Whether it is a residential or a commercial kitchen, the installation of a cooker hood is of crucial importance as it adds functionality and enhances the look of the cooking area. A cooker hood, known with its alternative names like kitchen hood, kitchen exhaust hood, extractor hood and range hood—is a device which is fixed above the cooking area and functions to remove unpleasant odors, harmful gases, smoke and grease from the kitchen which arises while cooking. As a result, the kitchen air is cleaned of any particulate materials that may affect breathing.
The kitchen hood is of two types—a ductless or recirculation system and a ventilation system. In the former, the contaminated air arising from cooking passes through a filter which blocks all the impurities and sends out clean air which is deposited into the kitchen again. The cooker hood filter is usually in the form of metal mesh. In contrast, the recirculation hood comes with a system of exhaust fans which gathers all the vapors, grease and smoke from the cooking area and expels it outside the property into the open air. The range hoods are as long and wide as the stove so that the air arising from cooking pans can be easily inhaled in by the filters and exhaust fans.
The exhaust fans are further divided into axial and centrifugal fans. The fans are installed in the duct which connects the hood with the chimney. The axial fans are circular in shape, much like the ceiling fans and popularly used in kitchen hoods whereas, the centrifugal fans are in the form of a barrel. Unlike the axial fans, the centrifugal fans are expensive, and they work fast to remove the mal air out of the kitchen without giving rise to any mechanical noise.
The cooker hoods can be installed in various styles, depending upon the position of the stove. It is either present in the center of the kitchen right above the kitchen island oven or attached to the wall and even in the sliding, angular and visible form in case the oven is fixed to the wall. The right positioning of the range hood can change the look of the entire kitchen.
The range hood consists of small halogen or incandescent lights which enable the cooks to see what is being cooked in the pans. It offers great convenience as the lights are close to the stove and without any blockage falls directly on the cooking food. The automatic timer is an important feature after lighting, which activates the exhaust fans and cooker hood filters when needed and turns off when the needle of the air meters shows no presence of marred air.
The kitchen hoods come in different materials but stainless steel and wooden hoods are preferred as they match with the décor and electrical appliances placed on the kitchen counters. A number of kitchen accessories manufacturers are producing quality range hoods. The notable names include Broan, Kobe, Vent-A-Hood, Elicia, Futuro Futuro and Neff cooker hoods.
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