You can picture your dinner parties in your mind. You’ve remodeled the kitchen and want to show off your new appliances. You take the expertly cooked feast from the oven and share it with your guests. Everyone enjoys the evening. While you are daydreaming about this night, you need to think about more than just your new stove though. You need to think about the way that you will be directing the heat, grease, and cooking odors away from your guests. You need to consider what kind of range hood works best for your stove. Here are some options:
Island Hood/Ceiling Mounted
If your stove is part of an island, then you will need to consider an island hood. There will be no cabinets to work it around, so it will be a ceiling-mounted option. Depending on the cooking surface space, the amount of heat and odors, along with the ability to house it, you might need to choose a large capacity hood. You can choose from a variety of materials such as glass, ceramic, and copper. The choice might be to house it higher than normal to keep the aesthetic appeal of the room. This will need to be determined when the space is evaluated.
Under Cabinet
This type of hood is seen commonly in homes, and as the name implies, it is mounted under the cabinet. Depending upon your cabinet needs, the ductwork for this type of hood can be housed within the cabinets that are directly over the stove. This means that you will have less storage space available. Another option would be to have the ductwork flow behind the hood through the wall. The available space and ability to duct through the wall will be considered.
Downdraft
Sometimes when you have a smaller space or the ceiling is not amenable to a ceiling hood, you should consider a downdraft option. This is venting that is located on the stove and takes the heat and smells downward instead of upward. There are ducts that can be placed within the floorboards that will take the cooking effects out of the room.
Ductless
A ductless hood is an option where the cooking smells are brought into the hood but dispersed back into the kitchen and surrounding areas instead of outside of the house. This will help trap the grease from cooking but can spread the cooking aroma to other rooms. This is something to consider when determining what type of hood you are looking to install with your stove.
