Last Updated: Jul 2, 2021
Kitchen range hoods come in all styles and silhouettes—from massive stainless-steel chimneys to slender glass arches. But how they look is not nearly as important as how well they handle the job of clearing the air in your kitchen. Far from being just a style statement, a well-functioning range hood is an essential component of a home's indoor air quality or IAQ.
The short answer is yes. Even though building codes may not require it (the rules are complicated, so check with local officials), over-the-stove ventilation is critical to eliminating airborne contaminants generated during cooking. These include moisture and grease particles and nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide, two potentially dangerous gases generated from gas stoves.
To choose the right range hood, consider the style of your kitchen – and your cooking. Do you like to grill, broil or stir-fry? If so, you'll need a hood that extends over the entire cooking surface, with a fan powerful enough to draw away all the smoke, steam, and splatter you can dish out. If your taste tends toward takeout and you use your stove infrequently, you could get by with a designer hood that's all about looks. Either way, you'll want a quality product that delivers the performance it promises. An excellent way to find one is to look for certification from the Home Ventilating Institute.
Ducted range hoods, which draw air from the cooking area and release it outside, effectively maintain good kitchen air quality. Recirculating hoods—also known as "ductless" or "duct-free"—collect air from above the stove, filter it, and blow it back out. While they may help remove smoke and steam, recirculating units do not rid the air of toxic gases - and you must maintain their filters for optimal performance. Choose a recirculating hood only when there is no pathway to vent your hood outdoors.
Stylistically, range hoods cover a broad, well, range. In a French country kitchen, you might opt for a liner insert set in a custom-made, decorative chimney. A sleek glass-and-stainless steel model might be a good choice in a contemporary environment. If you're on a budget, a simple wall-mount may do. But keep in mind that style can affect performance. Here are a few range-hood styles, and below, we will discuss the pros and cons of each:
Undercabinet hoods mount beneath cabinets above the cooktop and typically vent through the back of the cabinet. Their modest cost and easy installation make them popular, but be sure the unit you choose extends far enough to cover most of the cooktop.
This type of hood makes a dramatic statement in place of cabinets above the cooktop. Their tall vent stacks enable them to use efficient and often quieter in-line blowers.
Range hood inserts are sometimes called power packs and are installed inside a cabinet or a custom-designed chimney. They are very customizable and allow lots of design flexibility.
Island hoods are mounted and vented through the ceiling. They should be at least as wide as the cooking area below, and they should not be mounted so high as to be ineffective.
Downdraft vents are often used on islands, where a standard hood would be impractical or obtrusive. They can be integrated into the cooktop or separate, and some telescope up to better capture cooking air. Still, they are generally not as effective as suspended hoods in capturing steam. They can also interfere with the flame of gas stoves.
Microwaves that double as ventilation may seem convenient but rarely deliver the power of dedicated range hoods. Their flat bottoms do not extend over the entire cooking surface, and their blower must do double duty and work not only to remove contaminants but to cool the appliance above.
A range hood's ability to move air is measured in CFM or cubic feet per minute. You can determine how many CFM you need by considering your cooktop's size and adjusting that calculation based on the hood's positioning and your cooking style.
The Home Ventilating Institute's rule of thumb is 100 CFM for each linear foot of cooking surface. A typical 30-inch stove, then, would require a hood with at least 250 CFM. The rule is a bit different for professional-style stoves above 60,000 BTU. For those, the benchmark is 1 CFM for every 100 BTUs. If you buy a 60,000-BTU cooktop, you need a hood that can move at least 600 CFM.
From those benchmarks, consider the needs of your kitchen, stove, and lifestyle. If you grill or sear food often or have a powerful pro-style range, you'll need a hood with higher CFM. A gas stove that produces harmful combustion gasses requires more CFM than an electric one. Suppose you want to mount your hood higher than the manufacturer recommends. In that case, you'll want to add 100 CFM for every three inches above the recommended height.
All those CFMs come with a price, though – and not just in the money you lay out for that supersized 1,200-CFM hood. The more dirty air your hood removes from your kitchen, the more fresh air is needed to replace it. This replacement (also called "makeup") air can come from anywhere — including dusty attics and moldy basements. It can cause dangerous backdraft of gases from combustion appliances such as furnaces and water heaters. This risk is especially high in tight homes where the ventilation system cannot handle the sudden depressurization caused by an oversized range hood running full blast. In these cases, homeowners often choose between a recirculating range hood and installing an air makeup system with preheating connected to the range hood.
The International Residential Code now requires a dedicated makeup air system for range hoods over 400 CFM. These often consist of motorized vents installed behind the stove or cabinet where the incoming unconditioned air won't cause discomfort. More complex solutions involve units that heat the incoming air or tie into an existing ventilation system. If you're planning on a powerful hood, it's worth researching these options or consulting a home ventilation expert.
