Any Tips for Buying a Range Hood for a Kitchen Island?

A range hood is a crucial ventilation system for your kitchen, especially if you do plenty of cooking. When you cook, you’ll notice that you’re letting loose plenty of grease particles, steam, as well as a mess of other contaminants or gasses in the air. A hood is what helps vent those harmful contaminants into outside where they would dissipate into the air.

If you’ve read the title of this article, you’re probably looking for an island hood. And whether you’re renovating your kitchen or are looking for an island hood for the first time, this article has it all.

Island Hood

Island hoods are quite similar in both appearance and design to wall mount chimneys, except it doesn’t need to be attached to a wall. Instead, it’s a hood meant for a kitchen island. Rather than having the vent connect to the ducts in your wall, it’s installed on the ceiling and cents cooking smoke outside.

Island Hoods tend to be the more expensive ones, but they are specially made to be aesthetically pleasing. Most homeowners looking to remodel seek out an island vent hood for cosmetic reasons, but those that are set up in the middle of the kitchen are the most logical option.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Range Hood

There are plenty of range hoods available in the market. And every consumer has a wide range of options, needs, and priorities that go into buying a hood for their kitchen, even for a kitchen island. So it’s important to consider the following aspects before buying a range hood for your kitchen island:

Cost

Usually, the most basic range hoods cost around $100, without accounting for installation charges. However, the larger and more stylish ones, including island hoods, are the ones that end up costing more due to their size and extra features. The installation costs for the larger models may be high, but they do end up providing a more effective venting process in the end.

Size

For most models, the size of a range hood is impacted directly to the surface area of your cooktop. It might not be that much of a requirement to have your hood match your stovetop in size, but it would be a better approach as all food and smoke particles can be vented outside instead of getting a chance to spread around other parts of your kitchen.

Island hoods can be limited in size compared to the amount of space in your kitchen. So we suggest measuring that space in your kitchen where and before you plan on installing your hood.

Power

The range of your hood’s power determines its effectiveness in venting food particles, smoke and more. The more power your hood has, the better it will be at its job. If you prefer to do plenty of intense frying and cooking, then a vent hood can give you just the right amount of power that you need. Manufacturers can help sort out the amount of power your hood requires in CFMs (cubic feet per minute).

For island vent hoods, Home Venting Insitute recommends 150 CFM per linear foot of range.