All about kitchen hoods. Electric hobs: the main points you need to know Slider control type

Hood type

In order to equip your kitchen with a comfortable modern hood, you need to decide on its type. This choice depends, first of all, on how you plan to mount a particular model: on the wall, on the ceiling of the kitchen, under the cabinet or install a built-in hood.

For wall mounting, fireplace-type hoods are ideal: outwardly, they resemble a chimney cap. Their variety are corner models.

Unlike wall-mounted, island models are mounted to the ceiling and are most often used in large rooms with a stove in the middle of the kitchen. Flat canopy hoods can be easily mounted under any kitchen cabinet above the stove or directly against the wall. Compact built-in models are also popular, the air outlet of which is hidden inside a hanging cabinet. Only the lower part of the hood with a sliding carriage or a fixed bottom panel remains visible: it increases the air intake surface and makes it easier to operate.

Also, when choosing a hood, you should pay attention to its design: it is important that it is combined with the rest of the interior in your kitchen, whether it is a modern high-tech style or antique-style wooden cabinets. Various models of hoods are made from a wide range of materials. The most popular is acrylic plastic, which can withstand high temperatures. Expensive models are made of stainless steel, high-strength glass or aluminum.

Hood Width

When choosing a quality functional hood, you should make sure that it fits perfectly under your stove. Just like stoves, hoods differ in width. The most common indicators are 50, 60 and 90 cm. If the width of the plate and the hood are the same, then you are guaranteed the highest quality work. If the ceiling height does not allow you to install a standard model, choose a flat hood.

Hood power

Of course, one of the decisive factors when choosing a hood is its power or performance. The quality of its work depends on how strong the extractor motor is. A powerful hood will cope with the absorption of unpleasant odors and smoke in a large room. For a small kitchen, an extractor hood with a lower capacity is suitable. The performance of the hood is primarily related to the size of the room in which it will work, and depends on the volume of your kitchen.

The area of an ordinary kitchen in Russian apartments is 10-12 square meters, and the ceiling height is 2.5-3 meters. For a room of this size, an ideal capacity would be between 400 and 600 m3/h, and the required minimum would be about 300 m3/h. It is very easy to calculate this indicator. In order to determine the ideal performance for your kitchen, use a simple formula - multiply the area of \u200b\u200bthe kitchen by the height of the ceiling and multiply the resulting figure by 10.

Hood operating modes

As a rule, most hoods can operate in one of two modes: exhaust and recirculation. Some models combine these two modes. In fact, both options are air purification in the kitchen, but they differ significantly from each other in the principles of work.

The hood with the principle of operation in the extraction mode absorbs air and brings it outside through a special hole in the wall of the apartment or through the ventilation system of the building. The filters that are installed in such hoods are designed to protect the internal mechanism from dirt and grease, but not to purify the air.

The hood with a recirculation system, on the contrary, purifies the air with the help of special filters, and then re-releases it into the kitchen, and not outside the room. In such an extract, both grease filters and additional ones work, which reliably protect the air from small particles of dust, smells of burning and soot. This hood is ideal for a room where it is impossible to ensure the removal of air to the outside. Most often in modern models two modes are presented at once.

Hood control

Even the most modern and sophisticated model should be easy to operate to give you maximum freedom of action in the kitchen. There are three most common types of controls that will help you easily cope with the hood: electronic, push-button and slider.

Electronic control usually has LED indicators or a light board. Pseudo-sensor buttons will help to work with the hood: just press them to activate or deactivate a particular function. Such buttons, when pressed, emit a soft click and do not sink, unlike models with push-button controls: in them, to activate the function, you need to press the buttons until they sink. The slider control is a sliding mechanical switch, which is usually located at the base of the hood under the dome.

Hood functionality

A modern hood must be convenient and easy to use, as well as have a number of additional functions that are aimed not at air purification, but at increasing the comfort of working in the kitchen. Since the cooking process takes a considerable amount of time, a functional hood will help you save it.

The hood is located directly above the stove, so it is very convenient to use it to illuminate the work surface. You can choose a model with intense or subdued light, many hoods have the ability to adjust the brightness of the lighting. Lamps will easily illuminate both the hob and the entire kitchen. Lamp power can vary from 10 to 50 watts.

