A range hood is an essential appliance in most kitchens that aids in maintaining good air quality and providing a conducive cooking environment. However, it becomes a challenge and more confusing when choosing the right exhaust hood for your kitchen because there are many options you can choose from, such as the ducted or ductless range hood models.
When comparing ducted vs ductless range hood for your house, it’ll be essential to consider your preferences, installation, and kitchen setup. This article provides a complete understanding of the ducted and ductless range hood. It’ll help you in choosing the appropriate appliance for your kitchen.
What Is A Kitchen Hood?
The range hood, which most individuals commonly refer to as a ventilation hood, kitchen hood, or exhaust hood, is a unit you place over your cooktop or stove. The unit works by taking out any heat, smoke combustion products, and airborne grease from the air in the kitchen. It helps to keep a quality kitchen air and good air circulation. The exhaust hood works with a combination of several parts to achieve the best results.
Benefits of the Exhaust Hood in Your Kitchen
1. Remove excess heat from the kitchen
Having a kitchen hood will be essential in providing a fresh and clean cooking environment. The appliance sucks all the hot air that’s coming from cooking points and rooftops. It achieves this by using an in-built fan blower or the filters in the unit.
2. Remove awful odor in the kitchen.
The exhaust hood works well to eliminate any odor in the kitchen that may result from the food you’re cooking. The appliance can help to get rid of any pungent smell from foods in the kitchen.
3. Improves the kitchen appearance
Choosing the best exhaust hood design for your kitchen will help to improve the appearance of the kitchen. The improvement of the kitchen appearance will make your kitchen an attractive place for your family and visitors. It also works to increase the home value, especially the kitchen area.
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Ducted Exhaust Hood
To compare ducted vs ductless range hood, it’ll be essential to understand the meaning of each model and the properties. The ducted kitchen hood is the most common exhaust system in most homes. The installation of this type of hood will solemnly depend on the design and the space available in the kitchen.
A ducted exhaust hood uses a system that works to vent the polluted air outside the kitchen. When designing the ducted range hood, the designers link them with pipes or cords, which transfer these smoke and other elements from the kitchen to the outside. When installing this appliance in the kitchen, you’ll need the correct duct or cord; this is the distinguishing feature from the cordless hood.
Pros of the ducted kitchen hood
- Eliminates large quantities of polluted air from the kitchen
- It works more quietly and efficiently than the ductless hood
- It’s suitable for big kitchen spaces
- It’s stronger and suitable for large scale kitchen air circulation
- Vents all the polluted air outside
Cons of the ducted kitchen hood
- The appliance works in specific locations with ducts or pipes
- Requires technician during the installation
- It’s not suitable for kitchens with tiny
Ductless Kitchen Hood
The ductless exhaust hood has a straightforward installation process as it doesn’t need a ventilation system, and you can install it anywhere you want in your home. The ductless exhaust works without using the ventilation system that vents the air outside. Thus, the exhaust hood doesn’t vent the smoke, greases, and polluted air outside the kitchen. Instead, the system works by sucking all the kitchen air, recycling it, and then sending it back to the kitchen.
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To achieve the proper filtration of the air, the ductless system uses quality filters. These filters have an activated carbon or charcoal, which aids in banishing the grease, smoke, and polluted air from the kitchen. After cleaning it, the system sends the recycled air back into the kitchen.
Advantages of the ductless kitchen hood
- They are easy and cheap to install
- The installation locations are flexible
- It’s environmental friendly
Disadvantages of ductless kitchen hood
- The appliances produce noise when working
- The appliances have a high maintenance cost.
Ducted vs Ductless Range Hood – What’s the Difference?
When comparing the ducted vs ductless range hood, it’ll be a good idea to know the difference between the models. To choose the appliance, it’s important to understand the installation and performance differences.
Performance differences
The models have different performances or ways of working. The ductless kitchen hood recycles the air from the kitchen through its filters and then sends it back to the kitchen. In contrast to the ducted exhaust hood, which uses the specific dust system to collect polluted air in the kitchen and vent it out through the vent.
The efficiency in collecting and recycling the air from the kitchen will largely depend on the quality and functionality of the filters. However, the number of bends, type, and length of the duct will be affected the rate of collecting and venting the polluted air outside for the ducted hood.
Installing differences
When choosing a ducted range hood, to install it successfully, you’ll need to get a ducting kit for the installation. The kit will include all vents, 90 degrees bends, and pipes. It’ll be good to consider the appropriate size of the pipe that matches the ducting system. On the other hand, the ductless doesn’t have many installation processes or requirements as they already have filters. Choose an appropriate place in the house where you’ll install the unit.
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Choosing the Best Kitchen Hood between the Ducted and Ductless Option
Before you choose an exhaust hood for your kitchen, it’ll be good to understand the functionality of each of the exhaust hood systems. Additionally, you’ll need to examine your cooking style, space in the kitchen, and personal preferences. Considering the following factors will help you make the correct choice of the exhaust system for your kitchen.
The flexibility of the kitchen space and ducts
The presence of ducts or tubes in your kitchen will make it flexible in choosing between the two models. Due to the availability of options, you can either opt for the ducted hood or the ductless hood system. However, if your kitchen lacks ducts or enough space, then you’re only limited to installing a ductless hood. A ductless hood is very flexible; thus, you can install it anywhere in the kitchen or house.
