Choosing a Quality Kitchen Range Hood

By Paul Bianchina
                       
In most kitchens, there is a simple appliance situated above  your range or cooktop that often seems to be mistaken for nothing more than a  big light fixture -- and in fact, the "builder's grade" range hood in  many new homes really is little more than that. But your range hood serves a  couple of very important purposes in the kitchen, and selecting the right one  is something that warrants some comparison shopping.

Range hoods come in several sizes, finishes and designs, and  that's where most people start when they're shopping for a new one. First of  all, it needs to be the correct size to match the width of the opening in the  cabinets above the range, and to match the width of the range or cooktop  itself. Hoods come in a couple of standard sizes, including 30, 36 and 42  inches in width, with the depth being designed to fit with standard 12-inch-deep  upper cabinets. There are some variations available in many of the higher-end  models, so knowing the size you're looking for is the first step.

Typically, the next consideration is one of aesthetics. There  are several finishes available, the most common being white, almond, black,  stainless steel or some combinations of those colors. Then there's the design  of the hood housing, which can range from the traditional rectangular box with  the sloping front that is commonly see in kitchens of all types, to some very  sleek, slender models that almost disappear into the cabinets.

AN EXHAUSTING  CONSIDERATION
Size and aesthetics aside, it's time to take a look at what  really makes the range hood function in the capacity that it's designed for -- exhausting  air. Range hoods utilize a fan to draw air up and into them, through a filter,  then through a duct to -- hopefully -- the outside. That air movement serves to  remove cooking odors from the kitchen, and that's when most people will turn it  on.

But the range hood has an even more important and often  overlooked role as well, which is to remove moisture right at the source where  it's being generated. Like a bathroom fan, the range hood lives to draw warm,  moisture-laden air out of the home's interior and exhaust it to the outdoors  before it can do any harm. For that reason, there are three additional things to pay very close attention to when buying and installing a range hood.

First of all, since the hood needs to remove moisture from  the room, you want to avoid the temptation of purchasing a recirculating hood. Recirculating  hoods do not require an exhaust duct, so they are considerably cheaper and  easier to install. But since all they do is recirculate air through a filter to  remove some of the grease and odor, they fail completely in their primary task  of removing moisture.

Second, the hood has to be vented all the way to the  outside. This is now a building code requirement in today's homes, but in years  past range-hood ducts were often run into the attic and no further. As many  homeowners have found to their shock and dismay, pumping all that warm, wet air  up into the attic can cause a whole host of problems, including dryrot, mold,  degraded insulation, and even severe structural damage.

Finally, the range hood needs to have adequate power to  effectively remove the air. As with all types of ventilation fans, range hoods  are rated in cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air movement. The higher the CFM  rating, the more effective the fan is at drawing in room air and pushing  through the duct. Larger rooms and larger ranges need more CFM to more an  adequate amount of air for ventilation, but even small rooms need a greater  amount of CFM if the exhaust air needs to be pushed though a long run of duct,  or one with a large number of elbows and other fittings.

At their least expensive, hoods utilize a tiny plastic  rotary fan on a vertical shaft, sort of like the propeller on an old beanie  cap. Even though a massive 42-inch hood looks powerful enough to handle any  ventilation chore, if it's equipped with an anemic motor and fan blade, the  resulting air movement will be inadequate.

Better range hoods utilize a multifinned horizontal fan  called a centrifugal fan, commonly known as a squirrel cage fan for its  resemblance to a common animal exercise wheel. Centrifugal fans are much more  efficient at moving air, and offer a higher CFM then a rotary fan with the same  size motor.

The final consideration with your new range hood is its  noise level, because even the best of hoods won't get used if it sounds like a Boeing  747 is headed for a landing on your kitchen counter. Range hoods are typically  rated in sones, and the lower the sone rating the quieter the fan. As a means  of comparison, one sone is about the noise that your refrigerator makes, and  normal conversational levels are about four sones.

Copyright 2007 Inman News