ventilation Fan
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Wall Ventilation Fans are simple to install.
Cons Of Wall Ventilation Fan
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Wall Ventilation Fan is only effective against smoke caused by cooking. Ineffective against grease, humidity, and other dirt particles.
How to choose the best for your home?
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Choosing the best range hood for your home isn’t easy. You would have to consider so many factors in arriving at the best decision. You should consider factors such as:
• Airflow
• Venting
• Noise level
• Ease of cleaning
• Controls
• Lighting
• Style
• Size of your Kitchen
• Budget
These factors will help you narrow down the choices and help you arrive at the best possible decision.
Do range hoods have to be vented outside?
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Range hoods do not have to be vented outside, and we have range hoods that are categorized as ventless, which means no vents.
What is a ventless range hood?
A ventless range hood is one that does not require or have vents.
Ventless range hoods don’t have to transport the air outside. They simply capture the smoke, and foul air in the kitchen, filter them and recirculate as fresh air. An example is Ductless under cabinet range hoods.
The Quietest Range Hood?
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The quietness of a range hood is determined by the noise level rating of the manufacturer. Ducted under cabinet range hoods, wall-mounted range hoods, and island hoods are some of the quieter hoods.
