8 steps of cooking hood selection and 40 photos

First, let's figure out why we need a hood in the kitchen and do we need it at all? This device performs two important functions:

• Protects furniture, walls, ceiling and textiles from the appearance of grease and soot;
• It removes and purifies the air from smoke, odors, combustion products, fumes and other harmful impurities originating from during cooking on the stove.

By the way, the air in the kitchen during the heat treatment of food becomes the most dirty in the house. Therefore, if you cook often, your kitchen is not the smallest and / or you use a gas stove and a column, then you can not do without a kitchen hood.

However, in order for the hood to really benefit, rather than stand idle, it needs to be chosen correctly: in terms of productivity, mode of operation, umbrella size and design. To understand all the nuances of the selection of kitchen hoods will help you our 8-step guide with photos of appliances in the interior.

Step 1. Determine the type of hood

The first thing you need to decide is whether you need a flow or circulation hood.

• The flow-through hood is connected to the ventilation duct of the house and drains the exhaust air into it. Flowing models can not only completely (!) Take out the exhaust air in the retraction mode, but also work in the circulation mode and run fresh air from the street into the room. If your kitchen is able to connect the hood to the ventilation door of the building, then it is worth doing, especially if the kitchen is not small or combined.

• The circulation hood is not connected to the ventilation duct and operates only in the recirculation mode - it passes the polluted air through the filters, and then the purified air is again thrown into the room. This type of hood is less effective, in many ways its performance depends on the quality of the filters, so they need to be changed / cleaned in a timely manner (we'll talk about the filters a little later). But the circulation helps out when there is no way to connect the hood to the ventilation. For example, if the island table with the stove is set too far from the ventilation duct, and you do not want to pull the air duct through the kitchen.

And the circulation hoods are cheaper than running, so if you want to save money and your kitchen is not large, then the circulation hood is quite suitable.

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Now let's talk a little about filters.

• Filters for kitchen hoods are divided into two categories: coal and grease. Circulating instruments are equipped with carbon filters, and flow-through - with grease filters. The first detain particles of fat, soot, smoke, evaporation. They are used in any operating mode of the hood, they can be disposable or reusable.

For more details, see the material: Filters for kitchen hoods - selection and replacement rules

Step 2. We decide which device we need - built-in, hanging or dome?

1. Suspension hoods (from 2300 rubles.) Are always only circulating, compact and most inexpensive. Most often they are attached to the kitchen cabinet above the stove or installed to the wall.

1. Dome hood is a construction of an umbrella and a pipe and resembles a fireplace with a chimney (becausethey are often called fireplaces). Such models always require connection to the duct and are more expensive, but they look more elegant. And, as a rule, they have a great productivity. If you cook often, your stove / kitchen is large and you want the hood to decorate the interior, then the fireplace model is what you need.

1. Built-in hoods are built in the cabinet above the stove or in the decorative dome and connected to the duct. They are good in that they simply can not be seen, in addition, because of the lack of decorative finishes, embedded models cost less than the dome.

• In addition to stationary built-in hoods, there are telescopic (retractable) models, which can be increased to the size of the plate if necessary.

Both the domed and built-in hood can be angled as in the photo below ...

... or insular. Island hoods are attached to the ceiling above the stove in the island table, they are beautiful from all sides. In this category of hoods, you can find both circulation devices and flow-through devices that work for air removal. Another feature of island hoods - some models can be lowered to the stove only if necessary (such hoods are called mobile).

Step 3. We specify the dimensions of the plate and hood

The main principle of choosing a hood in size is simple: the width of the umbrella should correspond to the width of the plate or be larger than it (but not less!).

• For this reason, the hottest instruments are hoods with a width of 50 cm, 60 cm and 90 cm.

For very large plates, you can choose a hood with a width of 120 cm or 100 cm, although their choice is not too large.

• The depth can be from 30 to 50 cm. This parameter, although not so important, but still better, pick up the device so that its visor does not strongly protrude above the plate, otherwise it can be hit.

