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March 13, 2023 7 min read
The kitchen is often filled with tasty smells, but without good ventilation, bad odors can stick around. Without proper ventilation, these smells can build up and make cooking less enjoyable. Many people fix this with ducted range hoods to help keep the air clean.
However, not all homes have enough space or ducts for these systems. Two popular options in smaller kitchens or homes without ducts are custom ductless range hoods and air purifiers. Both are good for improving air quality in small spaces, but which is better for your kitchen?
In the next sections, we'll explain the differences between ductless range hoods and air purifiers. We'll cover how they work, their pros and cons, and which is the best choice for you.
Custom ductless range hoods are innovative kitchen ventilation solutions that purify the air. Unlike traditional range hoods, they operate without connecting to exterior ductwork or pipes. They offer a flexible and efficient way to maintain a healthier cooking environment.
Ductless range hoods use special filters to trap impurities and clean the air before sending it back into the kitchen. This smart design means you don't have to vent air outside, making it a more efficient way to clean the kitchen air. Ductless range hoods can be custom-made to fit your style. They can be designed to match your kitchen with options like stainless steel or other decorative metals. This mix of personalization and flexibility makes ductless range hoods a popular choice.
When the fan in a custom ductless range hood is turned on, it pulls air into the hood through the intake grill. The air goes through a strong mesh or charcoal filter that traps pollutants, impurities, and odors. This process cleans the air, which is then returned to the kitchen, making the cooking area cleaner and healthier.
Getting a range hood for your kitchen involves choosing certain features that fit your kitchen venting needs. This includes:
This is the outer shell of a ductless range hood that houses the range hood inserts. It can be in bell or pyramid form, depending on the design choice. It is made from wood, stainless steel, or other alloy metal.
Range hood inserts are the powerhouse of any custom ductless range hood. They have strong stainless-steel cases that house the blower, motor, and filters. These expertly designed housings provide a durable and sleek exterior.
The range hood insert rating shows how much air a ductless range hood can move, measured in CFM (cubic feet per minute). This tells you how well it can remove smoke and pollutants from the kitchen. A higher rating means the hood can clean the air faster and more efficiently, leading to a cleaner and healthier kitchen.
The control panel is found on the body of the fume hood of your range hood. It is usually where the stainless-steel push button or a digital touchscreen panel is located.
You can control the speed of the blower fan, the venting duration, and the lighting system from here. It is connected to a circuit board and acts as the nerve center of the entire system. The circuit board has all the electrical connections that allow the range hood unit to power up and function correctly.
The filter system is a crucial cog in operating a ductless range hood, as it removes all pollutants. The filtration system typically involves charcoal and grease filters. Charcoal filters are essential for absorbing odors and impurities from the air. They are made of activated charcoal, which is effective at trapping smoke and cooking smells. Grease filters are made of aluminum or stainless steel and capture grease particles. After filtration, the purified air is recirculated back into the kitchen.
Most custom ductless range hoods have bright LED lights or Halogen lighting. These lights function as an additional illumination source for the kitchen. They are often bright and usually energy-saving.
1. Custom ductless range hoods are cost-effective kitchen ventilation options. Most ductless range hoods can be bought and installed at an affordable price. They reduce the time and money spent on cleaning the kitchen by preventing the buildup of grease and dirt.
2. Ductless hoods are perfect for city apartments because they don't require much space. No need for ductwork further reducing their space requirements.
3. Installing a custom ductless range hood in your kitchen is relatively easy. The only complicated part is the elaborate fume hood. As no pipes or ductwork are needed, one or two HVAC technicians can finish the installation.
4. Maintaining a ductless range hood is pretty straightforward. The filters in ductless range hoods need the most maintenance to keep the hood working well. Mesh or activated charcoal filters should be cleaned or replaced regularly.
5. Custom ductless range hoods are eco-friendly because they don't release pollutants outside. They clean and recirculate the air in the kitchen, reducing the amount of harmful substances released.
6. Custom ductless range hoods have very modern-looking and decorative fume hoods. They add a modern touch to the kitchen and can be an attractive kitchen piece that boosts its general decor.
1. While ductless range hoods offer many benefits, their maintenance costs can accumulate over time. The need for regular filter replacements, cleaning, and part replacements can result in more expenses.
