If you are considering a major redo or update of your kitchen, your general contractor will probably present you with several choices for cabinets, countertops, flooring, windows, and other design elements. Most likely though, you will not see many choices of rangehoods. Although it is an essential part of your kitchen design, most people…including contractors, rarely give the actual installing of range hood much of a serious thought. They usually just depend on the home owner to pick the one they want and then they’ll put it in.
Even though it seems rather simple, choosing the right range hood can make a big difference to the usability of your family’s most trafficked room. Not only that, but it can also have a dramatic effect on your space’s appearance. In order to make an informed decision, you should understand why you need one, and a little bit about how they work. Then you can review the different styles available and choose the one that will work best for your situation.
Range hoods are necessary because they filter and vent the steam, smoke and hazardous gasses that can be produced when you cook. Steam can carry things like grease which can become rancid and attract fungus or pests, smoke can contain irritants and contaminants, and hazardous gasses are, well, hazardous, so you definitely need to get these out of your home.
Most hoods do this by combining three basic elements into their design. They have an open vent and a canopy to contain the rising gasses, a blower or range hood exhaust fan which disperses them, and a filter that can trap these various pollutants. Typically these are vented to the outside of the home, but when this is not the case, the filter becomes much more important.
There are several styles of range hoods, the most common of which is the under cabinet style. This style, as the name suggests, is mounted under cabinets that are above the stove. Often this style also has a light built into it to give you a convenient light source when cooking.
If your kitchen doesn’t have cabinets above the stove, you might decide to go with a wall mounted rangehood. These rangehoods can give your kitchen a more elegant or professional feel, especially when matched with the right appliances.
If your kitchen is designed so that the stove is not pushed up against a wall, you may need to consider the island rangehood style. This style is similar to the wall mounted one, except it hangs from the ceiling rather than getting mounted on the wall. This style can be used whether your stove is on an island or not, but it is more common to see when it is.
And if space is a big concern you could go for the downdraft style. These rangehoods do not have a canopy like the others. Instead, they are built into the back of the stove, and rather than trap the air and gasses as they rise, they force them back and out of the room.
Understanding your options, and the function of rangehoods, will help you make a better decision for your kitchen when you are remodeling. And now you probably know more about picking the best rangehood for your home than your contractor does 