The range hood is the kitchen appliance that makes your kitchen more attractive. Besides, it makes your kitchen clean from the smoke, steam. It also removes grease- and odors too.
It is essential to choose the right hood for your kitchen. But before buying a range hood, you should know about How does a range hood works? And how does it function? What type of range hood is available in the market?
What is a range hood?
A range hood is a kitchen appliance with a mechanical fan. It extinguishing unwanted smoke and steam from the kitchen. It’s also called an exhaust hood or oven hood. The duct removes heat and contaminated air from the kitchen above the stovetop.
How does a Range Hood Work?
Range hoods can mount over your cooktop to trap and cut odors from your cooking. You can choose between ductless or wired range hoods. Ducted range hoods are capable of picking up heat from your cooking. And it directing them outside. While fresh, cold air is the inlet, ductless range hoods can extract the hot gases. Ductless range hoods do not
heat the gases. Most range hoods include several components. And these are responsible for cleaning the air in your kitchen. These parts include lighting, filters, speed selector switches, duct system, and blower.
Range hoods are available in a variety of shapes and styles. They all remove cooking oil particles from the air. And fumes caused by pots and pans heating up or being fried on the stovetop. Some range hoods are fan and filter-less. Others, remove odors, grease, and other contaminating particles through ductwork.
Basic Range Vent Hood
The range vent hood’s appearance can customize to suit your taste and budget. The range hood can be the attractive primary appliance of your kitchen. It also can be the centerpiece of your kitchen. The typical range vent hood has a largemouth. It doesn’t matter if the piece is expensive, plain, or painted enamel.
The vent hood pulls odors, grease, and other contaminants from the air around your kitchen. Electric fans, which are located inside the unit, pull up and remove cooking fumes. The fumes flow through the ductwork outside the home. Also, the filters can remove trap grease- and odors.
Most range vent hoods can adjust to reduce the speed of airflow. That airflow pulls grease and odors from the cooking areas.
Range Hoods to Vent Outside
A range hood with vents that open to the outdoors keeps the air inside your kitchen clean and healthy. It decreases humidity and draws in impurities.
Depending on the type and length of the hood, the ducting may run horizontally or vertically. To work effectively above an island range hood. Ducting should be run vertically and then horizontally.
Ductless Ranges hood
This range hood doesn’t have to vent outside your home. So, it can install anywhere you like, for example, over a stovetop or kitchen island. The Ductless range hood draws in the air with fans. Then it will blow back into your room after passing through filters.
A charcoal filter on a ductless hood helps to cut odor, smoke, and grease particles. The filters need to be replaced at least once every year to keep your ductless vent hood in good condition.
If you use oil to fry or saute your food, the filters should be changed every two years or once every three months. You should choose the best range hood for you, as with any other item in your living room.
Read Also: How does a ductless kitchen hood work
A ductless range hood can still be an excellent option to provide healthy indoor air. It also wicks away grease. It can stick to kitchen cabinets. While they are more versatile than ductless range hoods. They have a disadvantage in that they can move anywhere. But, they aren’t as effective at cleaning out dirty and stale air.
Essential components and their working
Blower
An electric fan or mechanical fan attaches to the motor mounted on the wall or ceiling. Some have a single blower, while others have more than two. It includes fan blades, motor, and protective housing.
Blower Types
There are two main types of blowers: the inline blower and the local blower.
The hood is composed of two blowers: the local one and the remote one. They are far more efficient than the range hood and produce less noise than the local blowers.
Although external blowers can install on the roof or outside of the house. It is expensive, and people aren’t keen to do so.
Fans that run on electricity
Every range hood has an electric fan that blows hot gases from your stovetop. When the range hood switches on, the fans spin, and hot gases and particles of smoke are drawn into the range hood.
The range hood’s efficiency depends on the electric fan. As well as noise levels will be determined by how fast the electric fans rotate.
