Here is a guide of the most important factors to consider when buying new kitchen extractor hoods.
- Price. This one should be an obvious no-brainer: the more parts you buy, the more expensive your kitchen extractor hood will be. Make sure you include the cost of ducting into the total price. The duct is the long pipe or steel connector that takes all the greasy air from your kitchen and propels it outside.
Another thing that can affect your price is the fans. Even though you might be tempted to buy a venting fan, ducting fans perform a better function in that they literally throw all the smelly, humid air out of your house, whereas the venting fans clean and recirculate it. Venting fans also need to be cleaned more often to maintain their function.
- Width. Measure and carefully look into the aesthetics of your kitchen before choosing a kitchen hood. Your hood will need to be big enough to fully suck all the dirty air out, and yet not be so big as to overpower your kitchen.
- Filters. These are the basic ‘tools’ of kitchen extractor hoods: they clean the air and they push it out of the house. So when buying a kitchen hood, make sure spare parts and replacements for the filters are readily available. Since dirty, over clogged filters will inhibit your kitchen hood from functioning, they will need regular cleaning and maintenance. So keeping an eye out for filters that can be cleaned easily or are dishwasher proof will make your life much easier once you buy them!
- The extraction rate. This is the number of times your kitchen hood will replace all the air, or filter new air into, your kitchen every hour. To calculate the extraction rate, multiply the length, width and height of your kitchen. Ideally, you should multiply this volume by twelve, but the least you can do is by ten to get your ideal extraction rate. The extraction rate is measured in m3, and the rate of the hood you buy should be as close as possible to this ideal rate.
- Noise. This is measure in decibels. Ideally, your kitchen extractor hood should not have a noise level of higher than sixty to sixty five decibels.
- Lighting. This feature is becoming more and more important in kitchen hoods every day. It is not only highly functional, especially for kitchen islands, but also adds a nice stylish touch. Lights come in dimmer styles, for the environmentally conscious, as well as warmer lights to keep the food warm at the same time.
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