How to choose a hood for the kitchen according to 6 points

A cooker hood is a household appliance that performs a very important air purification function. Eyes diverge from how huge the range of cooker hoods available in the store.

The selection of a kitchen hood should be started at the stage of a kitchen renovation project. Here you need to pay attention to the presence of exhaust ventilation. It is also necessary to take into account how rationally it is possible to install air ducts in the exhaust ventilation. The efficiency of the installed hood will depend on how long the pipeline will be, its diameter and how many bends along its entire length. The extraction performance is reduced by 5% when using one elbow. If the installation of the stove is planned at some distance from the wall, on the so-called "kitchen island", then it is imperative to plan a hole in the ceiling of a certain diameter in order to bring out the pipeline under the suspended ceiling and place air ducts. It is only at first glance that the kitchen hood seems to be a secondary element, because in fact, it is on its location that all further equipment of furniture in the kitchen depends, and in general the organization of the entire kitchen space. You need to understand that it is not the installation of the stove in a certain place that sets the place for installing the kitchen hood, but quite the opposite - it is the technical capabilities of installing the hood in a certain place that dictate the installation of the stove under it. In order to facilitate the selection process, you need to act in stages.

Hood type

Hoods are divided into two types according to the principle of their operation:

• Filter hood... This hood lets air pass through the filter. The purified air is recirculated, that is, it returns to the kitchen again. Such hoods are not very effective, they mainly protect the kitchen from soot, but hardly trap odors. It is advisable to use them with weak exhaust ventilation, or, for example, in old houses where there is no ventilation at all. However, it is imperative to regularly clean the grease filters and change the charcoal filters to keep the hood operating efficiently.
• Retracting hood... Such a hood draws in air and, with the help of an air duct, the air is discharged into the nearest ventilation hole.

Performance

In order for the air to constantly remain fresh, it must be exchanged 10 times within an hour. Considering the above and knowing the squaring of the kitchen, you can easily calculate what kind of hood you need. In order to extend the service life of the hood, you need to choose it with a small power reserve. There is such an indicator that you need to pay special attention to - this is the noise level of a working hood. It directly depends on the performance of the hood. To reduce the noise level in modern hoods, special bearings and "acoustic pillows" are installed. This makes it possible to watch TV or talk without straining your vocal cords when the hood is running.

The size

It all depends on the size of the stove, and the hood is chosen under it, but a little wider. For example, for a stove with a width of 60 cm, the optimum hood width is 90 cm. The installation height of the cooker hood depends on the type of stove. The hood is installed above the gas stove at a height of 80 cm, and above the electric one - 70 cm.

Design

Here, hoods are divided into several types:

• Flat hoods (the simplest of them). They are wall-mounted under or without a kitchen cabinet.You can position the hole for the duct either on the back wall or on the top surface.
• Island (ceiling) hoods. They are used in cases where the slab is located at some distance from the wall. The air duct is installed vertically and led out to the ceiling.
• Built-in hoods. To install this type of hood, you must have a drawer above the stove. Such a hood is cut into the bottom of the box, and it is completely invisible.
• Air purifiers with a retractable screen. These are perhaps the most compact hoods that completely cover the entire hob in working order. They provide effective dirt removal.
• Corner. The most original hoods.

Control method

According to the control method, kitchen hoods are divided into: push-button, remote, sensory and pseudo-sensory. On expensive hoods, electronic control is installed, which allows the robot to be programmed for the entire cooking period. For example, with more intense boiling, the program automatically increases the extraction performance, or when approaching the stove, the illumination increases.

Design

It must be remembered that the cooker hood not only plays the role of an air cleaner, but also is an interior item, its decoration. The hood should match the style of both the stove and kitchen furniture, and fit into the interior of the kitchen as a whole. In the modern interior of the kitchen, it goes well with the Hi-Tech style cooker hood. Country style hoods are more suitable for a classic kitchen, for example, fireplace hoods.