A range hood running at 200 CFM will be more efficient and quieter than one operating at 150 CFM. Advanced range hoods can be equipped with noise cancellation features.
Some of them are silent even though they blow at high speeds. Advanced range hoods can be controlled remotely by electric fans. Some models have fan speed memory.
The Duct
The duct, or vent, handles extinguishing hot gases from the house via the range hood. As hot gases rise, they are sucked into the electric fan.
From there, they are directed into the vent, which then loses them outside. They will most likely be made of stainless steel is mounted on top of walls.
PVC can be used to insert them into walls. A ductless range hood uses an electric fan to cool down the air around the stovetop. If the fan fails, the range hood will not cool off the air efficiently.
The Lighting
Some range hoods, particularly those that are more advanced have this feature. These features include a lighting system that illuminates the cooktop. This makes it easier to see how the food is cooking and helps to reduce the chance of the food getting burned.
This saves money, as you no longer need to dim the lights in your kitchen. Instead, the range hood lighting can be used. Higher-end range hoods come with automatic lighting. Some have lighting memory to ensure that your kitchen is always lit.
The Filters
There are three main filters: the charcoal filter, mesh filter, or baffle filter.
Mesh filters work well in catching oil, grease, or other similar particles. They can be used in both ductless and ducted chimneys. It’s made of aluminum or stainless-steel mesh strips placed one after another.
While the baffle filters have a curved panel. The charcoal filter features a honeycomb structure of powdered activated charcoal.
This charcoal filter is used in ductless range hoods. Baffle filters are the most common, but not all models have mesh filters. Yet, the charcoal filter can be accompanied by one of the ductless models. The greater the range hood, the more filters it must use to exhaust the outside air.
Learn More: How to install a range hood through the interior wall
After the electric fan has sucked hot gases from your cooktop, it goes into filters. These filters trap grease and smoke particles to keep your stove clean.
Ductless range hoods come with charcoal filters. This filter removes any grease and smoke from the hot gases. You should clean the filter at least three times a year to maintain a range hood’s functionality. Because grease buildup can cause the filter to become clogged.
And to prevent it from being cleaned efficiently. A clogged filter can cause your electric fan not to work as hard and result in higher energy consumption.
Selector Switch
All range hoods come with a selector switching panel. It contains the ON/OFF, control speeds, and the switch to turn on/off the lighting.
Newer models can be remotely controlled. There is also a manual control panel that can be used in a remote sensor failure.
The remote control can be used to adjust the level of range hoods above the cooktop. You can adjust it with expensive models.
The distance between the cooktop and bottom will affect the rangehood’s efficiency. There are many types of range hoods. They come in different materials, speeds, colors, and styles.
The number of cooks you do, the size of your kitchen, and your personal preferences will all play a role in your selection of a rangehood.
You will need a fan speed that is higher for heavy-duty cooking. For smaller kitchens, a ductless range hood is better. But the installation will be more difficult.
Now take a look at Different types of kitchen hood
Hoods for under cabinets
These attach to the cabinet under your range. They can also be called wall mounts if they mount to the wall. Under cabinets are available in various styles and strengths and can either be ducted or not.
Wall-Mount Hoods
These hoods appear like under cabinets hoods. Except they mount to a wall instead of to cabinets above.
Chimney Hoods
Chimney Hoods attach to the wall above a stove or the ceiling above an island. They have a flue that runs up the wall to the ceiling. This type of hood will not fit and work properly if you have cabinets above your range.
Island Hoods
The island hood hangs from the ceiling above it. There are many styles available: traditional, curved, and glass canopies.
Downdraft Hoods
These hoods have a textured finish. Hidden in the cooktop When used, they will pop up and pull the steam or smoke horizontally across a range. They’re an excellent choice for islands. As they don’t must installation that might block lines of vision.
