The main task of any kitchen hood is to clean the air of the room from various odors, remove soot and grease from it, which settle on the furniture. Any kitchen needs a hood, regardless of its size, this device will be especially relevant if this room is combined with a dining room or some other part of the home.
Before buying such a household appliance, it is important to correctly determine the required hood power - it is this parameter that determines how well it can cope with its tasks.
What are the hoods and their modes of operation
Before selecting a model that is suitable for its power, the hood for the kitchen is primarily selected by design. Depending on this, there are:
- built-in models - mounted directly inside the hanging cabinet so that only the grease filter grill is visible from the outside;
- wall models - they are attached directly to the wall above the stove, they can be installed under a hanging cabinet or instead of it;
- island type - mounted to the ceiling, usually intended for a kitchen that has a non-standard layout;
- corner-type models - designed only for installation in the corner of the room.
Regardless of the design of the hood, it can operate in one of two modes:
- exhaust;
- recirculating.
Exhaust - fat particles are removed from the air with a grease filter, after which it is removed from the apartment through the ventilation system. To operate the device in this mode, an air duct and fresh air are required.
Recirculating - fat is removed from the air mixture along with unpleasant odors. For this, in addition to the grease filter, the device also has a charcoal filter. When cleaning is complete, air flows back into the kitchen.
Determination of power in the classical way
Most often, when selecting the optimal power of a kitchen hood, the following formula is used: you need to determine the volume of the kitchen and multiply it by 10 or 12 - this is how many times per hour of using the stove a high-quality hood completely replaces the entire air mixture from the kitchen.
However, this option for calculating the required power is very generalized, since it does not take into account any nuances of the kitchen and the conditions for using the hood. Therefore, this formula requires some adjustments.
First of all, it should be borne in mind that the coefficient 10-12 allows you to determine the power level of the equipment at the maximum speed of its operation. Therefore, making a choice in this way, there is no power reserve in case of unforeseen situations. Thus, in the case of such a choice, the hood will always have to work at maximum speed, which will lead to unnecessary noise, and the service life of the device will be significantly reduced.
In addition, the calculation factor must be changed depending on the type of hob used. For example, for electric stoves, a coefficient of 15 is required, and for gas - generally 20, since gas combustion products are also added to various vapors.
It should also be remembered that when taking into account the area, you should consider the area of the room bounded by windows, walls and doors. So, if in the kitchen instead of doors there is an arch, then when calculating the area taken into account is the kitchen itself and the room combined with it.
Thus, the classic calculation formula gives only an approximate idea of the minimum performance and hood power for the kitchen. If the model you like has less power than the calculated one or exactly the same, you should not buy this model, since it will not be a functional hood, but simply a useless noisy unit.
Calculation depending on the mode of operation
In the case of choosing a hood that will operate in the exhaust mode, in order to determine the optimal power level, it is more correct to take into account not the volume of the kitchen, as is often advised, but the area of the channels of the ventilation system of the house.
In most cases, in modern houses, the diameter of the air ducts is up to 140 mm. A maximum of 400 cubic meters of air can pass through such a channel per hour. And if you also take into account the irregularities of the channels themselves and their connections, then the throughput will be even less. Therefore, even when purchasing the most powerful hood model, the efficiency of its operation will directly depend on the throughput of the ventilation channels: everything that they will not pass can be attributed to power losses.
In addition, natural ventilation will be impaired if the duct is connected to the ventilation duct. Also, the hood, which was installed above the stove, is simply not able to remove or purify polluted air from the ceiling itself, even in the case of its high power.
Therefore, a more preferable option for our conditions is the purchase of a recirculation hood. In the case of functioning in this mode, the exhaust power plays a much larger role, since the air is not removed from the kitchen. Passing through the filter elements, the air will create increased pressure, as a result of which the performance of the device will drop.
Therefore, when choosing a hood that operates in this mode, to calculate the required power, you can use the classic formula, taking into account the above nuances.
Models that operate in this mode do not need to be connected to a ventilation system, which will not disrupt the natural ventilation of the kitchen, and also will not spoil the appearance of the room with duct boxes.
Some nuances of calculating power
It is often possible to face a situation when inexperienced sellers of a home appliance store advise consumers to purchase the simplest and low-power models of hoods in small kitchens, the performance of which is simply primitive. This is a huge misconception: in a small room, the concentration of vapors and fat is much higher in comparison with spacious kitchens. That is why a hood of good performance is required for such rooms.
When choosing a hood that is suitable for its power, it should be remembered that such an installation is not a replacement for a ventilation system. Its main purpose is to remove the spent air mixture from the area above the hob, and not at all to clean the air in the kitchen or replace it with fresh air from the street.
And finally, we must never forget that, regardless of the power of the kitchen exhaust equipment, its width should never be smaller than the stove over which such a device is installed: at least, the hood should be exactly the same as the stove, and even better if it is wider than the hob.
Thus, the choice of the optimal hood model for the kitchen in terms of its power level is quite a troublesome business, since many nuances have to be taken into account. But now every consumer knows exactly how to choose the right power and performance of the hood for his kitchen.
