How to choose a hood over a gas stove: what criteria to consider when choosing a suitable model

Any odors arising during the cooking process should not leave the kitchen.Agree that the aroma of even the most delicious homemade pie has no place in the living room or bedroom. Good exhaust equipment can easily handle the aromas of even the most complex dishes and effectively purify the air. Knowing how to choose a hood over a gas stove, any housewife will be able to create her own culinary masterpieces without fear of filling the apartment with unwanted odors.

In this publication, we will look at the types of kitchen hoods, determine their advantages and disadvantages, talk about the intricacies of selecting the optimal model and the principles for calculating the required equipment performance.

What problems does the hood solve?

Removing cooking odors is not the only task of a quality range hood. Additionally, particles of fat separated during frying, as well as possible soot and combustion products, are also carried along with the air flow. Powerful equipment helps keep furniture and kitchen backsplashes clean, as anything that may have settled on work surfaces goes into the air duct.

Air purification is another function of the exhaust device. However, this option is not available in every model: only recirculating hoods can purify polluted air, removing all impurities from it, which has a positive effect on the internal microclimate of the home.

Removing excess moisture, microparticles of fat and soot allows you to create an acceptable microclimate in the kitchen, prevent the appearance of mold and preserve the attractiveness of a fresh renovation for a long time

In addition, hoods for a household gas stove are also an impressive piece of furniture. Modern models fit perfectly into any popular design: laconic recirculating hoods delicately emphasize the decoration in a minimalist or high-tech style, and powerful domed units become an organic part of both the classical direction and the Provence style.

Types of hoods for gas stoves

To decide which hood is needed specifically for your gas stove, it’s worth understanding their varieties.

Based on the principle of air purification, hoods are divided into: recirculating, with outlet to ventilation And combinedoperating in exhaust or recirculation mode. Let's talk about the first two in more detail.

Recirculating kitchen hoods

Air purification in such a hood occurs due to special filters. The air mass is carried through the air duct and overcomes the coarse grease filter, which retains combustion products and fat suspension. Then the air, freed from polluting particles, is purified of odors using a special filter - most often coal.

In fact, such a hood “drives” the same air, simply passing it through its filtration system. As a result, the buyer receives crudely purified air, not freed from excess moisture and not enriched with oxygen.

The movement of air during recirculation is shown in the diagram. The picture shows how air flows through the filtration system of a suspended hood

The advantages of such models are their cost, simplicity of design and direct installation, because they do not need to be connected to the ventilation system.

However, there is a significant drawback: the cleaning filter must be changed periodically. The frequency of replacement depends on the manufacturer's recommendations and the intensity of work: the more often you cook, the faster the filtration device becomes clogged. At the same time, recirculation modifications are characterized by lower productivity.

A recirculating stove hood sometimes looks more stylish than its flow-through counterparts. This model is less bulky and fits perfectly into a laconic interior.

The disadvantages of such hoods pale in comparison to the spectacular design. Models operating on the recirculation principle are optimally suited for small kitchens, as they do not visually overload the already limited space.

We talked in more detail about the design of a hood with recirculation in next article.

Flow or exhaust hoods

These are more complex devices that work on a different principle. The equipment draws in air currents that pass through the duct and are released outside. They only cost grease filter.

These devices do not operate without a ventilation system or direct air flow. This is the main disadvantage of a flow-through hood: it must be connected to an air duct, which must discharge the exhaust air to the street or into the shaft of the ventilation system.

In addition to the complexity of installation hood with ventilation outlet and costs significantly more.However, all this is compensated by performance: it is the flow-through models that will be able to provide maximum air purification from odors, soot, grease, and excess humidity.

The difference between flow-through and recirculation hoods is significant. Exhaust equipment removes exhaust air containing soot, grease and steam that is produced during cooking

Hoods for stoves are also divided according to the principle of installation. According to this criterion, equipment is divided into three types: built-in, flat suspended and domed.

So, built-in hoods mounted directly into wall-hung kitchen modules. Typically these are recirculation devices, often with a telescopic retractable design. The main advantage of such a hood is its compactness and inconspicuousness. This model can fit into almost any interior.

Built-in hoods most often have modest performance. But the ability to visually hide the necessary kitchen appliances makes such models one of the most popular

Flat hanging or inclined hoods also usually work on the recirculation principle. But there are also flow-through models that provide for the removal of polluted air to the street or into the shaft of the ventilation system.

The equipment can be suspended under a cabinet or shelf or mounted as a separate unit.

Visually, suspended hoods look equally good with any type of installation: both as separately hanging structures and as blocks suspended under a set

Dome or fireplace hoods are the most powerful and, alas, the most expensive models.

Such equipment is characterized by the highest productivity and an abundance of additional options; they can be combined - work, if necessary, in exhaust mode, removing exhaust air outside the room, or recirculation, purifying contaminated air masses and returning them back to the room.

