Hood is one of the most important appliances in the kitchen, which depends on the level of comfort and appearance of the kitchen and the level of humidity in the home. This is a very important device, which is often unduly ignored. The consequence is a big headache, how to ventilate the house after a couple of hours of cooking. Usually household appliances have to solve problems rather than cause them, but the wrong choice of hood can be the cause of very big problems.

How do modern kitchen hoods work?

Modern hoods are of two types - ionic and fan (traditional).

The operating principle of traditional fan hoods is very simple - the electric motor rotates the fan screw and extract air. The air with a special pipe travels to the building's ventilation system or directly behind the wall. When the fan is not working, its holes are closed by valves. In order to avoid the contamination of the pipes with grease, removable and washable filters are installed in the hood on the hob or stove.

The question is only where the fan will be built. It can be built inside the hood or mounted on the house wall. The latter method is used to reduce the noise level at home.

Control is simple - just choose different exhaust fan speeds, turn on or off the lights.

Ionic hoods work a little differently. The carbon filters installed with these ions immediately neutralize vapors and eliminate odors. The weather is cleaned up and after a few seconds just discharged back into the same room. Such hoods do not require any exhaust pipes. True, their power is much lower than traditional fans. This is a new technology that is rarely found in Lithuania.

How to choose the most suitable hood?

You have to decide on a few essential moments when choosing a hood. Models, prices and sometimes even manufacturers will depend on them, offering exclusive products such as a CATA hood with a microwave oven:

Built-in or hanging hood?

What kind of kitchen furniture do you have? If you have only standard cabinets, the hood that is hung on the wall is the most suitable for you. If the hob is installed on the island (in the middle of the kitchen cabinets), you will need to choose a hood on the ceiling. If you order furniture from craftsman and want to hide the hood, choose built-in hoods.

Angular hoods are also available if the kitchen has an internal corner with a hob or stove. There are few variants, so further search depends on this feature.

The latest fashion arehoods built in the table that usually come out of the cavity near the hob during cooking. They are expensive but very stylish. True, they are not as effective as hanging, because the steam has to go down, not over the top, which contradicts the laws of physics (hot air rises up, cold –goes down).

500 m3/h or 1200 m3/h?

Ask what numbers are here? This is the capacity of the hood. You need to know that the hood is more powerful if it extracts more air in an hour. It is obvious that the mentioned 1200 m3/h hood is very powerful because it can extract more air than the standard 500-600 m3/h hood. Which one is right for you? It's easy to make a decision. If you are cooking eggs, baking pancakes, dipping soups and porridge pots at once - choose as powerful as possible. There will be a lot of steam and they will need to be removed effectively. If you produce rarely and little - not very powerful hood will suits. If you smoke in a room - also choose a powerful hood. It is also advisable to build the oven close to extract the steam immediately after the oven is opened after baking.

Hood size

Standard size - 50-70 cm. We recommend that you choose a little wider than your hob, as the steam in the side pots is often not immediately extracted and placed on the kitchen furniture or in the premises. The wider hood is better than the narrower one.

The maximum hood size is double 180 cm wide. It is designed for a large kitchen. It doesn't have to be a professional restaurant kitchen - it is enough to build a gas barbecue next to the hotplate and you will need a double extra powerful hood. There are a lot of barbecue enthusiasts, so the gas barbecue at home is no longer a rarity.

The smallest size is a 35 cm cone-shaped hood hanging on the ceiling. It is stylish and powerful enough, but hanging over a 1-2 holes hob. Often such a hood is used when food is produced on the “island”.

The optimum size is 90-100 cm. It is ideal for a standard 60-70 cm wide hob.

The shape of the hood is also important?

The hoods are in several forms, which also determines some of the preferences of choice.

Some hoods resemble chimneys. They can be square or cone form. At the bottom of the body, there is an extension to collect more vapor, and Retro-style hoods have the same functions, but their design resembles old-fashioned hoods.

In the cabinet built-in hoods look like an ordinary. Usually it has runner filters that increase the area of the collapsible steam.

45-degree inclined hoods are wall-mounted. They look stylish and filters are usually hidden inside.

The hoods which arehanging on the cables do not have an air exhaust pipe. It is a new generation of ionic steam collectors that purify the air and release it into the environment.

Important details

When choosing a hood, it is very important to pay attention to some important details. For example, is the hood is far from the house wall or ventilation (recuperative) system. The further it is, the longer exhaust pipe you will need. If the pipe has more
bends, it reduces air flow, so you need to choose more powerful hoods.

Another important thing is cleaning and replacing filters. Filters are usually washed, but there are other options.

There are two types of control - buttons and touch screen. Some models may also have an LCD screen.

Don't forget one important feature - automatic shutdown.

Noise level is also important. Unfortunately, this device is quite noisy as the rotating engine and extracted air cause a lot of unnecessary sounds. This does not apply to ionic hoods because there is another principle of operation.

Price? You can find it for 80 euros and for 800. Take a good look at all pluses and minuses, and then see if the price is adequate for the comfort level you have.

Wide range of stationary and built-in hoods.

You can also get to know our other useful and practical tips to help you choose the technique you are interested in.