Hello,
Would you please tell me all about stove hoods. I need a stove hood that is self-contained- is there such a thing. In other words i can have no chimney going out to the out side. the "hood" needs to be directly over the stove; hugging the ceiling. Is there such a thing? Thank you. Truly
You are looking for ventless kitchen hood. In my opinion this is one of those "Why Bother?" things. They don't work very well and mostly just make noise and take up space.
Hello Bob Morrison, What does, "They don't work very well" mean? Truly
Harry wrote: Hello Bob Morrison,
Hoods that don't vent to the exterior of the home filter the air for particulates and greases, then release the air back to the kitchen. These can become fire hazards if the filter is not maintained/cleaned regularly. All the ones I've seen skirt the stove area, and are not recessed in the ceiling, or even with the ceiling. Which makes sense. These simply cycle air within the kitchen, smells disperse in the home from cooking.
Vented hoods ventilate the air above the stove to the exterior of the home. Which is good. The ducting to the exterior can become contaminated with grease, which may become a fire hazard if a filter is not used. There is also the concern for air makeup. The air vented from the home has to be made up by introducing air from the exterior of the home. This introduced air has to be heated or cooled as related to the exterior air temperature.
The filters used in unvented and vented hoods are not perfect. They all let by some particulates and oils. Clean the filter on regular basis in hot soapy water, rinse, and air dry before reinstalling. If the filter is not snug fitting, some air is not filtered and causes problems down the line.
A hood that has a vent will pump the water vapour/steam outside and help reduce the humidity in the kitchen. A non-vented recirculating type won't.
A vented range hood is now a code requirement. An exception exists that allows a non-vented hood if a source of natural or mechanical ventilation is otherwise provided. While I'm dead-set against it, just venting into the attic (not code) is far better than no vent al all. (Be aware that it will lower your ceiling insulation R-value and you must have a sufficient amount of roof ventilation. Actually, it's really not all that hard to run a metal vent to a roof hood.) You could also consider installing a non-venting hood and a wall vent fan.
Check Menard's or Lowe's for non-vented hoods.
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