There are several types: incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, neon and LED. The traditional option is incandescent lamps, the spiral in them creates thermal lighting. Daylight lamps are much more economical: these are gas-light tubes, the walls of which are coated with a special composition - a phosphor. When discharged, it emits light close to daylight. Neon lamps have an orange-red tint. Halogen lamps are compact in size and have a high luminous efficiency, while LED lamps generate practically no heat, are very durable and last in record time.

If you appreciate the compactness of appliances and save space in the kitchen, the hood with a retractable screen is the ideal choice for you. In a non-working position, it will take up a minimum of space, and a working screen will carefully cover the area of \u200b\u200bthe burners. Many of these models automatically turn on when the screen is pulled out.

The useful "Residual fan stroke" function ensures that the air in the kitchen is thoroughly cleaned after cooking. Thanks to it, even after turning off the hood, the fan will continue to operate at low speed for 10-20 minutes.

Many modern models turn on automatically when the stove is turned on - this ensures the most efficient operation of the hood.

Filtration

The type of filter is one of the important factors that affect the service life and quality of the hood. A high-quality filter copes with 96% of unpleasant odors and grease particles in 5 minutes. The most efficient and durable models with a grease filter: it reliably traps dirt, soot and grease, and is also very easy to replace and clean.

The grease filter can generally be safely washed in hot water or in the dishwasher without risk of damage. This type of filter is also called a coarse filter - it retains particles of fat. Grease filters are made in the form of a mesh of aluminum, steel or synthetic materials - in the latter case they are disposable. Such filters reliably protect the hood mechanism and its inner walls, as well as increase the life of the model.

There are also fine filters: they are made of activated carbon and are designed to neutralize unpleasant odors. You will need a hood with such a filter if there are problems with ventilation in the room.

Noise level

In order for your work in the kitchen to be pleasant and comfortable, the hood should not distract you from the cooking process with its noise. In modern models, the sound of the motor is muffled with the help of a special anti-vibration gasket that separates it from the hood body.

Ideally, your range hood should operate at no more than 50 dB, which is equivalent to a quiet conversation. If the noise level is less than 35 dB, then it can be compared to a whisper. The low noise level is also achieved through acoustic packages and special bearings in the hood. They allow you to minimize any noise and make your stay in the kitchen comfortable.

Classification of hoods, filters, noise level, control, lighting.

Hood classification

"Flat" - suspended, mounted on the wall under the hanging kitchen cabinet or without it above the stove. Many manufacturers have grease filters in such hoods, as a rule, made of acrylic fabric (disposable). Suspended hoods have small motors and mostly operate in recirculation mode (see below). This mode of operation requires disposable carbon filters, which trap smaller particles and slightly neutralize odor. Suspended hoods "KRONAsteel" already have carbon filters as standard. This class of hoods is considered the cheapest.
Built-in hoods mounted in a hanging kitchen cabinet above the stove. They usually have a retractable panel, which increases the air intake area and makes it easier to control the hood. When the panel is pulled out, the hood turns on in the mode in which you turned it off (see the operating instructions). This is a more compact design and more technically advanced than "flat" hanging hoods. Some built-in hoods are equipped with two motors, which increase performance, and washable, multilayer aluminum grease filters. Some manufacturers complete built-in hoods with one motor and a disposable acrylic fabric grease filter. Don't skimp on these options. This class of hoods is not much more expensive than suspended ones.
Dome hoods mounted on a wall or ceiling above the stove, have a fireplace (dome) shape. This class is divided into three types: all-metal, metal with glass or framed by wood, "classic" - trimmed with wood. Dome hoods are diverse in design, have a large assortment of shapes, sizes, and colors. Differences in the model ranges of manufacturers mainly relate to technical parameters, workmanship, engine parameters, control methods

An important element in the hood is filters.

Hoods can be equipped with two types of filters.

