Of all rooms in your home, the kitchen is one of the places which require proper ventilation.
That is exactly what a range hood does. It ensures optimum ventilation.
A range hood usually consists of a mechanical fan or a blower motor and canopy that hang above the cooktop whisking away smoke and fumes.
Should You Install A Range Hood For Your Gas Stove?
Yes. Gas stoves generate a lot of heat and smoke during cooking; and therefore, you need a fan that can channel this outside your kitchen. A range hood sucks airborne grease, heat fumes, and smoke emanating from the cooktop giving you a smooth cooking experience. More so, depending on where you live, range hood may be a requirement as part of regulation for your building codes. You need this for your kitchen.
Six Reasons Why You Should Install A Range Hood in Your Kitchen
Whether you are upgrading your kitchen or you are just a new homeowner, and you are wondering whether you need a hood over your stove cooker, here are reasons why you should install one:
1. Improved Air Quality In Your Kitchen
The benefits of a well-ventilated kitchen cannot be overstated. In the absence of a range hood, hot air produced during cooking makes the air in the kitchen humid.
Humid air provides ample breeding ground for molds, mildew, and bacteria.
However, having a properly installed and vented range hood can greatly improve the air quality not only in your kitchen but in the entire house.
2. Riddance Of Fumes
If you intend to cook without a range hood, then be sure to be content with loathing fumes emanating from the cooking top. Hot gases from the cooktop can affect your health.
It can choke you or even suffocate you especially when you are deep frying.
Also, note that odors can stuff your kitchen for some time in the absence of a range hood. However, with a range hood over your gas stove in place, you can deal with fetid odors and hot fumes.
This makes your kitchen area very conducive to hanging around as you enjoy your cooking experience.
3. Experiment with new recipes
Are you an avid cook and do you enjoy experimenting with new cuisines?
If that is you, then you surely need a freshly smelling kitchen to try out your new recipe?
With an effective way to remove odors, you’ve got a comfortable kitchen area for hanging around experimenting with new cooking methods.
Now you can try on a range of spices, exotic vegetables, and even fish without worrying about smell.
It also helps keep your family healthy if there is one member who is allergic to odors or strongly scented spices.
4. Cutting On Cost
Cooking on a gas stove without a range hood means that you will have to turn your air conditioner more often to augment the circulation of air in your kitchen.
This simply adds to your power bills.
A range hood is fitted with a blower that vents the fumes away saving you the hassle of using an air conditioner quite often.
One more thing with the installation of a range hood in your kitchen is that it comes with an inbuilt lighting system that illuminates the cooking area.
With these features, you will surely save a lot on your electricity bills.
5. Added Value To Your Kitchen
Now, with stated add-ons on a range hood, you stand to gain more than you bargained.
Firstly, range hoods come in shiny aluminum or stainless-steel material.
This adds to the aesthetic beauty of your kitchen with the extra lighting that illuminates your cooking top while you are cooking, making your kitchen look perfect and stylish.
And if you are thinking of reselling your house, it surely adds value making it more attractive.
6. Improved Cleanliness In Your Kitchen
The smoke produced during cooking forms a cloudy haze in your kitchen. And when it settles, it sticks on your kitchen walls, windows, and even on the cabinetry making your kitchen look dirty.
Smoke combines with hot gases and fumes produced during cooking to form soot and grease those also stick-on cooking pots, stove and on to the walls, giving your kitchen a hideous look.
Having a fitted range hood will help prevent the formation of grease thus helping you keep your kitchen clean and attractive.
What Are Kinds Of Range Hoods To Choose From?
As indicated in this article, there are plenty of benefits to having a range hood.
In a nutshell, range hood removes airborne grease, fumes, soot, and steam generated during cooking, helping you maintain a tidy and conducive culinary environment.
There are many types of range hoods in the market. However, not all are designed equally. Here is a quick overview of range hood systems available for your selection:
1. Vented or Ducted Range Hood
This is ideal for you if you cook a lot or operate a restaurant. It is the most common type of kitchen hood.
This type of range hood has a duct that expels generated smoke from the kitchen hob.
The vent leads outside of the kitchen ensuring that pollution generated during cooking is channeled away from the kitchen.
Restaurants and commercial kitchens are fitted with large-sized duct hoods owing to the intense cooking happening.
And as such, if possible, you need to install an updraft hood that vents outside.
An excellent way to vent a stove is to duct it to the outside and ensure that you choose a range hood that will sufficiently exhaust it right to the outdoors.
Always ensure that your ventilation duct doesn’t end inside the attic but should always be properly vented to the outside.
2. Ductless Range Hood
Ductless range hoods do not have a duct for processing the air but instead, they are fitted with a fan with a charcoal filter that sifts and pumps out smoke, fumes, and other particles generated.
The filtered air is pumped back into the house. This type of range hood is common in houses.
They are easier to install and relatively affordable. They are, however, less effective and require constant cleaning and replacement.
3. Downdraft Vent Range Hood
Downdraft systems of the range hood are located on top of the stove near burners as part of the inbuilt system of the stove.
They are particularly less effective. The fitted fans pull heat away from the cooking pot.
However, there is another type of downdraft system called a pop-up.
This type remains flush till it is required and with the push of a button it can rise above the cooking surface. Similarly, it functions by pulling heat away from the food being cooked.
What Size Of Hood Do do You Need For Your Gas Stove?
A good hood should extend about 3 inches on either side of the gas stove. For instance, a 30-inch gas stove requires an about 36 inches wide hood. While installing, ensure that it is about 24 to 30 inches above the top of the stove. But more so, follow the installation guide from the manufacturer.
How Powerful Should A Hood Be?
Well, for a 30-inch cooktop, you need about 400 cubic feet per minute (CFM) type of hood.
They are customized depending on how much air the vent hood channels after every minute.
This is what you should check out for when buying a range hood for your gas stove:
- Vent fitted with adjustable lighting
- Check out for a vent with the highest CFM you can afford
- Ensure it vents outside and updraft
- Ensure it offers variable speed.
Final Words
As an upgrade to the kitchen appeal, a range hood is not only an important air aeration tool.
It creates a healthy environment in the kitchen.
It improves the overall functionality of your kitchen. You must explore the available options and select one that works best for you.
Reference
https://www.mysoulfulhome.com/my-soulful-home/do-i-need-a-stove-hood
https://dengarden.com/appliances/What-Is-A-Range-Hood-And-Why-Do-I-Need-One
