Do I Need A Range Hood

Our kitchens are full of important appliances, electricals, gadgets, and products that make our cooking and dining experience easier, more enjoyable, and most importantly safer. One of the common sights in kitchens across the U.S. is the range hood.

In fact, range hoods are actually one of the most important appliances found in the kitchen, providing us with a number of important benefits.

Despite this, a lot of people find themselves wondering what a range hood does and whether they need one.

If you find yourself thinking the same, you’ve come to the right place. Today, you will learn exactly what a range hood does and whether you require one. If this sounds like something that will help you, make sure you keep reading.

What Is A Range Hood?

A range hood is a mechanical device that hangs above a stove or countertop in the kitchen.

It consists of a type of capture area or canopy and a blower or fan motor. Once turned on, this motor will extract the air pollution created when you cook.

Through the process of capturing the air and eliminating any pollutants directly from the source, the range hood successfully maintains healthy air quality in the kitchen, while making the cleaning of grease and grime a lot easier.

Do You Need A Range Hood?

To put it simply, yes you need a range hood. Range hoods keep cooking chemicals, exhaust, and smoke out of your kitchen.

As a result of this, the air in your kitchen is kept to the highest standard possible, creating a much more pleasant cooking environment and preventing any negative side effects potentially caused by smoke and chemicals.

In some scenarios, whether you want a range hood or not is irrelevant. Depending on the area you live in, your building code may require you to have a range hood in your kitchen.

To find out whether you need one, you should check with your local authorities.

Range hoods also prevent grease and grime from building up in your kitchen. Before any grease has the chance to settle, the range hood captures it and removes it from the air, making cleaning up a lot less difficult.

The range hood will filter it out, completely removing it from your home.

Now you know you should have a range hood in your kitchen, let's start taking a look at the different types of range hoods you have to choose from.

The Different Types Of Range Hood

There are hundreds upon thousands of different kinds of range hoods on the market so finding the right one for your house can be difficult.

While we can’t possibly look at every type of range hood in this article, below you will find information about the most common types of range hood people have in their kitchens.

Wall-Mount/Chimney-Style Range Hoods

One of the most popular types of range hoods are wall-mounted or chimney-style hoods. These types of hoods are installed directly above your kitchen range.

Installed on your kitchen wall, it is only possible to install this type of range hood if there is a big enough clearance between your kitchen cabinets and empty wall space above your range.

The advantage of this full-sized range hood is that it will provide much better ventilation, effectively removing more odors and grime than other types of hoods.

Kitchen Island-Mount/Ceiling Mount

If your cooking range is on a center island, you will need this type of range hood to ventilate it. It takes installers a lot longer to fit this vent, but the results are well worth the wait.

Once the hood is fitted, you will be left with a stylish kitchen appliance that keeps your kitchen feeling and looking fresh.

Under-Cabinet Range Hoods

Under-cabinet range hoods are an inexpensive alternative to the bigger and more powerful range hoods. While they still perform pretty well, especially in smaller kitchens, with this type of hood you really get what you pay for.

As a result of being a lot smaller and cheaper than the other types of range hoods, you should expect less power from the fan/blower and less impressive suction power.

If you only have a small kitchen an under-cabinet range hood could be a good option. If not, we recommend you look at one of the other types of range hoods.

What Type Of Ventilation Do You Need?

When it comes to picking a range hood that matches your needs and requirements it is important to understand the difference between the ways in which the range hood ventilates your kitchen.

There are two main types of ventilation methods used when it comes to this. Range hoods can be ducted or ductless.

Both types of ventilation offer great results but they both ventilate the kitchen differently. Below we have described each of these vents and what benefits they bring to the table.

Ducted

Ducted range hoods are generally considered to be the most efficient hoods on the market. They successfully remove all the heavy grease and cooking odors from your house before moving it outside.

A ducted range hood might be the better choice if:

• You like to cook at least 4+ times a week.
• Your kitchen’s smoke alarm goes off when food is cooking.
• You have concerns about the levels of smoke in your home.
• You are unhappy with the air quality in your home.
• You like to cook food that has a strong odor.

Ductless

Ductless range hoods are normally less expensive than ducted vents and take less time to install.

A versatile option that can be installed on a kitchen wall or above an island, ductless vents use a blower or fan to pull smoke and grease out of the air and through filters.

Once the air has been cleaned by the filters, it is recirculated around the kitchen.

A ductless range hood could be your best option if:

• You live in a smaller property such as a condo or apartment.
• You don’t have enough money to buy a ducted range hood.
• You only cook 3 days or less a week.
• You don’t have enough room in your home for ductwork.

Should You Have A Range Hood For Your Outside Kitchen?

People often think that because their outside kitchen is out in the open they don’t need a range hood. They are, however, wrong, especially if they have a large BBQ or grill.

Unsurprisingly, BBQ grills produce an astonishing amount of grease, smoke, and heat.

When you also take into consideration how long a BBQ can be running, you can just imagine how much mess is created in any outdoor patio area.

Owning a reliable range hood will reduce the levels of grease, smoke, and heat making outdoor cooking an enjoyable, safe, and clean experience that you, your family, and friends can all enjoy.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, you do need a range hood in your indoor or outdoor kitchen. If you weren’t aware of this already, hopefully, we have helped you decide that installing a range hood is very beneficial.

We can’t think of anybody that wouldn’t benefit from having a range hood fitted in their kitchen.

They keep the air in our kitchen fresh as we cook, remove any smoke, and make the cleaning up process a lot easier.

What more could we ask for? All you need to do now is decide which type of range hood suits you best.

If you still aren’t convinced to buy a range hood, you must remember that it can be a legal requirement depending on where you live. If you don’t at least check with your local authority, you could find yourself in a sticky situation.