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January 24, 2023 6 min read
It's quite surprising how many overlook the range hood when planning a kitchen renovation. There's always excitement about kitchen cabinets or countertops, but these enhancements seem minor when you consider the impact a custom range hood can have on overall kitchen design.
Range hoods play a vital role in any kitchen, primarily because they are functional. Imagine a kitchen without lingering smells and contaminants, and without the humidity from boiling pots and steaming pans. The benefit of cooking without feeling overwhelmed by the heat and steam is just one of the many advantages of having a quality range hood.
In this article, we'll explore the significant benefits of range hoods and why they're indispensable in your kitchen. But first, let's understand exactly what kitchen range hoods are and what they are designed to do.
A kitchen range hood is an appliance that helps keep your kitchen air clean and free of contaminants by removing smoke, vapors, fumes, and odors while cooking. Range hoods are great at minimizing particulates in the kitchen and while they are located in the kitchen, the entire house can benefit from this important appliance.
There are generally three types of range hood systems:ducted, ductless, and convertible.
Ducted range hoods use ducting to vent air to the outside of your home. Through pipes in the walls and/or ceiling of your home, the vent moves air from the inside of your home to the outside. Some range hoods vent to an outside wall, while others vent through the roof.
A ductless system does not move air out of the kitchen but instead cleans and recycles the air. It is a range hood system with filters that help recirculated rather than expelled the air inside your kitchen. Ductless range hoods tend to chosen by homeowners who have smaller cooking spaces, or when it is impossible to vent kitchen air to the outside of the home.
Convertible range hoods are a kind of hybrid that can function as either a ducted or ductless range hood. Many of these types of range hoods come with converter kits to serve both types of homeowners.
Even though there are functional differences between the three systems, they all share the same benefits listed below.
There is almost always some contamination in the kitchen air, whether it's grease droplets, smoke, steam, or vapor. Most kitchens open their windows to foster cross-ventilation and keep the air clean, but this rarely cuts it! Here are more reasons why installing a kitchen range hood in your home is a good idea.
When you cook, you create a considerable amount of smoke, vapor, and grease, all of which can linger in the kitchen atmosphere and are harmful when inhaled. A range hood eliminates this quickly.
With powerful suction fans, range hoods draw in any toxic air and either expel it outdoors or filter the impurities out and send it back. This constant removalor recycling of air keeps the kitchen air clean and makes a big difference in theair quality in the kitchen.
It is known that the kitchen gets considerably hot because of the heat from the stove. This is even more prominent when preparing high-heat foods like stir-fried meats or sautéed vegetables. This is where range hoods can help with temperature regulation.
Range hoods remove the hot air and excess heat produced by the stovetop, thus creating a more relaxed atmosphere in the kitchen. They have built-in suction fans that pull in the generated smoke and steam and expel them outdoors, leaving a pleasantly more relaxed internal area.
One downside of cooking is the build-up of odors and how they eventually stick to your clothes and linger around. No one wants the persistent smell of fish or cheese around the kitchen and even seeping into other parts of the building.
These odors are tough to dispel, but by constantly sucking in unwanted smells, a range hood can help remove odors and prevent any buildup of unwanted odors in your home. It is an effective way to maintain clean air in your home and get your kitchen and the surrounding area to smell fresh.
The kitchen area is usually the most complex to clean because of the greasy surfaces that have attracted dust and formed an unpleasant sticky film. This is generally because the grease in the air, often made when cooking, has finally settled on most kitchen’s soft surfaces. This means more cleaning time and effort and added grease removal detergent costs.
All of this can be considerably reduced by installing a range hood. A good exhaust hood makes removing contaminated air much easier and more efficient. Before settling on your kitchen cabinets, you can remove airborne grease particles, unwanted by-products, and excess moisture.
Range hoods are often installed over cooking surfaces and are equipped with LED or halogen lighting. This can be an excellent kitchen lighting source when cooking, making it easier to see.
The added illumination from overhead lights also helps during extra kitchen non-cooking activities. You can clean better as the light beams reveal dirt or stains in hidden crevices. The LEDs are also energy-saving, which helps reduce your electric bill.
Realtors know the value of having a kitchen range hood in homes they are trying to sell. They add more to the price because they can tell potential buyers about the extra health and safety benefits range hoods offer.
As these devices add a modern and upscale feel to homes, the resale value of your home is bound to rise. In some parts of the country, building codes require homes to have one installed. The more appealing the range hood, the more likely it is to attract buyers and raise the value of your property!
A range hood in your kitchen gives you a comfortable environment and the freedom to prepare many meals you otherwise could not. For kitchens with limited space, a working range hood will eliminate any smoke, grease, fumes, or steam from the cooking process that would have filled the kitchen.
A good example is cooking Asian cuisine, where the intricate frying and steaming involved generate many unpleasant odors that discourage cooks from making them.
Range hoods are not just feature-rich kitchen equipment purchased only for their functionality. They are aesthetically pleasing devices that add a modern, minimalist feel to your kitchen. They add style and improve the visual appeal of your kitchen.
A range hood can be the focal point of your kitchen or blend with the other cabinets. For example, a ceiling-mounted kitchen range hood can be fitted with eye-catching patterns that make it stand out, or a retractable range hood can be hidden and incorporated to blend with the kitchen countertop or cabinets.
Range hoods foster a healthy kitchen environment by constantly filtering out the by-products of cooking, like harmful smoke, vapors, and hazardous fumes. Cooking without a proper range hood exposes everyone in and around the kitchen to all those potential irritants.
Cooking stoves are also one of the most significant sources of nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. These are very harmful pollutants, and in the case of carbon monoxide, it can be deadly when it builds up in your kitchen. A range hood will vent all these lethal hazards outside, keeping your kitchen free of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.
Have you ever set off the smoke alarm while cooking? It's annoying. It is not unusual toregularly trigger the smoke alarm in the kitchen because of the build-up of smoke from the cookstove. Before cooking, some individuals even remove the batteries from the alarm, as they find this frustrating.
With a range hood installed, this becomes a non-issue, as they provide proper ventilation by quickly removing any smoke or heat generated by the stove—no smoke, no alarm going off—simple as that.
Range hoods are a must-have in modern kitchens, offering many benefits that are not just about looks. Installing a range hood helps keep your cooking area clean and healthy by removing smoke and reducing grease in the air. It also helps prevent cooking fires. Plus, a range hood can raise the resale value of your home. With these significant benefits for health, safety, and your wallet, installing a custom range hood is a smart move for anyone considering improving their kitchen.