Grease filters purify the air from suspended particles (fat, gas combustion products, etc.). They can be disposable made of synthetic material and reusable made of aluminum foil or mesh. Some are equipped with aluminum grease filters. Anti-grease aluminum filters consist of several layers of perforated aluminium. Holes in aluminum sheets are made in such a way as to create maximum air throughput with minimum noise. These filters last the entire life of the hood and need to be cleaned periodically in a solution of warm water with a non-aggressive detergent or in a dishwasher. When washing in the machine, the filters must be positioned vertically so that solid food residues do not clog the filter openings.
carbon filter fine cleaning (disposable) - trap smaller particles and slightly neutralize the smell. Charcoal filters are purchased separately throughout the operation of the hood, so installation in recirculation mode should be resorted to last. When using carbon filters, the frequency of their replacement depends on the frequency of use of the hood.

Noise level

Noise level data is indicated in the catalog, as well as they can be obtained from sales consultants. The noise level is measured in decibels. To understand the decibel scale, you can compare the parameters from the following reference points:

quiet room, auditorium - 30 decibels
soft music - 40 decibels
noise in a restaurant with open windows - 50 decibels
the average level of conversational speech at a distance of 1 m - 60 decibels
noise inside the tram - 70 decibels
typing bureau - 80 decibels
pain aisle, the sound is no longer audible -130 decibels

Studies have shown that excessive noise from the hood is very depressing for people in the kitchen. Sometimes women spend more than five hours a day in the kitchen. It is very important to find the "golden" mean between power and noise.

Pay attention to exhaust control

Modern hoods have the following control options:

"slider"-slider, "push-button", "pseudosensory"- microphones are used, for example, like a VCR, "touch" - control from touch.
Convenient and practical is the "push-button" and "pseudo-touch" control. Such controls are located on the front panel in front of your eyes, and not from below like a "slider". They do not get greasy, they are clearly visible, they are easy to care for.

The original technical development is a "pseudo-sensor" control unit (for easier perception, in the catalog this control is referred to as touch). It consists of 4-5 buttons that switch engine and light modes. Above the buttons, an LED lights up, allowing you to see in which mode the hood is operating. The speeds are switched randomly. In addition, this unit has a built-in electronic timer. You have finished cooking, turn on the timer, the hood will turn itself off after removing the last residual smell, steam, etc. This is a very convenient feature that allows you to save kitchen furniture and not think about turning off the hood.

Hood lighting

Hoods use incandescent, incandescent daylight or halogen lamps. Hoods with halogen lamps are more expensive, but consume less energy with better efficiency. Replacing burned out incandescent bulbs is not difficult.

What determines the efficiency of the extractor

From whether it is brought into the ventilation shaft or works in recirculation mode. The most effective option is to vent air into the ventilation shaft.
from carbon filters. Whatever the carbon filter, it does not remove odors 100%, moreover, the denser it is, the less effective the hood becomes.
From grease filters. The cross section of the filter plays an important role.
From the performance margin. The performance reserve allows you to be able to remove polluted air when food is burned or other extreme operating conditions of the hood.
From the pressure (pressure) created by the motor. The high air pressure generated by the motor ensures that performance is not greatly reduced by "aggravating" circumstances (see safety factor).
From the size of the hood. The larger it is, the more air is sucked in from a larger area. No big swirls are created. The sides of the hinged kitchen cabinet do not dry out.
From the outlet diameter of the adapter to the flexible duct. The larger it is, the less effort is needed for the hood to release air.

Which ducts are best?

The larger the duct, the better. Do not narrow the duct and make sharp bends. Air ducts made of very thin aluminum foil begin to rustle when the hood is turned on. Air ducts made of thick aluminum foil are preferable, but also do not shine with sound insulation. "Accordion" also affects air resistance. Flexible PVC ducts are preferred. It is best to use round PVC boxes, without "accordion". They have corner elements, absorb noise and do not create air resistance. Rectangular PVC boxes are also on sale, the main thing is not to narrow the duct.

Why is it impossible to narrow the air duct with an adapter from a diameter of 125 to 100?

Because the principle of operation of the hood is such that it must throw out the declared volume of air per hour. If an additional obstacle in the form of a narrowing is encountered on the way, the hood will add engine speed. This means noise will increase - the principle of a vacuum cleaner, engine wear will increase.

In what cases is it necessary to use the hood in recirculation mode?

In case of unwillingness to overcome the difficulties encountered in connection with the connection of the hood to the ventilation shaft. You can always find a way to blow the air out of the kitchen, an extreme way to make a hole above the hood in the wall to the outside.

