Here’s How to Choose the Right Range Hood for Your Kitchen

Range Hood Ventilation Types

Range hoods use two different types of ventilation. Vented and ventless functionalities are very distinct, and each has its own unique advantage. Here’s what you need to know.

Range Hood Styles

While range hoods perform an important function in your kitchen — removing cooking smoke, odour and airborne pollutants from the air — they help reinforce your kitchen design, too.Here are the most common range hood styles.

Range Hood Features

Get the right range hood for your lifestyle and cooking habits. Here are some features to weigh when choosing between different range hood models.

Power

Range hood power is measured by how much cubic feet of air per minute the unit can move (CFM). To calculate the minimum CFM, you’ll need to multiply your kitchen’s total cubic feet by 15 and then divide by 60 (the number of minutes in an hour).

Lights

Most range hoods have three or four lights and feature low and high settings for cooking or for different ambient lighting options.

Temperature Sensor

Commonly found on over-the-range microwaves, this sensor detects excessive heat and automatically turns the fan higher to protect the microwave from damage.

Auto Shut-Off

Look for this feature if you’re an avid cook with a forgetful streak: It allows you to pre-set the fan to shut off at a certain time, even if you forget

Fan Speed

Basic range hoods offer two fan speeds: a high-speed setting for cooking and a low, quiet setting to ventilate the kitchen afterward. Some models may have up to six distinct fan speeds to cater to your needs

Noise

The noise range hoods make is measured in sones. One sone is about equal to the sound of a refrigerator; four sones is normal conversation. More powerful range hoods will generally be louder, so look to the sone rating to find your noise comfort level