Comparison cooker Hoods

— Traditional (wall). Free-standing (non-embedded) wall-mounted units. The most common type of modern hoods: hobs are often placed near the walls, and it also makes sense to install the hood there.

— Wall/built-in. This type includes exclusively visor hoods(see below), which can be installed both as wall-mounted and built-in.

— Built-in (in cabinet). Hoods mounted in a kitchen cabinet; only the duct panel remains outside. It can be fully built-in or have a sliding panel; see "Design" for details. Nevertheless, the built-in hood is almost entirely hidden inside the cabinet, making it easier to fit into the overall kitchen design than a stand-alone one.

— Island (ceiling). Hoods mounted on the ceiling. The advantage of such devices is that they can be installed anywhere in the kitchen, not necessarily against the wall. If the hob is placed not against the wall but in the middle of the kitchen, such a hood can be indispensable.

— Suspended (ceiling). Hood models that are as similar as possible to island hoods differ in the type of installation — they use special cables that hold the device under the ceiling (something similar to hanging chandeliers). And, due to the distance from the wall (ceiling), such hoods work on the principle of recirculation, air extraction is not typical for them.

...— Built-in (ceiling). A type of built-in hood mounted on the ceiling — usually between the suspended and the main ceiling. Such models are distinguished by their large size and high performance; they are intended not so much for the "maintenance" of individual cooking hobs but for general ventilation of the premises. Also, note that the installation of such hoods has to be planned already at the stage of the initial design of the premises.

— Corner (wall). Hoods designed for installation in a corner. In some cases, it is this installation of the cooker (and hood) that is the best option. In general, such devices are similar to the wall-mounted ones described above.

— Downdraft (built into tabletop). A variety of built-in hoods designed to be built into the countertop. Usually, they are equipped with a retractable air intake, which, when opened, moves upwards, and when not in use, it is hidden inside the countertop and does not interfere with its use.

— Dome. Hood with a round or rectangular air duct; in the lower part turning into a conical or trapezoidal body. Usually, it has a discreet design with a minimum number of decorative elements. Exceptions to this rule apply to country style, shown separately.

— T-shaped. Outwardly, it resembles a dome hood, but instead of a conical or trapezoidal body, the air duct ends with a flat rectangular air intake. In cross-section, the system resembles the letter "T" for which it got its name.

— Angled. In such hoods, the air intake panel is installed at an angle to the duct. This design is purely aesthetic and does not affect functionality.

— Vertical panel. A special type of wall-mounted hood that is as close as possible to angled models, except that when not in use, the front panel is parallel to the wall and not at an angle.

— Cylindrical. Classic cylindrical hoods.

— Rectangular. Hoods of an even geometric shape of a solid design and do not have a division into a duct and a body (as is done in T-shaped models).

— With glass. The main distinguishing feature of all such hoods is the presence of a glass plate in the design as an additional decorative...element. The very appearance of the hood can be anything: dome with glass, T-shaped with glass, angled with glass, cylindrical with glass.

— Visor. Extractor hood designed for installation under a kitchen cabinet. At the same time, the air duct is hidden inside, and outside there is only a flat air intake resembling a visor (hence the name). Glass is often used in the design of the visor.

— Sliding panel. As the name implies, these hoods are equipped with a retractable air intake panel. During operation, the panel opens — thus increasing the effective suction area. The hood itself is usually built into a cabinet or table (see "Product type"). But this type can be implemented in two ways. Sliding hoods with open panel when closed have a front panel that stands out and is visible under the cabinet. Sliding hoods with hidden panel are not visible when closed, and the opening mechanism is designed in such a way that the panel extends slightly at an angle.

— Fully built-in. Hoods that are built-in in the full sense of the word: the device is almost entirely hidden in a hanging cabinet or ceiling; only the air intake panel is outside. Such an installation is known by a minimum of visible details and allows you not to worry about how the hood will fit into the kitchen interior.

— Modern (unusual design). Hoods with a hi-tech look — using polished metal, glass and a minimum of decorative elements. Most modern style hoods have a specific design that does not fit into any of the options described above; Therefore, they are separated into a separate category. However, the design of such devices may vary; there are both absolutely minimalistic and rather pretentious, original design.

— Country. Country-style hoods usually have light, soft body colours (white, beige, light grey) and structural elements decorated in wood, bronze and other similar materials. By design, such devices are usually similar to domed ones. Note that with similar performance, country hoods are noticeably more expensive than conventional style models. In addition, they are quite demanding on the environment: the whole kitchen must be made in a similar style. otherwise, it is likely that the device simply does not fit into the interior.

Modes supported by the hood.

— Extraction only. The device draws in the air in the room and takes it to the ventilation shaft or directly to the street. It is a very effective way to clean the air from pollution: all impurities, including odours, are simply removed. However, when the hood is operated in this mode, you must either open windows or provide adequate ventilation. Because of this, this mode is not always appropriate: for example, in the cold season, not only pollution but also heat can fly out into the chimney. Therefore, in most modern hoods, a recirculation mode is also provided.

