How do I choose a Cooker Hood? Is it necessary to have one in my kitchen?
Cooker hoods are designed to remove excess smoke and grease while you cook, keeping your kitchen clean and smelling fresh!
There are 5 fundamentals to consider when choosing a cooker hood for your home.
- Venting options: Re-circulation or Ducting?
A recirculation hood filters the air through an aluminum filter and a carbon or charcoal filter, and no external vent is needed. A recirculation hood is the most suitable and popular option for most Singapore homes where no external vents are being installed.
The aluminum filter captures grease while the carbon filter helps to remove odours. For maintenance and care, you may soak the aluminum filter in warm detergent solution to remove the grease. The carbon filter cannot be washed and has to be replaced when it is dirty in order to prevent clogged filters that may restrict airflow.
A ducting hood vents smoke and fumes to the outside of the home through ducted piping. Suitability of a ducting hood installation will depend on the configuration and layout of your kitchen and home. The ducting should be kept as straight and short as possible and should be ducted out of the home. Do reach out to us in our contact form if you need our expert advice on this!
Ducting hoods are harder to install, but they are the most long-lasting and efficient solution to keeping fumes and vapour out of your kitchen. If noise is a concern, you will be pleased to know that ducting hoods are less noisy compared to the recirculation hoods.
- Cooker Hood Types
A slimline hood is the most classic option. It can be fitted under a kitchen cupboard or simply be mounted onto the wall. A slimline hood is inexpensive and easy to install, however it lacks power compared to the chimney and island hood, which uses a ducting vent.
Rinnai S259-SSR-T | Turbo Cooker Hood TSL-903SS |
A chimney hood captures and extracts air in the most natural and efficient way. It needs to be wall-mounted and is easy to install. It also comes in many different designs i.e. material, size and shape. However, it may take up space in your kitchen and the chimney hood may not watch over the cooking zones directly.
Rinnai RH-C209-GCR | Valenti VH6119 TS |
An island hood is a free-ranging hood and will be a design centerpiece in your kitchen. Depending on your kitchen layout, wall mounting may be challenging especially if it is a ducting model. Island hoods are generally more expensive compared to slimline or chimney hoods.
Teka CC 485 | Teka DPL 1185 |
A telescopic hood is a semi-integrated hood that is discreet when not in use. It is the most value-for-money option between price, performance and look.
Turbo TL1000-90SS | Teka CNL 6415 BK |
A canopy hood is built-in from below into an overhead kitchen unit. It is discreet and considered a high-performance range hood. Of all hoods in the market, a canopy hood generally has the best ratio between price and performance.
Turbo TCP06-SLR |
- Suction Power
The air extraction rate is measure in m³/hr. The greater the number, the faster the hood can extract the air.
Your suction power needs will depend on the sizing of your cooker hob, frequency of cooking as well as the area of your kitchen.
- Noise
A cooker hood’s sound output is measured in decibels (dBA).
Cooker hoods generally have 3 to 6 speed settings. You may consider using a lower speed setting for the whole cooking process to minimize noise, while increasing to the highest speed setting for short period of heavy duty cooking.
- Dimensions
Your cooker hood width should be wider than your hob so that it can extract fumes more effectively.
The typical recommended minimum height for installation of cooker hood is 700mm for gas cooker hob and 550mm for electric cooker hob.
However, it is important that you do not just rely on what is considered the standard installation height as there could be many other factors when it comes to your own kitchen design. Note to always allow sufficient head room to avoid any potential discomfort to your neck or back when cooking.
Feel free to contact us if you need any personalised recommendations. Meanwhile, happy cooking!
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Team Cookka
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