The first thing that will attract you to a particular unit is how it looks. But as with all appliances, it's what's under the "hood" that counts.
If your definition of "smart" means a range hood that you can control with a tap on your smartphone or a voice command directed at your home's smart speaker, the answer is yes. Several hoods from GE Appliances, for example, respond to commands via their SmartHQ app and through integration with Google Assistant and Alexa. The company also recently introduced the GE Profile Kitchen HubMicrowave, a 27-inch combination microwave and vent hood whose smart-touch screen and dual cameras let you cook side-by-side with other chefs miles away. (It also serves up recipes based on what's in your pantry and updates your grocery list for good measure.) Zephyr is another hood maker that offers smart control through mobile and voice-activated devices via its own app. Some Zephyr models are equipped with Bluetooth speakers so you can stream while you steam.
What US manufacturers have yet to offer is a truly "smart" range hood that monitors indoor air quality and responds automatically to refresh unhealthy air without human intervention. An effort by hood manufacturer Broan and the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy to develop this capability in a quiet, energy-efficient hood ended with developing a prototype in 2019. Based on that research, Broan expects to introduce a mass-market range hood in early 2022 activated by a heat sensor programmed to detect conditions indicative of poor IAQ. Such a hood can eliminate 70% of the contaminants contributing to unhealthy air, says Brian Wellnitz, the senior group product manager for kitchen ventilation. He said a more sophisticated and higher-priced "smart" hood that specifically monitors humidity and VOCs would follow before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Panasonic has developed the WhisperHood IAQ range hood. It does not have a built-in sensor but can be activated by a whole-house IAQ monitoring system available through contractors. As of this writing, the only self-contained IAQ-smart range hood available in the North American market appears to be the Pixie Air range hood. In November 2020, Chinese manufacturer Fotile introduced air-quality sensors that automatically identify contaminants and activate the fan to extract harmful gases.
Many appliance makers also make range hoods. Manufacturers such as Nortek (including brands Broan, NuTone, and Best) and GE (including Profile and Monogram) offer hoods across the price spectrum. Whirlpool and Kenmore make low- to mid-priced designs. Vent-A-Hood, Zephyr, Viking, and Wolf are among high-end brands. Others include Rangecraft, Proline, and KitchenAid.
Using improved filter design, more efficient motors, and better insulation, manufacturers have developed range hoods that are considerably quieter while still drawing significant CFM. In-line blowers, installed remotely in chimney-style hoods, can also cut down the noise. Range hood noise is rated in sones, with most producing 3-7 sones, a level equal to 40 to 60 decibels, about the same as a normal conversation. ENERGY STAR limits noise to 2 sones or less.
If you're simply replacing one hood with a new, similar one, and you're handy and comfortable making the electrical connections required, you can replace a hood yourself. Be sure to turn off the power to the circuit you're working on, and follow the manufacturer's directions. If the job involves adding ductwork or suspending the unit from the ceiling, it's worth calling in a pro.
The cost of a range hood varies widely, anywhere from $100 to $2,000. Design, power, style, features, and materials—as well as brand identity—all figure into that cost. You are also likely to need to have a new range hood installed. Installation costs also vary widely – from about $200 to $1,000 or more – based on the size and type of hood, how it's mounted, and whether new ductwork is required.
How much energy your range hood will use depends on its power and how much your run it. You'll gain an edge on energy savings and performance with an ENERGY STAR rated model, which averages 70 percent less energy use than standard hoods. ENERGY STAR-rated hoods also meet specific efficacy standards (how much air they move per watt), sound (in sones), and airflow. Currently, 115 models sold in the US and Canada carry the ENERGY STAR seal.
For high-CFM hoods, the real energy cost lies in the conditioned air they remove from the house. For that reason, Ottawa remodeler Paul Denys presses his clients to choose induction cooktops over gas, which require higher CFM. "It's the consumption of air that's a bigger energy penalty than the efficiency of the fan," he says.
The average life expectancy of a range hood is 14 years, with a wide variation based on the unit's use and quality. Warranties on new units range from one to five years. Proper ducting and routine maintenance, such as cleaning filters, can prolong the life of your hood.
The range hood you choose is likely to make a strong design statement in your kitchen. But remember that the real reason you have a range hood is to ensure good indoor air quality and a healthy kitchen environment. And that may be the most crucial lifestyle statement you can make.
Debra Judge Silber is a Connecticut-based journalist who writes on home design with an eye toward practices that support our health and our planet. She is a former editor at This Old House, Fine Homebuilding and Inspired House, and has written for a number of other publications.