Range Hood Inserts
You can conceal your hoods with power packs and inserts. They can be installed above the cooktop in cabinets to allow for custom venting. There are many options. Talk to a professional about which option is best for your cabinets.
Pro Hoods
Although they look very like traditional under cabinets. The pro hoods offer more power and are more professional-looking. These hoods work well for those who cook a lot and like the more comprehensive look. They can be ducted with or without a duct and come in various styles to suit the exhaust style.
Custom Range Hoods
Custom range hoods allow you to personalize your style and experience. You can find the perfect hood to match your cooktop/range in any finish or color.
Over-the-Range Microwaves
An over-the-range microwave can be an excellent way for you to save space in the kitchen. It can be used either in place or as an alternative to a traditional range fan. For the best ventilation, direct the air to the outside when using the microwave in place of a hood.
Read Also: How to survive in a kitchen without a range hood
Range Hood Features
We suggest choosing a model that is at least twice as large as the surface underneath it. To funnel fumes away from the island-mount hood, there is no wall or cabinet between them. These are some possible options for range hoods features.
Airflow
Manufacturers will tout the CFM (cubic feet per second) of exhausting heat. But more airflow doesn’t necessarily mean better ventilation. Many hoods tested claimed that they had less airflow than others.
Number of Fan Speeds
Most Hoods have 3 to 6 fan speeds, according to our research. We recommend at least two speeds. A high-speed setting for cooking and a low, quiet setting for eating. Three speeds are not enough. If the manufacturer needs to offer more speed options. It should provide a variable speed switch that the user can use to set the desired speed.
Thermostat Control
Some models come with a temperature sensor built-in. And that turns on the fan automatically. If the temperature gets too high below the cover. This feature can be found mainly in microwaves that operate over the over-the-top.
The thermostat is there to protect the microwave electronics. And prevent them from being damaged by extreme temperatures. If the microwave temperature rises too high. Then the exhaust fans will activate to draw in cooler air and remove the hot air. Range hoods don’t have this feature. When you use oil for cooking, the exhaust fan turns on.
Exhaust Timer
This helpful feature turns your fan off after a while.
A ducted range hood has been connected to an outside duct that vents air. The pipes allow the smoke or fumes to pass through a passageway that is connected to the chimney.
On the other side, the ductless range hood is composed of a fan, which collects oil particles and fumes. It then filters the air and circulates it back into the kitchen. While they can be pretty efficient, they don’t offer the same efficiency level as the ducted ones.
You can easily install them if your ductwork is already in place. To install your ducted under cabinet range hood, you might need to call a professional. The professional will install the vent from your kitchen to your outside.
Read Also: how to install range hood through the roof
How does a ducted rangehood work?
Many people are confused about the difference between an under-cabinet and ducted rangehood. Here is how a Ducted Range Hood works.
1. A ducted range hood draws air through the conduit work. It is typically found running through the ceiling, or along the wall.
2. It is connected to your exterior and can purify the air in your home by venting all types of dirt, odors, and grease. It can be removed from the house.
How does a range hood ductless work?
A ductless range hood consists of two parts: a motor (fan) and a filter. The ductless rangehood absorbs and uses air suction to draw in air.
It simply recirculates kitchen air after filtering it. There are three types of filters available. Charcoal filters; Mesh filters, and Baffle filters. Each one has a unique function, but all have the same goal: to improve kitchen air quality.
Although most ductless range hoods use charcoal filters for filtering. Some range hoods also have HEPA-grade filters.
The filters capture the airborne particles along with the order and reduce them. Because the under-cabinet range hood features powerful ventilation fans. So that’s grease or other particles cannot stick to the kitchen cabinets. It will have an impact on the efficiency and comfort of the rangehood’s fan speed and noise.
Read Also: our top 5 best range hood for Asian cooking
Conclusion
We hope now you have better knowledge of how does a range hood works and its main features. If you thinking to buy a range hood then check our buying guide to see the best range hoods which are currently available in the marketplace.
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