2.The air humidity and quality in the kitchen
It’ll be better to opt for a ducted exhaust hood if you’ve got a humid kitchen and you don’t need recirculating air. The ducted option will vent all the air it collects outside the kitchen. A ductless hood will better a kitchen where the homeowner is comfortable with the recirculating air and the little noise the system has while it’s working. Choosing the appliance based on the recirculating air is simple as one appliance will vent the air outside. Whereas the other recycles and sends the air inside the kitchen.
3. Budget
It’ll be essential to consider the resources you’re willing to spend on the kitchen hood system. The budget should include the cost of purchasing the unit and its installation cost. It’ll be costly if you opt for the ducted exhaust hood. You have to buy all the units, including the venting system. Additionally, they’ve got a higher installation process and cost, as you have to cater for the installation of the unit together with its venting system.
However, the ductless exhaust hood may tend to be lower as you don’t have to go through the hustle of purchasing the venting system. It’s very cheap and easy to install as it uses filters in the unit for cleaning the air, which is very easy to install.
4. Maintenance cost
For effective performance of the appliance, it’ll be good to maintain the units. When choosing a suitable range hood for your kitchen, you have to consider the maintenance cost of each option. The ductless range hood has a high maintenance cost, as you’ll need to check if the filters are regularly working. You also need to clean the filters more frequently and replace any faulty filters. When you opt for a ducted range hood, you’ll have to spend fewer resources maintaining the appliance as it has less or no maintenance needs.
Best ducted and ductless range hood review
Ducted exhaust hoods
Broan-NuTone 403004 range hood
The Broan-NuTone is a ducted range hood that you must place above the cooking points. It works effectively by collecting all the polluted or grease air in the kitchen and venting it outside through the venting system. It offers a solution to any cooking style allowing the kitchen to have quality air circulation.
The appliance has a built-in damper to prevent any backflow. The Broan NuTone unit doesn’t have any sharp points, which generally helps maintain the safety of those in the kitchen. Lastly, with its two-speed fan option, the appliance can collect large volumes of unpolluted air. It’s suitable for both residential and commercial homes. Manufacturers design the exhaust hood manual and of a 17.5 * 6* 30 inches dimension.
Pros
- Collects large volumes of unpolluted air, then vents outside
- Traps and collects all the smoke and heat in the kitchen
- Offers a long term solution to the ventilation in the kitchen
Cons
- A more complex installation process
- Requires regular maintenance
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Imperial premium range exhaust hood
It’s one of the most popular ducted range hoods among most clients. The imperial premium range hood is very easy to install, and it provides efficient air circulation in the kitchen. The appliance comes with a weighted damper, which aids in preventing heat loss and backdraft of the polluted air. The range is more durable as the manufacturers use high-quality material to manufacture it. You use the appliance for air conditioning and ventilation in both commercial and residential buildings.
Pros
- Offers long-lasting solutions to air circulation in the kitchen
- It’s more durable
- Vents all the polluted air outside the kitchen
Cons
- Requires a large installation space
- It may not be suitable for commercial buildings
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Non-ducted range hoods
Broan- NuTone 413004 stainless steel ductless exhaust hood
It’s a ductless exhaust hood that effectively provides ventilation and good air quality in the kitchen. The appliance uses a combination of grease-charcoal filters to clean the indoor air for recirculation. It has got a fan responsible for collecting the air and filtering it before recirculating it back. The Broan model provides optimal results on whatever location you place it, either on the custom cabinet or under the cabinet.
It has a switch that helps to control the speed of the fan and activating the appliance lighting. The unit has a 2-speed motor and weighs ten pounds. Manufacturers make the exhaust hood from stainless steel, with 17.5” * 6 Height * 30 Width.
Pros
- It’s easier to install the unit.
- It’s environmentally friendly as it recycles the air it collects
- Easy to operate, as the system is programmed
Cons
- Higher maintenance cost
- It doesn’t eliminate heat in the kitchen
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Cosmo COS-QS75
The Cosmo ductless range is a modern exhaust hood model without ducts suitable for homeowners with limited kitchen spaces. The hood fits easily in the cabinets; thus, saving the need of having a large space for installation. The manufacturers make it from premium stainless steel that matches most of the modern equipment in the kitchen.
It has a high power of approximately 500 CFM and a quality carbon filter, which helps to trap polluted or greasy aid. After trapping, it recycles it and sends it back to the kitchen. It’s very easy to install and control the appliance as it has a digital panel control. The appliance comes in a 22 *29.5*10 inches dimension.
Pros
- Requires less space for installation
- High power output, 500 CFM
- Uses quality carbon filters to filter the air
Cons
- Not effective in eliminating grease on the walls
- May cause humidity in the kitchen
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The bottom line
The ductless and ducted exhaust hoods have different distinguishing features basing on the installation and functioning. Therefore, these types of range hoods provide different advantages and disadvantages to the homeowner. While opting for a range hood first, it’ll be good to consider your personal preferences, kitchen design, and workspace.
Before you purchase an exhaust hood for your kitchen, it’ll be great to compare ducted vs ductless range hood to choose the right one. We hope our comparison guide on duct vs ductless range hood helps to pick the best range hood for your kitchen regardless of their installation and functional properties and requirements. Don’t forget to let us know by the comment section below which you have decided to buy. We would love to hear from you. Thank you for reading. Have a great day!