At what height above the hob should the hood be hung?

If the hob is gas, then at least 80-85 centimeters. As a rule, people do not always clean grease filters regularly. Grease builds up on them. If the hood hangs below 80 centimeters, then fire from an open flame is possible.
If the hob is electric, then at least 70-85 centimeters.

The instructions say that the hood must be grounded. For what..?

The fact is that there are power surges in the electrical network. If the hood is grounded, the hood motor will not burn out, the electronic control unit will not burn out, and the hood will not turn on spontaneously. Safety precautions must be followed.

Common parameters:

Frame / edging color- The color of the edging / framing of the hood. When choosing a hood, it is necessary to take into account the color of the edging so that it blends harmoniously into the interior of the kitchen.

Main color- The actual color of the product, prevailing on the surface of the position.

Model- The actual product model declared by the manufacturer. It includes the name of the brand, series, article, has a certain set of characteristics.

Type- Depending on the location and type of construction, all hoods can be divided into three conditional groups: suspended, built-in and fireplace (dome).
Suspended models belong to the budget class of hoods and most often work only in circulation mode. Such hoods have a working area equal to the hob above which they are located, and a small height, due to which they are sometimes also called flat suspended ones. They are installed under the kitchen cabinet. It is necessary to take into account the height of the cabinet itself, so that the lower part of the hood housing and adjacent cabinets are approximately on the same line.
Built-in models operate in flow mode and therefore require ductwork. Their main advantage is that they can be completely hidden under the countertop or in the kitchen cabinet.
Chimney (dome) hoods got their name because of the similarity of the design with the exhaust system of conventional fireplaces. Air first enters the dome-shaped housing and exits into the ventilation through the duct. Such hoods are selected most often at the stage of equipping a kitchen set and equipment.

Design- When choosing a hood, you need to pay attention to the design. They are suspended, built-in, and also fireplace.
The first includes models whose design provides for the so-called "umbrella", it is also an air intake, which should be above the surface of the plate. This part of the hood can be straight or curved, metal or glass - it depends on the model and design frills. Fastening of such devices is carried out directly to the wall, next to which the stove is located.
Another type of kitchen air cleaner is built-in. They, as a rule, are mounted in a wall cabinet designed for this purpose above the stove, and do not take up much space. The air intake panel remains outside, which in many models is pushed forward during operation to cover as much area as possible above the stove.
Chimney or dome hoods are solid structures that look like truncated cones. They owe their name to the similarity with the classic version of old fireplace hoods. Their advantages include their high performance, air purification quality, as well as a huge number of design options and colors.
Inclined hoods have the ability to adjust the angle of placement relative to the hob or stove.

Housing material- Manufacturers use different materials to create the body of the hoods: plastic, stainless steel, aluminum, glass. Plastic is the cheapest option, but this material can turn yellow over time. The most optimal in terms of price and quality is aluminum. It does not leave fingerprints, it does not give in to corrosion and is easy to clean. Stainless steel and glass also perform well in terms of operation, but need constant care, albeit simple.

Edge material/ribs/railing- Material that serves as a decorative edging / rib / railing of the hood box or its front panel.

Color declared by the manufacturer- The color declared by the manufacturer.

Main characteristics:

Operating modes- Some models of hoods are able to work only in the exhaust air mode, others - in the circulation mode. There are models that work in both modes.
In the circulation mode, the air driven by the fan through the hood is cleaned thanks to a grease filter and an activated carbon filter (it can be included in the kit, but more often purchased separately, see "Filter"). The clean air is then fed back into the room. The service life of a standard carbon filter is on average 4-6 months, after which it must be replaced. The air circulation mode is used if it is not possible to remove polluted air outside the room. Also, the circulation mode is convenient in winter, when it is unprofitable to release warm air outside. The circulation mode is not provided for all hoods, which must be remembered when choosing a particular model.
In the exhaust air mode, all kitchen fumes are removed outside the room through the ventilation system of the building. The efficiency of this mode is higher, but it requires connecting the hood to the ventilation system. Models that can work both in the withdrawal mode and in the circulation mode allow you to choose the appropriate option depending on various factors (for example, the time of year, the characteristics of your kitchen).

