A helping hand from above

Kitchen hoods come in a variety of different designs, materials and types. Depending on the layout and style of your kitchen, cabinets above your countertops, type of cooking hob and your personal taste, you can choose between several models.

Wall-mounted hoods (1) are simply attached to the wall and come in a variety of sizes, styles and finishes to suit almost every kitchen. The vertical models are practical for taller people and offer many design options. T-shape hoods or chimney hoods give your kitchen a more traditional look.

Island hoods (2) hang from the ceiling directly over a kitchen island and are the best way to ventilate when you have a cooktop on an island. Because of their central position they represent an important design feature in your kitchen.

Ceiling-mounted hoods (3) are the most elegant solutions for modern kitchens without wall cabinets. They deliver maximum effect and also allow installation of various motors. For best results and almost completely silent operation, these hoods should have the motor installed outside the kitchen (the attic or outdoors). Although ceiling mounted hoods are installed farthest from the cooking hob surface, the perimeter suction provides extra power and airflow speed and thus ultimate performance.

Telescopic hoods (4) take up the least space as they retract into or under the kitchen cabinet. This simple form of kitchen hood is installed directly over the cooking area and usually leaves some space for a smaller cabinet. Before activation the hood is pulled out; after use, it is simply closed, or retracted back to the starting position. Some models of Gorenje telescopic hoods offer the comfortable GentleClose feature – an elegant and smooth retraction mechanism usually used for drawers and cabinets of modern kitchens.

Built-in hoods (5) come in different varieties. You can actually “hide” them in your kitchen, and in that way stream line your kitchen. This could be either in your kitchen element (for example in the cabinet), in the ceiling or in the tabletop, which gives you the possibility to place the hob in front of the kitchen window.

What sort of capacity should a new cooker hood have? This depends largely on the size of the kitchen. A good rule of thumb is that the hood should be able to replace the air 10 to 20 times per hour. For instance, if a kitchen measures 4 x 4 m with a ceiling height of 2.5 m, the cooker hood should replace approximately 400-800/m3 of air per hour.

Thus, the necessary extraction capacity is determined by the volume of your kitchen.
Calculation of the hood capacity that you need is:
10 x volume of your kitchen (volume = width x height x depth).

There will always be some loss of pressure when installing a hood. That is why it is important to observe the following rules:

• Always observe the hood’s recommended venting diameter (O) specified on the venting tube or pipe.
• Where possible, use smooth pipes to minimise air resistance.
• Try to make the installation as short as possible and with as few bends in the pipes as possible.
• You want gentle curves in the pipe rather than sharp bends, so that the air can pass through unhindered, minimising pressure loss.

The width of the hood is usually equal to that of the hob. The recommended distance between the hob and the hood is 65 - 75 cm, but it can be less, depending on the cooking hob.
The hood should always be switched on at least a minute before commencing cooking. The power should be set according to how much steam and odour the preparation of an individual dish is expected to generate. It is advisable to leave the hood working for a further ten minutes after completion of cooking.

When it comes to installing a cooker hood, there are two different typer to consider: hoods with air extraction or with recirculation.

(1) Extraction hoods

These hoods draw in cooking fumes and trap vapours in a filter while expelling odours to the outside through a ventilation duct. If your kitchen can be fitted with a duct for air extraction to the outside, then this is the most effective system to choose, as it enables you to utilise the hood’s maximum suction strength.

(2) Recirculating hoods

If ducting for extraction is not possible, then recirculation may be another option. With this type of hoods, the air is drawn through a charcoal filter that removes cooking odours and steam, and the clean air is recirculated back into the kitchen. These hoods are easy to install and are normally used in blocks of flats where installing ducts that lead directly to the outside of the building can be difficult.

What is the best option – an internal or an external motor? If you choose an external motor, it will have to be mounted in the attic or on the exterior of the building. External motors generally have greater extraction capacity and their increased distance from the cooker hood means the noise level in the kitchen is lower. The noise level can be further reduced by insulating the motor.

Various range hoods used for a variety of venting solutions activities of which are dependent on the kitchen dimensions and chimney solutions. So always use basis for planning your kitchen conditions. These determine whether to use the ventilation system roof ventilator, powered chimney connection or activated carbon filtration.