How to Choose the Right Hood Fan for Your Kitchen
The kitchen for many is a sophisticated workshop where we whip up mouthwatering meals to nourish ourselves and our loved ones. But the wonderful cooking process has some unfortunate by-products: grease, moisture and odor. The proper ventilation can help minimize the effects of those fat droplets and neutralize smells in the heart of your home.
It’s not the most glamorous part of a remodel, but one of the main decisions you should make is the type of ventilation for your kitchen. Before you think about how a hood fan actually looks, explore the technical considerations. An island fan makes a strong statement in the center of the space, but it could fight for attention with pendants or chandeliers. On the other hand, a downdraft fan system lets you install a cooktop inconspicuously — even in front of a window. Being aware of your options could have an impact on the way you lay out your kitchen.
Use this mini guide covering the lingo to help you find the right hood fan for your kitchen.
Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM)
The first thing to consider is how much power your fan needs to have. A range hood’s performance is measured in Cubic feet per minute (CFM). The higher the CFM number, the more air the range hood can remove in one minute of operation.
Your CFM needs depend on the size and the type of your range or range top, as well as the type and frequency of your cooking. For example, a large six-burner gas range requires more CFMs than a 30-inch-wide electric cooktop.
The requirement for an electric stove is 300 to 450 CFMs, whereas a gas range will need about 600 to 1,200. This number is based on the amount of BTUs (British thermal units, a gas appliance’s performance measurement) divided by 100.
Sones
Many people don’t use their kitchen fan because they find it too noisy. Don’t let that happen with your new kitchen design.
A fan’s sound output is measured in sones — an internationally recognized measurement of loudness as perceived by a person with normal hearing. Some of the manufacturers will provide that information in decibels (dB) rather than in sones.
Fans typically have three to six speed settings. Consider keeping the low setting, which is usually around 3 sones (at the sound level of a refrigerator running), on throughout the cooking process, and ramp up to the highest setting of about 7 sones (at the sound level of traffic noise) only for short, intense periods of cooking.
Although a fan’s sones can be easily found, many North American manufacturers do not have standardized rules as to what distance the source of the noise is measured from. Rather than relying completely on the written test result, you might be better off to simply stand next to the appliance and turn it on in the store.
The filter is a crucial culprit in creating fan noise. The company Vent-a-Hood has integrated a patented system — Magic Lung — that relies on centrifugal action rather than filters. Each of the units has a 300 CFM rating and can be combined to achieve the correct rating for your home.
More…
It’s not the most glamorous part of a remodel, but one of the main decisions you should make is the type of ventilation for your kitchen. Before you think about how a hood fan actually looks, explore the technical considerations. An island fan makes a strong statement in the center of the space, but it could fight for attention with pendants or chandeliers. On the other hand, a downdraft fan system lets you install a cooktop inconspicuously — even in front of a window. Being aware of your options could have an impact on the way you lay out your kitchen.
Use this mini guide covering the lingo to help you find the right hood fan for your kitchen.
Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM)
The first thing to consider is how much power your fan needs to have. A range hood’s performance is measured in Cubic feet per minute (CFM). The higher the CFM number, the more air the range hood can remove in one minute of operation.
Your CFM needs depend on the size and the type of your range or range top, as well as the type and frequency of your cooking. For example, a large six-burner gas range requires more CFMs than a 30-inch-wide electric cooktop.
The requirement for an electric stove is 300 to 450 CFMs, whereas a gas range will need about 600 to 1,200. This number is based on the amount of BTUs (British thermal units, a gas appliance’s performance measurement) divided by 100.
Sones
Many people don’t use their kitchen fan because they find it too noisy. Don’t let that happen with your new kitchen design.
A fan’s sound output is measured in sones — an internationally recognized measurement of loudness as perceived by a person with normal hearing. Some of the manufacturers will provide that information in decibels (dB) rather than in sones.
Fans typically have three to six speed settings. Consider keeping the low setting, which is usually around 3 sones (at the sound level of a refrigerator running), on throughout the cooking process, and ramp up to the highest setting of about 7 sones (at the sound level of traffic noise) only for short, intense periods of cooking.
Although a fan’s sones can be easily found, many North American manufacturers do not have standardized rules as to what distance the source of the noise is measured from. Rather than relying completely on the written test result, you might be better off to simply stand next to the appliance and turn it on in the store.
The filter is a crucial culprit in creating fan noise. The company Vent-a-Hood has integrated a patented system — Magic Lung — that relies on centrifugal action rather than filters. Each of the units has a 300 CFM rating and can be combined to achieve the correct rating for your home.
More…