Type of control- The control of the kitchen hood can be clocked, rotary, and also carried out using sliders (sliders) or sensors.
Sliders are used only in hoods, the power of which and the intensity of lighting are adjusted by moving the slider, separate for each function.
Touch control is considered the most convenient: all commands are carried out by lightly touching the symbols printed on the panel, under which there are special touch sensors.
Rotary control is implemented by adjusting the rotary knobs, so you can quickly and with maximum accuracy adjust one or another operating mode.
Clock control is carried out by buttons, levers.

Display- Existence at an extract of the special display facilitating control over operation of an extract and its adjustments.

Number of speeds- The number of speeds of the hood provided by the manufacturer.

Motor power- Motor power is different. The more powerful the fan motor, the greater the performance, but also the noise emitted.

Number of engines- The number of motors that rotate the fan(s) of the hood. Most modern hoods are equipped with a single motor, but there are models with two - such devices are usually more powerful, but consume more energy and often make more noise.

Maximum performance- The amount of air (volume) driven by the hood per hour. Performance is also directly related to the power of the hood. For example, a power of 500 W is enough for a very high level of performance.

Timer- The hood has a special timer, with which you can set the time for automatic shutdown of the hood.

Filter- Type of filter included.

Peculiarities:

Filter clogging indicator- The presence of a special indicator that controls the degree of contamination of the filter and displays information to the user about the need to replace the filter.

Lighting type- Incandescent lamp - a type of lamp with an incandescent spiral.
Halogen - a type of incandescent lamp that contains a special gas, due to which these lamps are more durable than conventional incandescent lamps.

Intensive mode- The mode of constant and powerful removal of air. Very useful in cases where something burns.

Retractable design- A design feature in which the hood has a retractable visor (predominates mainly in fully built-in ones).

Power of each lamp- The power of lighting lamps installed in the hood. Most often, incandescent lamps with a power of 20-40 W, halogen lamps with a power of 20 W and fluorescent lamps with a power of 10-15 W are used. Two or four of these lamps are enough to effectively illuminate the working surface of the stove.

Anti-return valve- This valve does not let air into the kitchen from the outside when the hood is turned off.

Number of lighting lamps- The maximum number of lighting lamps that can be installed in the hood.

Additional Information:

Noise level- The maximum noise level emitted by the hood during operation, in decibels (dB).

Additionally- Additional characteristics of the hood that distinguish it from the rest. This may be an additional filter, the presence of an intensive mode, a display, auto-on, etc.

Power cable length- Actual length of the power cable. As a rule, the length is 1-2 m. The larger this indicator, the greater the possibility of placing the hood away from the mains.

Remote control- The remote control device will make it easier for you to work with the hood.

Embedding dimensions:

Embedding width- The width of the free space where the hood is planned to be placed.
Please note that the dimensions of the hood must correspond to the dimensions of the work surface above which it is installed. The hood will work efficiently only if its air intake hood completely covers the plate plane - then the leakage of polluted air will be minimal. If space permits, you can install the hood a little wider than the working surface of the stove (for example, for a 60 cm wide cooker, you can also buy a 90 cm wide hood). But due to space savings, most users still install hoods that are equal in width to the stove.

Minimum build-in height- The height of the hood canopy varies from 5 to 200 cm. This parameter indicates the maximum distance between the bottom panel of the case and the ventilation hole. If we are talking about a fireplace type of hood, then this value also takes into account the height of the duct.

Duct diameter- The diameter of the pipe for removing unnecessary vapors is from 100 to 200 mm.
The air duct is a pipe that removes all kitchen fumes to the ventilation shaft. In order to correctly install it, it is necessary to take into account the correspondence between the diameter of the exhaust pipe and the inlet of the ventilation shaft. Some manufacturers, just in case, immediately complete the hood with an adapter so that installation does not cause difficulties.

Embedding depth- The actual dimension of the hood installation depth.

Dimensions and weight:

Packing depth- The actual depth of the packaged goods. It should be borne in mind that the depth of the package will be several centimeters larger than the depth of the device itself. It is worth considering this characteristic when transporting goods.

Packing height- The actual height of the packaged goods. It should be borne in mind that the height of the package will be several centimeters more than the height of the device itself. It is worth considering this characteristic when transporting goods.

