Rangehoods and kitchen hoods – seeing through the smoke and mirrors
Whether you call them rangehoods, kitchen hoods or something else, read on to learn about why they’re important, and what to look for when purchasing one. The types of hoods available are a whoooole other conversation, for now I want to focus on the tech specs that you need to know.
There’s a lot of appliances in a kitchen you can cut costs on if you want or need to. Not everyone will need, or use a $10,000 oven to its full potential. Steam ovens and induction cooking are great, but no one wants to feel intimidated trying to cook a Sunday roast in the oven. The number 1 thing I urge customers NOT to choose the lowest priced option, or not think about until the last moment is their range hood.
Rangehoods these days are so much more than just a light and inconvenient noise above your cooktop. A good hood is quiet, and will clear your kitchen of the 4 by products of cooking; heat, steam, grease and smell. And let’s be real here, reducing heat in your kitchen during a Queensland summer is pretty important. Clearing your kitchen of steam, grease and smell will not only make for a more pleasant cooking experience but it will also protect your kitchen cabinetry and ceiling. I genuinely believe a good kitchen hood is not just necessary but an investment into protecting and prolonging the life of the rest of your kitchen.
SIZE
Rangehoods need to be at least as wide as your cooktop. A 60cm rangehood over a 120cm cooktop is not going to be able to keep up. Placement is equally important, over the burners at the correct height is another must. This measurement will vary depending on the type of cooktop its being place above. The minimum distance for a ceramic cooktop is 600mm. Minimum above a gas cooktop is 650mm above the trivet. And for induction cooking whilst the minimum is 600mm, the ideal is 750mm-800mm.
EXTRACTION RATE
For rangehoods your extraction rate is measured in cubic metres per hour or m3/hr. How big, the layout of your kitchen, and your cooking style is going to determine what a suitable m3/hr is;
250-400 m3/hr - Small kitchens
500-600 m3/hr - Typical need for households
600+ m3/hr - Large or open plan kitchen, lots of high heat or heavily seasoned cooking like stir-fry’s, fragrant curries and the like.
DUCTED / RECIRCULATED
Where there is the ability to duct a kitchen hood it is always the best practice where possible. Ducts must be vented outside, either through the roof or wall. In the past some were only ducted to the ceiling cavity, becoming a fire hazard and vermin attraction.
Recirculated rangehoods (or ductless range hoods) have come a long way, and a good quality filter, with regular cleaning will ensure you are filtering out grease and smells from your kitchen.
FILTERS
Speaking of filters, for recirculating/ ductless rangehoods a good quality carbon filter (aka activated charcoal) is an absolute must. These extra filters sit behind the grease filters, using activated charcoal to remove odour and smoke particles before the air is recirculated back into your kitchen.
NOISE LEVEL
The average noise level for kitchen hoods is between 40 and 70 dBa. The two things that will effect this most are unclean filters, which may add noise and external motors that decrease noise. As the name suggests, external motors are placed at the end of your ducting instead of inside the hood. This Qasair undermount rangehood has an external motor, as do a lot of Schweigen rangehoods. Despite the German sounding name, (“Schweigen” is German for “Silent”) Schweigen are an Australian brand who get their motors manufactured in Germany, whereas Qasair are Australian owned and manufactured.
CONTROLS AND CONNECTIVITY
These days the controls on range hoods can be as basic as push buttons to as advanced as automatic connectivity with your induction cooktop. The latter is often referred to as “hob2hood” where the hood automatically adjusts the extraction rate based on the setting you’re using on your hob. Whilst this is a handy feature to assist with induction cooking, it is not at all necessary.
Whilst there are many different hoods out there, knowing what technical specifications match your kitchen and cooking style will ensure you are happy with the performance of your kitchen hood. If you’re still lost on what size, extraction rate, filters and type of range hood is going to be the best fit, give us a call on (07) 3397 1161 or visit our showroom.