6 Inch Duct for Under Kitchen Cabinet Furnace
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Range hoods are important if you cook at home, especially with a gas cooktop or range. They help vent smoke and fumes that are harmful to your health to improve the air quality in the kitchen. Here we'll look at how air pollutants affect you, and also check out some of the best range hoods currently available.
Indoor Air Pollutants and Range Hoods
Gas cooktops are preferred for their responsiveness; they're much faster to heat up and cool down than electric coil elements. But they have some toxic downsides.
Two byproducts of gas burners, carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), are harmful to respiratory systems in large doses, leading to a higher risk of dyspnea, wheezing, and asthma attacks in children and the elderly.
Without proper ventilation, the smoke and fumes produced by cooking will remain stuck inside your kitchen. The risk is greater in modern homes that are tightly insulated.
A series of tests conducted by Brett Singer and his associates at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) showed that, during a typical winter week, CO and NO2 levels in a home with a gas range can exceed national and state ambient air quality limits.
One workaround is to open windows or run exhaust fans. Another is to buy an electric or induction stove, which will cut back on fume emissions but still produce smoke and consume much electricity.
The best option is to install a ventilation hood over the range. These hoods work similarly to exhaust fans but are focused on the cooking area. They help capture smoke and grease while ventilating the air around the cooktop.
Things to Know About Range Hood
There are a few things to keep in mind that should help you filter out the noise and find the one hood that suits you most:
Types
There are three main types of range hoods: ducted, non-ducted, and convertible. They are also categorized by their mounting methods: under-cabinet, wall-mount, and island-mount.
1. Ducted
Ducted range hoods work by extracting indoor air pollutants and releasing them outside. They need ventilation connecting the kitchen to the exterior of the house, and the outlet ducts usually run up through the ceiling or the back wall.
Setting up ducts requires money, effort, and possibly a compartment in your upper cabinets; the hoods themselves are also more expensive than non-ducted (or ductless) hoods. However, venting the kitchen is the most effective way to remove harmful agents in the air.
2. Non-Ducted
Non-ducted range hoods are hoods that work without ventilation, which means you won't have to set up ducts or sacrifice cabinet space. They focus on air recirculation instead of extracting the air from the kitchen. They're also recognizable by their use of charcoal filters.
Non-ducted hoods suck in the fumes and smoke and run them through filters. The air is then released back into the room, so you should open as many doors and windows as you can to further improve the air quality in the kitchen. Ductless hoods are less effective than ducted ones, but they beat having no hood at all.
3. Convertible
There are convertible range hoods that allow for both non-ducted and ducted setups. They have discharge outlets for ducting (one goes upwards and one goes through the back wall) but can be easily configured to use charcoal filters if your kitchen is not vented.
The ability to change from ducted to ductless can be useful in cold seasons because running a ducted hood replaces the inside air with outside air. Ductless hoods, however, keep the warmth indoors.
4. Wall Mount
Wall-mount range hoods are ducted hoods with an (adjustable) chimney, making them quite large. These are great for pollutant extraction and preferred for big kitchens.
Setting up a wall mount range hood typically involves removing a cabinet compartment. If your kitchen isn't designed with one in mind, it may compromise the look and feel of the room. But there are hood covers you can get that hide the ducts and help the appliance blend into your kitchen better.
5. Island Mount
Island-mount hoods work best in spacious kitchens with an island counter. They are ducted hoods but their ventilation capacity is not as efficient as wall-mounts. Smoke and fumes have more freedom to spread since there aren't any walls around the cooking area. The solution is to just get a bigger hood.
Island mounts also put a lot of pressure on the ceiling since there are no walls to support their weight. That means you should pay more attention to the bracing and make sure that the installation is done correctly.
6. Under Cabinet
Under-cabinet (mount) kitchen hoods are installed under the upper cabinets, right above the cooking range. They are more compact compared with wall-mount and island-mount hoods, therefore more suitable for kitchens with limited space.
Also, they often have a ductless design so their installation is straightforward and normally doesn't call for professional help.
7. Downdraft
A downdraft exhaust system is a ducted system. It works by pulling the smoke and fumes downwards under the floor where the ducts run. Its effectiveness is limited because the mechanics go against the natural dynamics of hot air, making the system work harder than an overhead (or updraft) system.
They are usually flush-mounted into the counter, right behind the cooktop. It's one of the very few ventilation options available for kitchen islands. You'll also see them integrated with a gas cooktop or stove range every now and then.
Coverage
Range hoods for a home kitchen come in various sizes: 24, 30, 36, and 42 inches. When choosing one, your range hood should be at least as broad as your range. If you have the space, it's always recommended to go for one size bigger. For example, if you have a 30-inch cooking top then you should get a 36-inch hood.
The extra reach is especially crucial if you're getting an island-mount hood. Since there isn't going to be any wall around to limit the air distribution, the broad coverage helps ensure that all the smoke and fumes are captured
Strength
The suction capacity of a range hood is typically measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM)— a measurement of airflow velocity. It's often compared to the heating capacity of a gas cooking surface, which is measured in British Thermal Units (BTU).
A rule of thumb for range hoods is that for every 100 BTU you should have 1 CFM of venting power. So, for example, if you had a gas range totaling 40,000 BTU in cooking power, then you'd want a 400 CFM exhaust hood.
Note : You may need to set up a fresh-air intake system/vent if your place doesn't have one already.
Filters
All range hoods use mesh filters or baffle filters to trap grease. Mesh filters are cheaper in comparison with baffle filters and considerably effective, but it's tougher to clean and doesn't last as long. Baffle filters are easier to clean and can be reused for quite some time before you need to replace them.
Both types of filters are usually made of aluminum and advertised as dishwasher-safe (but it's safer to wash them by hand). Baffle filters are sometimes stainless steel and can be found in more expensive models.
Non-ducted range hoods also use charcoal filters to clean the air before releasing them back to the room. They can't be reused and should be replaced every 6 to 12 months, depending on how regularly you cook.
Reviews of the Best Range Hoods in 2021
After some time researching what's available, we think these are some of the top choices for kitchen range hoods.
- Chef PS18 Under Cabinet Range Hood - Best to Buy in 2021
- Fotile JQG7501 Under Cabinet Range Hood - Best High-End Hood
- Z Line KB Wall Mount Range Hood - Best Wall Mount Hood
- Broan Non-Ducted Hood 41000 Series - Best Ductless Range Hood
- Z Line GL1i Island Mount Range Hood - Best Island Hood
- Broan Range Hood F40000 Series - Best Under Cabinet Hood
- Zuhne iChorus 36 Island Hood - Best Mid-Range Island Model
Here are our picks for the Best Range Hoods.
6 Inch Duct for Under Kitchen Cabinet Furnace
Source: https://healthykitchen101.com/buying-guides/best-range-hood-reviews/