Packing width- The actual width of the packaged goods. It should be borne in mind that the width of the package will be several centimeters larger than the width of the device itself.

Weight- Actual weight of the hood. An important characteristic, because in some cases the weight of the hood, together with fasteners, does not allow it to be installed on a false ceiling.

Width- The actual width of the hood. It must be smaller than the installation width so that it is possible to fix the hood and also remove it without hindrance.

Depth- Actual draw depth. Often the depth is selected according to the size of the hob so that the hood completely covers this space.

Height- The actual height of the hood. The height of the entire hood structure is from the lower edge to the upper part of the body (the point of connection of the external air duct). For hoods with an adjustable design that allows you to change the height of the body, the maximum height in the classical sense is implied - the size of the device in the "unfolded" state; in the case of non-adjustable hoods, this means a correspondingly constant overall height. When choosing a hood in height, it is worth proceeding from two points:
The optimal height of the air intake above the hob is 60-80 cm. This height allows the hood to effectively capture kitchen fumes and at the same time gives enough space to work with the hob.

Below I will describe the hood control unit, the main element of which is the MQ-2 smoke detector.

Foreword

In connection with the rise in gas prices, in recent years, boilers based on alternative energy sources (electric and solid fuel) are gaining more and more popularity. The installation helped me reduce heating costs in the last heating season by about 4-5 times. By the way, in addition to replacing the boiler, I constantly increase the energy efficiency of my house in other ways (replaced all the lamps with LEDs, controls heating, installed high-quality energy-saving windows, and the walls are currently being insulated with polystyrene foam).
So, about the problem itself: to install the boiler, I built a room with a separate entrance, this made it possible to prevent smoke and dust from entering the living quarters, but at the same time, to go to the boiler room, you need to dress to go outside. Of course, this is not the biggest problem, especially since one load of firewood is enough for at least a day, and coal for up to three days, but when ignited (especially if you burn firewood), smoke accumulates in the boiler room, to remove which exhaust ventilation was installed, but the constant operation of such ventilation is equivalent to heating the street, it draws warm air from the boiler room, which seems to be not scary, since the room is non-residential, but as we know from physics, heat loss is directly proportional to the temperature difference, for example, at a coolant temperature of 45 degrees, lowering the air temperature in the room from +18 to +5 increases the loss of thermal energy in the boiler house by a third. In addition, electricity costs per month are about 10 kWh (it seems to be not much, but it is about 5% of my monthly consumption).
Thus, there is a need to control the hood. On the one hand, energy savings, and on the other hand, there is no need to go outside to turn off the hood after the air in the room is cleared.

Solutions

1. Ready-made sensor - the option has disappeared due to the high cost of models with an external output.
2. Assemble the block board based on arduino and the corresponding shields.
3. Assemble your own board consisting of an MQ-2 smoke detector and a comparator that opens the relay.
4. Assemble the device from the MQ-2 shield and the relay shield (it was inspired by the presence on most Chinese modules of not only analog, but also digital outputs).

In terms of cost and labor costs, the latter option seemed to me the most acceptable.

Accessories

1.
2.
3.
4. (purchased from a local online store)
5. The connector for connecting the fan is taken from the old power supply.

MQ-2 module

power unit

circuit diagram

Looks like this:

Assembly

The assembly of the device was not distinguished by cunning and complexity.
I fixed the components inside with hot glue snots.
For the sensor mesh, I drilled a hole, which I then expanded with a file.
The connections were made by soldering wires to the terminals of the combs (I didn’t bother with soldering the combs).

Result:

Outside

Inside

The device is fully operational, it reacts cheerfully to the smoke from the match. As far as I'm free, I'll get connected to a permanent place of "residence".

PS: the review turned out to be somewhat chaotic, please do not judge strictly.

I plan to buy +53 Add to favorites Liked the review +28 +74

In this article we will help you understand the variety of modern hoods and their technical characteristics, and the photographs accompanying the article will help you see them more clearly.

What is a kitchen hood for?

