Understanding Ductless Range Hoods
If you are considering ductless range hoods for your kitchen, there are many factors to
keep in mind. The main functions of range hoods are twofold: to ventilate smoke and cooking
odors, and to protect your cabinets and surrounding areas from grease, heat and flame. Ducted
range hoods use fans to move air through ductwork to the outside; the ductwork runs through
your interior walls or ceilings. Ductless kitchen range hoods use filters in combination with
vent fans to remove odors from the air. Island range hoods are among the many popular
installations of ductless range hoods, which give you flexibility by being less dependent on
access to walls and ceilings where ducts can be run to the exterior of the building. Another
factor to keep in mind if you are deciding between ducted and ductless range hoods for your
kitchen is the amount of other ventilation in your kitchen, to provide what is known as
"make-up air." As a ducted range hood removes odors from your kitchen, it moves air to the
outside of the building, replacing it with fresh air that it draws from inside the building.
If you do not have windows and doorways that are plentiful, the lack of available make-up air
can keep your ducted range hood from operating at peak efficiency. Both ducted and ductless
range hoods are made by many qualify manufacturers such as Broan range hoods and come in a
variety of metals and colors. You may be interested in stainless steel range hoods or copper
range hoods, or in range hoods that can be covered in wood to match your cabinets. They also
come in a variety of colors. Other factors to consider in kitchen range hoods are the amount
and quality of light they shed on the cooking surface; depending on your kitchen design, this
may or may not be an issue that is important to you, but a well-lit cooking surface is always
optimum. While it can vary by local building codes, kitchen range hoods normally need to be
installed no closer than 20 inches to your cooking surface (so as not to burn or overheat) and
no further than 30 inches (so as not to allow too much spatter or odor to escape). Ductless
range hoods tend to allow more flexibility than ducted range hoods, whose installation
location may be dictated by the location of wall studs. A major benefit of range hoods is
that they keep your kitchen walls and surfaces from becoming greasy with cooking residue. With
ductless range hoods, it is particularly important to change your filters regularly. How
frequently you will need to change the filters (or clean them, depending on the filter type)
relates to the size of your kitchen, the size of your cooking surface, the amount and type of
cooking you do, and the manufacturer's recommendations. |
