4 Things to Consider When Shopping for A Hood Fan
A wall mounted hood hood fan from our Centretown Kitchen project. View more from this project here. Installation: Three Six Five Developments
1. Ventilation Needs
Before you can even consider the style of your hood fan you should be asking two very important questions - where is your range located and where is the hood fan moving air to? In the case of hood fans, function is the most important aspect. Did you know that cooking on a stove top can create small particles that enter the air and can harm your health? Health Canada recommends using a hood fan with a 300CFM rating or more while you cook to prevent health risks.
The location of your range limits the type of hood fan that you can have. If your range is along a perimeter wall then you will have to have a wall mounted fan, undermount fan, or custom insert fan.
Rustic modern kitchen from our Vintage Haven project with custom hood insert fan on a perimeter wall. View more of this project here.
If your range is located in an island then you must use an island mount (ceiling mount) fan, custom insert fan, or downdraft fan.
An example of a downdraft hood installed in an island at our Waterloo project.
The next question is -where is it venting?
Most hood fans either vent straight back or straight up. The path it takes to get to an outside location is dependent on the parameters of your home. It is much better to have a short distance of vent run to the outside. This will reduce noise and be more efficient for removing unwanted air.
Most exposed hood fans don’t come with extra material to hide vent runs so if you like that exposed look, you may want to check with your contractor where the duct work will go to figure out if you need to get a custom cover.
2. Visibility
Do you want to show it off? Or hide it?
Some people love the look of an exposed metal hood - others just want it hidden away. There is no wrong answer here, it comes down to personal preference.
If you are looking to hide your hood fan you will need to buy a custom hood insert and have a custom box built to fit around it. The key is to have the hood fan on hand when that custom box is built. This may mean that you need to get this appliance delivered long before the other appliances in your kitchen. The custom insert allows you to shape your hood fan into whatever style works for you. You can match your cabinets to make it look like its not there, create a traditional plastered look, tile around it, there are lots of options!
We have a tendency towards hiding the hood fan.
In our Balfour Manor project, we used a regular cabinet to house the ducting and did a wood accent around the hood fan insert. This highlights the hood fan just enough. View more of this project here.
Island hood fans tend to be hard to hide so for this project, we made it a feature.
A custom island mount hood fan. A custom box was made for the fan and then it was wrapped with a porcelain sheet. From our Carlington Modern project with Three Six Five Developments.
3. Range Type
What kind of range do you have?
It's important to know the fuel you will be using for your range because there are certain code regulations for different fuel types.
You should also look for the installation specification on the range manuals as manufacturers provide the limitations of how the range can be installed.
There are minimum requirements for distances between the surface of the range and the hood fan for the hood fan to work effectively and in order to comply with safety regulations.
For gas ranges, in Ontario, it is required that the hood fan is mounted a minimum of 30” above the surface of the range.
For electric ranges (including induction) the distance is 24”.
LEFT: A custom hood insert fan above a gas range in our Minimalist Modern Century project. RIGHT: A custom hood insert fan above an electric cooktop in our Treehouse project. The design for our hood fan cabinet in these two projects was very similar except you can see in these photos for the electric cooktop we left 24” between the cooktop and the hood. For the gas cook top we left the minimum 30”.
Manufacturers will also require a certain distance between the range surface and the nearest combustible material directly above the surface. These values differ amongst different ranges so make sure your appliance sales rep sends you the installation instructions.
It’s also important to know that some materials just don’t work well above a gas range - that includes thermofoil cabinets, pvc cabinets and other materials that cannot withstand moisture and heat changes.
View more from The Treehouse project here.
4. Noise
How loud is it going to be?
Most people only consider the CFM rating on hood fans which equates to the amount of air the hood fan can remove in a given amount of time. There is also a decibel or sone rating for noise. Here is a great article to learn more about sones.
Noise can also be dependent on how the hood fan is installed. If you have a long duct run, you may find that the fan creates an echo in the duct and it is louder than if the hood is vented straight back. Talk to your designer or contractor for solutions if noise level is high on your priority list.