If you don’t have a hood in your kitchen yet, then installing it solves several problems at once:

During cooking, fumes, grease and soot settle on kitchen utensils, interior items, windows, walls, etc. And if the dishes, windows and some furniture are easy enough to wash, then such a trick will not work with the walls and ceiling - you will have to prepare for unscheduled repairs. Evaporation on them leads to yellowing of not only the top layer, but rather deeply eats into the surface, furniture not covered with varnish or paint can deteriorate irrevocably. The kitchen hood is designed to capture and remove fumes and odors, thereby purifying and refreshing the air in the kitchen and throughout the apartment.
In addition to fumes, when cooking on a gas stove, a large amount of carbon dioxide is released. At its concentration, the state of health worsens, fatigue increases, a headache may appear, and at a high concentration in combination with high humidity and temperature, even fainting is possible. Another danger is a danger to life - if the burner goes out, then without gas removal, its concentration is possible up to an explosive consistency.
In addition to safety and interior protection aspects, there is one more thing - not all products are fragrant during cooking and often have a rather specific unpleasant smell. For example, the most delicious fish during frying is unlikely to delight gourmet smells. If these smells are not removed, then they literally eat into clothes, pieces of furniture and even walls, this problem cannot be solved by airing after cooking. Especially all the "charm" of cooking smells will be appreciated by a pregnant woman during toxicosis.

With the installation of the hood, all these problems simply disappear.

Selecting the type of hood

Classic range hood

In its most classic form, a cooker hood is a device that is mounted above a hob or stove, can be placed as an independent kitchen unit, or can be disguised by masking a wall cabinet or other piece of furniture. The classic hood has the most important advantage - an affordable price, while the appearance is rather monotonous. You will hardly find significant differences between standard hoods from different manufacturers.

Built-in hood

A built-in hood, as a rule, is designed in such a way that, after being built into a wall cabinet above the stove, it is almost invisible. Such invisibility is also facilitated by its extremely small thickness.

A built-in cooker hood will be an excellent solution in a kitchen with a small “footage”, it will save precious free space. The cabinet in which the hood is mounted, by the way, remains functional.

Dome hood

This type of dome hood is installed in such a way that it hangs directly above the hob or stove. Dome hoods come in a variety of shapes: parallelepiped, conical cylindrical, trapezoidal. In addition, they can be made at right angles or with an inclination to the working surface.

Today, hoods of this type are in the greatest demand and are considered the most acceptable option for the kitchen, and there are many reasons for this:

Ease of assembly and installation. To install such a hood in the kitchen, it is not necessary to call a specialist, any person with a minimum set of tools can easily cope with such a task.
Variety of standard sizes. You can easily choose a hood that will be relevant in both tiny and large kitchens.
Noiselessness. As a rule, dome hoods are equipped with high-quality, technically advanced engines compared to standard hoods, and being near it, you can not immediately guess that it is working.
Advanced functionality. Some models are equipped with a touch control panel, and models with remote control are also available.

Retractable hood

A retractable hood has a telescopic mechanism (hence their second name - telescopic), which allow you to extend such a hood over the stove or hob directly during cooking.

The main advantage of such a hood is the miniaturization of the design, combined with serious technical characteristics, it will be relevant in a small kitchen. Spectacular appearance allows you to "beat" this feature in the interior of the kitchen. As a rule, a retractable hood does not have an air duct and therefore will be an excellent solution for a kitchen where it is not possible to connect the hood to the exhaust duct.

island hood

This type of hood, unlike other models, is not mounted near the wall, but directly in the ceiling above the stove. In modern spacious kitchens, the working zone is often located in the center of the room; it is for such kitchens that the island kitchen was created.

When choosing such a kitchen hood, you must use a simple rule - the higher the ceilings, the more powerful the hood should be.

Selecting an exhaust filter

Any modern hood has a filter in its design, regardless of whether it is equipped with an outlet to the exhaust duct or not.

Oil filters

The oil filter is designed to capture the volatile fractions of fats and oils released during cooking. When heated, fats and oils partially turn into a gaseous form and, then settling on interior items, walls, windows, ceilings, cover them with a dark, sticky oily film that is difficult to clean and literally eats into all surfaces. In addition, getting on the exhaust fan, this substance can disable it in a matter of months, in order to avoid this, an oil filter must be present in the design. Depending on the design, it can be disposable or reusable.