Dome hoods are simply irreplaceable for kitchens in which the cooking area is located on a separate “island”. However, such a technical and design solution is only appropriate in very spacious rooms

So which hoods are best suited for gas stoves? Objectively, these are flow-through models with an outlet to the street. During the operation of a gas hob or stove, soot and combustion products of the gas-air mixture are formed, so it is better to vent the air outside, and it is also important to take care of the correct arrangement ventilation in the kitchen.

Simpler recirculation options are also suitable for electric hobs. They are also appropriate in a kitchen with a gas stove, but the buyer will have to more carefully select a model suitable for his home conditions.

Criteria for choosing a kitchen hood

The future owner needs to make a choice in favor of a flow-through, recirculation or combined hood and decide on the type of installation.

It is also worth thinking about how to choose a hood to match the design of the finished kitchen. Built-in technology remains the most flexible in this regard, because it is practically invisible

The buyer should also pay attention to several other important aspects of choosing a hood for a gas stove.

1. Hood width must be greater than or equal to the width of the slab. Only in this way will the equipment be able to fully capture polluted air flows.Thus, the optimal size for an effective hood over a 60 cm wide gas stove would be a 90 cm wide model.
2. Number of speed modes — the more of them are provided in the hood, the more flexible its operation will be.
3. Noise levelgenerated by the equipment during operation must be acceptable to the family. Models that operate fairly quietly do not produce sounds louder than 45 dB. The average noise level for a normally operating hood is around 50 dB. You can find out the noise threshold in each operating mode from the instructions or data sheet for the hood.
4. Hood control type should be user friendly. The mechanical one involves rotary mode switches, the electronic one is carried out using a sensitive touch panel or remotely thanks to the remote control. Hoods controlled by conventional buttons are also in demand. However, the gaps between the buttons and the hood body often become dirty, which causes additional inconvenience to housewives.
5. Advanced Options, for example, lighting or the presence of special disinfecting lamps will be a pleasant bonus for a high-quality model.

Equipment performance – the most important characteristic for a hood, which is worth talking about in more detail. This parameter shows how many cubic meters of air the device can effectively pass through itself in one hour.

There are standard tables of minimum hood capacity. However, for each kitchen room it is better to accurately calculate this value separately.

The higher the hood performance, the better. However, as it increases, the noise of the equipment also increases. Selecting a hood based on its performance requires a particularly responsible approach.It is better to calculate in advance the volume of air that needs to be processed by the exhaust device.

Calculation of the minimum permissible performance

In order not to make a mistake in choosing and buy the model that is optimal for your kitchen, you should familiarize yourself with the formula for calculating the performance of exhaust equipment.

The calculations take place in several stages.

1. First you need to multiply the area of ​​the entire kitchen by the height of its walls.
2. The result obtained is multiplied by the air exchange rate per hour, which is equal to 12.
3. This value is multiplied by an additional factor of 2. For electric hobs it is equal to 1.7.
4. To the calculated minimum performance threshold, an additional 10% of its value is added for each meter of length of the air duct pipe and each of its bends. Another 10% is added up in case of an emergency. The result obtained is final.

There is a simpler calculation formula, according to which the volume of the kitchen (the product of the area and the height of the walls) must be increased 10 times.

The diagram shows the principle of calculating the minimum performance of the hood, where a is the length of the kitchen, b is the width of the kitchen, h is the height of the room

The simplified formula for calculating the minimum hood performance does not take into account the most important nuances: the type of hob, the length of the air duct pipe and its bends. We recommend that you read hood calculation, taking into account all the nuances.

Based on such calculations, you can find out whether the installed hood meets your needs. Perhaps the device should be changed to a more powerful one.

Features of installing a hood above the stove

Plays an important role in the efficiency of equipment operation. hood hanging height. In order for the equipment to clean the air efficiently, it is necessary to maintain a certain distance between it and the hob.

It is necessary to install the hood above the gas stove at a height of at least 75 cm. This will protect the device from damage due to high temperature and will not affect the operation of the hob.

Hoods that are too powerful can be hung a little further, as air currents can partially extinguish the flame, causing the burners to work unevenly. For electric stoves, a distance of 60 cm is considered acceptable.

It is worth thinking about bringing the flow-through exhaust duct to the street at the stage of major repairs, since before installing the pipe you will have to drill large-diameter holes in the outer wall of the building

We must not forget about the growth of the hostess. The equipment must be suspended in such a way that the owner can easily reach its control panel. Installation at a height suitable for the buyer will additionally protect a person from accidental burns.

In addition to ventilation, it is important to ensure the flow of air into the room in the required volume. What can it be used for? supply valve to the wall.

We also recommend that you look at the detailed hood installation guide three different types: recessed, inclined and dome.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Replacing the carbon filter in a recirculating hood is a fairly common procedure. However, you can try to restore a filter that has become unusable. The video shows how this can be done:

A competent choice of hood for a gas stove will save homeowners from a lot of problems.Therefore, you should treat the purchase of such equipment with full responsibility and purchase models that fully correspond to the kitchen area. And then not a single foreign smell will penetrate into other rooms, and the cooking itself will become as safe as possible.

Do you still have questions about choosing a hood? Or would you like to supplement our article with useful recommendations? Write your comments, ask questions, participate in the discussion - the feedback form is located below.