2. Ductless range hoods depend on their filters to clean dirty air, which can be inefficient. As the air passes through, pollutants build up on the mesh or charcoal filter, causing it to get clogged. Because of this, most ductless range hoods often operate at lower efficiency quickly.
3. Ductless hoods are generally ineffective when clearing kitchen space with high ceilings. High-ceiling kitchen space means a larger volume of air, which can be problematic for most ductless hoods.
4. Most ductless range hood filters are mesh or charcoal and get damaged when exposed to extreme temperatures. Heavy cooking like stir-frying creates a lot of smoke and grease, which the filters often struggle with.
5. A ductless range hood can make the kitchen space quite noisy. Parts like blowers and motors that are loud may become annoyingly noisy and irritating over time.
Air purifiers are portable appliances that remove pollutants from the air and are ideal for clearing the air in the kitchen. They are designed to improve indoor air quality by removing cooking smells, smoke, and other air pollutants. They use advanced filters like HEPA, activated carbon, and UV light to remove harmful particles.
They help eliminate minute pollutants that other types of ventilation miss. They effectively collect allergens, dust, and smoke particles that linger around the kitchen. Most can be placed anywhere, mounted on the wall, or hung from the ceiling.
The primary suction fan of an air purifier draws in polluted air, which cleans it by passing the contaminated air through a series of filters. A secondary fan returns the cleaned air to the kitchen.
Essential parts of an air purifier include:
Most air purifiers have a strong outer shell made of high-impact plastics. This durable plastic protects the internal parts and can handle hits and bumps.
An air purifier typically has multiple fan units. There is a primary suction fan and a secondary expulsion fan. The primary fan acts like a suction pump as it draws polluted air into the filter section of the cleaner. The secondary fan pushes the cleaned air out of the air purifier and back into the room.
Activated carbon filters, HEPA, and electrostatic filters are the common types of air purifiers.
Activated carbon filters absorb odors and pollutants released during cooking. They are effective against strong smells like fish, curry, and grease.
HEPA filters are the primary filters that offer excellent air filtration features. They are disposable, high-grade filters that remove small particles from the air. They can remove up to 99.97% of particles as small as 0.3 microns, making them effective against cooking-related pollutants.
Electrostatic filters are secondary filter units that catch dust, pollen, and other particles. They use the difference in electrical charge states to capture dust, pollen, and other airborne particles.
The control panel has all the air purifier unit's dials, buttons, and controls. It is connected directly to an internal circuit board that holds all the electrical connections. You can start or stop and adjust the fans' speed from the control panel.
The heat and air quality sensors are the significant sensors that control how the air purifier works. The heat sensor can sense a rapid increase in the kitchen’s temperature. The air quality sensor detects pollutants or gases in the kitchen environment.
Installing an air purifier in your kitchen comes with the following benefits:
1. They are perfect for removing microparticles like dust, skin cells, dirt, and pollen. Because of their small size, they pass through the mesh filters and charcoal filters in a ductless range hood. However, air purifiers use HEPA or electrostatic filters, effectively capturing these microparticles.
2. Air purifiers are very good at eliminating strong odors from the kitchen. Most air purifiers come with a carbon filter kit that absorbs gases and odors.
3. Air purifiers are usually compact and portable and can be located anywhere in the kitchen. Their small size also means they don’t take up much kitchen space and are portable.
4. Air purifiers are one of the few kitchen appliances that don’t produce much noise. They are incredibly quiet, with noise levels as low as 23dB. They can be operational most times and won't be a noisy distraction when cooking.
1. Air purifiers are fragile and tend to break down relatively quickly. Its compact size means most of its internal components are close to each other, which can lead to several unintended faults.
2. Air purifiers depend significantly on their filters, which require frequent filter changes. This means the filters are often replaced, which adds to maintenance costs.
3. Their vent holes in air purifiers are small, which makes them ineffective with larger particles. They aren't effective in kitchens that generate large amounts of air pollutants.
4. Air purifiers are not as eco-friendly as custom ductless hoods. The HVAC and activated charcoal filters are not recyclable.
Choosing between a custom ductless range hood and an air purifier depends on your kitchen needs. Custom ductless range hoods are more powerful and have more features. Those with stainless steel baffle filters can handle high heat better. But, air purifiers offer flexibility, are quieter, and can filter smaller air particles. So, weigh the advantages of each option to see which unit is the best fit for you.