For the production of disposable filters, acrylic, synthetic winterizer, non-woven or a combination of these materials are used. Such a filter in appearance resembles a small porous rug. As it becomes dirty, the disposable filter must be replaced, its cleaning or washing is not allowed, since in this case it does not restore its original properties, but rather loses the rest of its filtering abilities and the hood may fail.

Unlike disposable filters, reusable filters do not need to be changed when dirty. They are remarkably easy to clean and are usually designed to last the life of the cooker hood. Replacement will be necessary only if you damage it mechanically during cleaning or assembly/dismantling.

A reusable filter visually looks like a metal grill with layers of thin mesh foil. It is not only possible, but also necessary to be cleaned periodically by washing. The frequency of cleaning depends on the intensity of use of the cooker hood. A reusable filter is more expensive than a disposable one, but it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

Carbon filters

As the name implies, the filter material in such a filter is activated carbon, its absorbent properties are great for cleaning the air in the kitchen.

And although the carbon filter can also capture oil and fat fumes, its main task is to neutralize odor. In addition, it copes worse with fatty and oil fumes than conventional filters, and it costs more, so most often it is installed after the oil filter. When buying a hood equipped with a carbon filter or additionally equipped with such a filter, already after purchase (in models where such a possibility is provided), it must be taken into account that the carbon filter reduces the filtered air flow by at least 20%, and during further operation (as it gets dirty) this percentage increases. The average life of a carbon filter is three to four months.

The hood, equipped with such a filter, must be left on for some time to remove excess moisture from the carbon filter, thereby extending its service life.

Control panel in the kitchen hood

Button control

The very first of the emerging types of management remains, by far, the most common. This is facilitated by the extreme simplicity and reliability of this type of control. On the first hoods, all control was reduced to one on / off button, now push-button control provides much more options for controlling the hood: turning on the backlight, adjusting the fan speed, etc.

The main and, perhaps, the only drawback of such control is the difficulty of cleaning the control keys and, as a result, contamination, penetrating inside the buttons, can lead to their “sticking” or even failure.

slider control

The essence of the slider control is based on the movement of the sliders to different positions of regulation through these parameters of the kitchen hood. Compared to push-button controls, slider controls allow you to more accurately control the operation of the cooker hood or, for example, control the backlight intensity. The runners can have both a set of fixed positions and smooth positions, allowing for stepless adjustment.

The disadvantage is common with push-button control, and even more pronounced - the difficulty of cleaning and penetration of contaminants into the adjustment mechanism.

Touch control

Touch control adjusts the operating parameters of the cooker hood by pressing certain areas of the touch screen. It combines the reliability of push-button and the smoothness of slider regulation.

And while a touchpad is easier to clean than a pushbutton or slider, it's best not to touch it with wet, dirty, or sticky hands.

Connection to communications

With duct

If it is possible to connect a kitchen hood to the exhaust duct or it is possible to bring the air duct outside, then this type of equipment is most often purchased. With this connection method, the intensity of air circulation is very high and evaporation is removed from the room faster and more efficiently. The reverse side of the intensive air circulation is that, along with evaporation, heat also flies out into the pipe, which is especially noticeable in winter.

When buying, pay attention to the air duct, the smoother its walls, the less resistance the output air will experience.

Additional selection criteria

Above, we introduced you to the main characteristics and types of kitchen hoods, but there are a number of additional points that you should pay attention to when choosing this kitchen device.

The current sanitary standards prescribe for any room to have an appropriate air exchange rate. The meaning of this indicator is the frequency of complete air renewal in one hour. Of course, if you do not adhere to these standards in your home, then no one will fine you for this, however, serious calculations and your health are behind these coefficients, so we recommend that you take them into service. For a kitchen, this indicator should range from 7 to 12. For example, for a kitchen with dimensions of 3x3x2.5 (WxDxH), the hood performance should be at least 3x3x2.5x7 = 157.5 cubic meters per hour.
The larger the suction surface of the hood, the more effective the absorption of harmful fumes.
A loud fan has a strong irritant effect, if possible, choose the quietest suitable hood.
The presence of built-in lighting allows you to cook without a central light and even more accurately determine the degree of readiness in appearance.
In some devices, it is possible to program an autonomous periodic activation of the hood. Of course, it is more suitable for professional kitchens, but if you cook often and a lot, you will also appreciate this feature.