Range Hoods DIY

What is a Range Hood and Why Do I Need One?

When you get up on a stepladder for the biannual cleaning the top of your refrigerator, light fixtures, or window molding in your kitchen, you are likely to have come across a gunky residue coated with dust requiring an extra scrubby, suds-saturated sponge, not to mention a healthy dose of elbow grease to clean. This built-up residue naturally accumulates from the airborne grease, combustion products, smoke, odors, heat, and steam escaping food you prepare on your stove, and the culprits are many, from fried chicken to sizzling bacon, and most any other ingredient of a tasty home-cooked meal.

This buildup you find lands many places in your kitchen, as well as manifesting as cooking food smells, and since most people don't want to give up on cooking, your best bet is to find and install a range hood over your stove.

What is a range hood and why do I need one?
Three basic elements make up the majority of hoods, such as the "effluent plume" or open vent to contain rising gases, one or more filters and a blower for forced dispersion of gases, which in most cases are evacuated through a vent to outside your home.Kitchens are not one-size-fits-all, and as a result, range hoods come in a variety of types to fit various applications as well as satisfying the demands of style. The most commonly found are the under cabinet style, however, wall mount, island, hood inserts, and downdraft may be better for your particular kitchen setup.

Under cabinet are often combined with a light and fit under the cabinet mounted above your stove top. A common, space-saving under cabinet range hood couples the hood with a microwave, providing easy installation and cooking convenience all in one unit.
Wall mount range hoods are installed in kitchens which don't have cabinets over the cook top. They come in a variety of finishes and add a certain elegance or professional look to your kitchen and typically have more efficient and powerful ventilation properties than under cabinet styles.
Island hoods are similar to wall mounts, however they hang from the ceiling over an island, allowing for access on all sides.
Hood inserts can be installed horizontally on their own in a ceiling or paired with a custom constructed hood for maximum design flexibility.
Downdraft style sits on the back of the stove top, pulling the air and gases back and out of the room, rather than up, which allows for space saving and a different installation option which works better when you would prefer to use the space over your stove for other storage or design reasons.

Some features to consider when shopping for range hoods:

Fan types
There are two types of fans used in range hoods. The first type is rotary, which is the typical type of fan you are used to seeing in use in house and ceiling fans. The second is a centrifugal fan, which has a barrel shape and rotates on a center axis oriented parallel to the floor. As it has more blade surface area, the centrifugal type moves more air, works best with ducted range hoods, and runs quieter than rotary style. Rotary style fans are less expensive, however, and if budget is a concern, then you may want to choose one using this type of fan.

What is CFM?
CFM is short for "Cubic Feet Per Minute," a measurement used to quantify the rate of air flowing through a vent. This figure is important when you are calculating what size vent fan will work best in your room. Exhaust fans list their CFM ratings to make finding the correct one for your needs easier.

What are "Sones?"
A Sone is an internationally recognized measurement of sound output in terms of comfortable hearing level for an average listener. The lower a Sone value, the more comfortable is the environment. Sones are not decibels or volume, but rather how a sound is "sensed." One Sone is half as loud as two Sones, and is equivalent to a quiet refrigerator. Ventilating fan sound levels are measured in Sones.

To light or not to light?
Some hoods include lighting, handy for illuminating a dark stove top, and consist of one or two halogen or incandescent bulbs. For some people, this feature is just as important as the venting, so make sure you find one that gives your stove sufficient light.

If it's too hot...
Heat sensors are a feature on some range hoods, and their function is to speed up the fan and/or sound an alarm to indicate an increase in heat.

Automatic Shutoff
In case you are the sort to worry about leaving the oven on, automatic shutoff is a great feature - it can be pre-set to turn off the range hood after a certain amount of time. Perfect when you are entertaining and want to run the vent to freshen the room but not have to worry about it running all evening.

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