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Cooker Hood Buying Guide
You’ve got that brand spanking new oven and that fiery new hob too, now you’ll want a shiny cooker hood to complete your awesome kitchen set-up. But, like most things, there’s a whole lot of choice out there and it can be tricky finding the right one. This guide will help you get to grips with everything cooker hoods, so you can feel a little more confident when it comes to choosing.
Key Features
Extraction speeds
This is the speed at which the cooker hood can extract the air. Most hoods have at least three speeds, ranging from a gentle extraction for boiling pasta to an intense speed that’ll keep up with that sizzling steak.
Quiet settings
If you’ve got an open plan kitchen and living area, then you won’t want a loud cooker hood. Thankfully, a lot of models have a quiet setting, like Bosch’s ecosilence drive, which keeps the noise to a minimum, so you can enjoy that Saturday night movie.
Hob to hood connection
Some of the more high-end hoods can work in tandem with your hob through the WiFi. This means that the hood will automatically adapt its settings to match that of the hob for smoke free cooking. It’s worth noting that this feature will only work with a compatible hob.
LED lighting
Let there be light! Most hoods have LED lights that when turned on will light up your hob, so you can see every bit of those culinary masterpieces. They use much less energy than halogen bulbs and can last up to 10 times longer.
Auto timer
Some dishes like that spicy curry will take a little longer to air out. The auto timer feature lets you set how long you want your hood to stay on for, so you can enjoy your meal while your hood takes care of your kitchen.
Power boost
Pan frying up a batch of steaks and need that extra bit of fan power? Some models will have a handy power boost feature that’ll crank it up to make your kitchen smoke free in no time.
Smart features
Hob to hood isn’t the only smart feature you’ll find on cooker hoods. A lot of modern models can now be controlled directly via your phone on a special app, so you can change the settings right from the palm of your hand.
Key Features
FAQs
- Do I need a ducted or recirculating hood?
It depends on your current installation. If you’ve never had a cooker hood before then you can choose either.
- What extraction rate do I need for the size of my kitchen?
You need to make sure you look at the width of your hob or cooker first. Then measure your kitchen (for example (W)6m x (D)4m x (H)3m would be 72m³) then multiply it by 10 to get your ideal extraction rate. It doesn’t matter if you get a hood that’s less than this, it’ll just take a little longer to clear the room.
- What is the diameter of the ducting?
The standard diameter is 15cm, although some ducting comes with a reduction kit, which means you can take the diameter down to 12cm.
- What size ducting kit do I need?
This all depends on your current installation or where you want your hood fitted. Most manufacturers say the shorter the distance to the outside the better, as they’ll work more efficiently.
- I have a range cooker – what size hood do I need?
The hood you choose should always be the same width as your hob or cooker, any smaller and it won’t work as efficiently as it should.
- What is the benefit of recirculation?
There’s no real benefit of recirculation, it’s just as good as if you duct out. You’d only setup your hood for recirculation if you’re not able to duct outside.
- What if I have a low ceiling?
If you have a low ceiling in your kitchen, then we would recommend going for a built-in canopy hood. Or even better, if you don’t want your hob above your oven, a downdraft extractor hood or venting hob would be perfect as it doesn’t attach to your ceiling.
- What if I have a high ceiling?
Cooker hoods should be fitted 65-75cm above the hob. If your ceiling is higher than this you may need to look at building a suitable housing unit so that it's at the required height. You could also consider a downdraft extractor or venting hob if your kitchen set up allows for this.