If you choose a fireplace hood, then the height of the device also has a value. After all, it talks about the maximum permissible distance between the bottom surface of the umbrella and the vent hole it allows. Some hoods have a height, m, and others - only 1 meter.

• By the way, important information: the hood should be installed not less than 60 centimeters from the plate.

More in the material: What dimensions should the hood for the kitchen be?

Step 4. We expect optimal performance

It's time to talk about the most important criteria for choosing a kitchen hood - about performance.

• The output of the hood is an indicator of the maximum volume of air that can catch the device in an hour of operation. The capacity of the weakest kitchen hood can be 150 m3 / h, and the most powerful - 2500 m3 / h.

The extent to which your hood should be powerful depends on the size of the kitchen (including the size of the attached rooms, if any).

Step 5. Pay attention to the noise level

Do you want to cook with relative silence? Choose a hood with a noise level of up to 45 decibels. True, stand quiet hoods are significantly more expensive, and sometimes their silence is achieved by reducing the engine power.

• What kind of hood is better - with one super-powerful motor or with two slightly less powerful ones? The second option is preferable, since it allows the hood to work not too loudly and at the same time is quite effective.
• Inexpensive hoods are always noisy. Models with a noise level of more than 50 dB can make noise almost as loud and annoying as a hair dryer or a vacuum cleaner.

Step 6. Choose the type of control

Different hoods have different controls: push-button, touch, electronic (with remote control) or slider (see p. a photo).

• In our opinion, it is worth giving preference to a device with a touch panel control with backlighting - it is much easier to keep it clean than the protruding buttons now and again threatening to "stuck" in fat.

Step 7. We deal with additional functions

• Almost all hoods are equipped with lamps. This simple addition often helps out during cooking, so in the store it makes sense to test the backlight for ease of turning on and replacing the lamp. Ideally, the bulbs in the hood should be LED - they are safe, do not burn out for a long time, do not heat up and are easily disposed of.

• Depending on the "heap you can see models with 1-2 speeds of air intake and even with 10. In our opinion, there is not much sense to overpay for the abundance of speeds, 3-4 modes will be enough for most non-professional cooks.
• Also, modern hoods are almost always equipped with a timer or a residual-stroke button, which makes it possible to synchronize its operation with the stove.
• When buying a hood, it's worth making sure that it has a residual current sensor and a sensor that reminds you that it's time to replace / clean the fat filter.
• Some manufacturers (for example, Siemens) built in the hood even TVs.

Step 8. We plan the design of the hood

If you decide to purchase a built-in or pendant model, then the need to choose a design disappears by itself. But when choosing a fireplace type fireplace, the appearance of the case plays a big role. Here are some tips to help you:

• For classical and "rural" interiors it is necessary to choose built-in invisible hoods or dome devices in retro or country style. The carving, artificially aged finish of the case, inserts made of brass or antique silver - all this will be very appropriate in traditional kitchens. The benefits of retro-style models are now on the market by almost all manufacturers. By the way, the standard hood can be covered with a decorative dome.

• For modern interiors, devices of concise design with clear or rounded shapes are more suitable. Perhaps, colored and with a print, with glossy, matte or chrome finish. The main thing is that their size and shape should not be at the expense of the functionality of the technology, as it often happens in practice.
• So, for example, we recommend to abandon the popular inclined hoods as in the photo below. Due to the slope of the case, such instruments become ineffective, although they look great, occupy little space, easy to use and do not allow high users to accidentally hit their head on visor.

Another unfortunate example of choosing the hood - this "cylinder" is too small for a plate with 4 burners.

• The color of the hood is the safest choice in the tone of the facade, wall or apron.
• It is easiest to take care of the hoods made of metal, as well as the instruments of a light shade, for example, metallic or white.
• The most difficult in the care - it's hoods of dark colors with a glossy surface as in the photo below.

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