— Recirculation. An operating mode in which the hood does not draw air from the room but drives it through its own filters. This mode is not as effective in terms of air purification as extraction. To effectively remove odours you need to use absorbent filters, that have a limited service life. On the other hand, recirculation does not require an intensive flow of outside air, which in some situations is important — for example, in the cold season, when it is undesirable to blow out the heated air from the room.

The vast majority of modern hoods support both modes of operation. Occasionally, some models are not compatible with carbon filters and work only in extraction mode; even rarer — devices with recirculation only mode.

The maximum flow of air or motor flow of air indicates the theoretical capability of the device. This parameter of the hood (motor) is measured during idle operation. By connecting the duct and working in the appropriate mode of extraction, the flow of air will be lower. However, high-performance motors will also give a high flow of air in extraction mode.

The number of speeds at which the hood can operate.

The more speeds, the more accurately you can adjust the device's operating mode to a specific situation. At the same time, the vast majority of modern hoods have only three speeds which are enough for most occasions.

The number of motors provided in the hood.

For most modern models, one engine is enough — this is enough even for fairly high performance. Models with two motors are somewhat less common — usually, these are powerful performant hoods. One of the advantages of this design is that only one motor can be used at low speeds, and the second one can be connected only when maximum power is required. It has a positive effect on the minimum noise level (see above); on the other hand, the maximum noise level can be quite high, and such devices are usually more expensive than single-motor ones.

It is technically possible to use more than two motors. However, such models are single exceptions.

The type of grease filter normally used in the hood. Usually, it has the appearance of a fine mesh that traps drops of fat and kitchen fumes. The grease filter can be like this:

— Metal. In this case, different materials can be used; most often, the word "metal" means a filter made of a relatively inexpensive alloy, and aluminium and stainless steel are usually listed separately (see below for more details). Common features of metal mesh are strength, durability and reusability: it is enough to wash and dry a dirty filter, after which it is ready for use again.

— Aluminium. Filters made of aluminium alloys are considered to be very durable, because this material is highly resistant to corrosion. However, such filters are noticeably more expensive than ordinary metal ones (see above).

— Stainless steel. Mesh made of this material has all the advantages of the metal filters described above; they are very reliable and durable, but at the same time not cheap. As a result, the use of stainless steel is typical mainly for premium hoods.

— Acrylic. A polymeric material similar to plastic. The main and the only advantage of acrylic filters is their low cost. At the same time, their service life is much shorter than that of metal ones. And some of these filters are generally disposable and cannot be cleaned after clogging. As a result, such filters are used mainly in low...-cost models of hoods, and even then quite rarely.

The ability to install an additional carbon filter in the hood — in addition to the grease filter (see above).

It provides finer air purification than a grease mesh: the carbon filter is capable of retaining impurities literally at the molecular level. Due to this, it is possible to effectively clean the air from not only kitchen fumes but also odours that are not associated with smoke, steam and other relatively large impurities. However, the carbon filter has a limited service life, and it has to be changed from time to time (cleaning, in this case, is not an option).

Note that, in this case, we are talking only about the compatibility of the hood with a carbon filter. The filter itself may not be supplied. However, in many models with this function, it is available as an option (included or not included in the kit at the request of the user).

Lighting method provided as standard in the hood.

— Incandescent lamp. The simplest and most affordable of modern lighting sources. The main advantage of incandescent lamps is their low cost. In addition, they give a fairly eye-pleasing light in warm colours. On the other hand, such lamps are the most energy-intensive. Besides, they get very hot during operation.

— Halogen lamp. An improved version of the incandescent lamps described above. They are distinguished by higher brightness at lower power consumption while also having a spectrum of luminescence that is pleasing to the eye. At the same time, halogen lamps are still inferior in terms of efficiency to fluorescent and LED lamps.

— Fluorescent lamp. Also known as "fluorescent light bulbs" or "energy-saving light bulbs". One of the advantages of such lamps is just low power consumption — many times lower than that of incandescent lamps (although higher than that of LEDs). The light from fluorescent lamps is white, rather cold; this can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, depending on personal preferences and interior features. But of the unambiguous shortcomings, it is worth noting that most of these lamps contain mercury vapour in the flask; because of this, failed light bulbs must be disposed of according to special rules, and a broken lamp can become a source of health problems.

— Light-emitting diodes (LED). The most advanced of mod...ern lighting sources. LEDs are highly energy-efficient. They are more economical than incandescent lamps, and they practically do not heat up during operation. The light from such sources is neutral white, which is quite suitable for most cases. The disadvantage of LEDs is a rather high price.

Note that many modern hoods allow you to replace a regular light source — for example, a halogen lamp can be changed to a fluorescent or LED lamp with the same base.