When designing a kitchen, one of the main questions that arises concerns the choice of extractor hood. It must of course be aesthetic and in harmony with the elements, but above all sufficiently effective to be able to quickly evacuate odors, smoke or even grease particles. Let’s see in which type of housing the ventless hood is preferable and what are the criteria for choice.
In what type of housing should you install an extractor hood without external exhaust?
It is also called recycling hood. It is essential in a dwelling where there is no air outlet allowing cooking odors and smoke to be extracted outside the dwelling. This is generally the problem in apartments where it is not possible to install a conduit or in individual houses when you do not want to embark on major work.
Operation of a kitchen extractor hood without external exhaust
What kind of closed circuit hoodwhose operating principle is simple, is equipped with a grease filter or a carbon filter. When activated, it draws air from the kitchen. This passes through the filter where it is freed from grease particles and odours, then once it is cleansed, it is discharged into the kitchen.
It should be noted, however, that the recycling hood does not replace a ventilation device such as the VMC because it does not release steam. Its filter must be replaced very regularly so that the air recycling system is sufficiently effective, but despite everything, if you often use a cooking method that generates a lot of smoke, it does not evacuate as much as an extractor hood. Finally, it is relatively noisy. This must therefore be taken into account if you are hesitating between creating an open or closed kitchen.
How to choose your hood without evacuation or hood with recycling?
Here are the main choice criteria a range hood without external exhaust.
His power
The extractor hood must be suitable for the kitchen. In a large room, a more powerful hood is installed than in a small kitchen. It is therefore necessary to take into account the volume d’air that she is able to process on time. This is called its suction capacity. To determine it, it suffices to carry out a small calculation, namely:
- Multiply the width of the kitchen by its length then multiply the result obtained by its height to obtain the number of cubic meters (m3).
- Multiply these m3 by 10 to 12 to determine the minimum power required from the hood.
Example : for a 3 x 4 m kitchen with a ceiling height of 2.70 m, we obtain 32.4 m3. The minimum power of the extractor hood without external exhaust must therefore be 324 m3/h to 389 m3/h.
Ses dimensions
It is necessary to choose a hood whose dimensions are slightly larger than those of the hob above which it should be placed.
Its suction speed
It is better to favor hood models that are equipped with a dimmer or power regulator allowing you to choose the suction speed according to your needs.
Its sound level
We know that the recycling hood is louder than exhaust hoods, and depending on the model, some end up becoming deadening for the occupants. If possible, avoid a device with a noise level of around 70 dB (decibels) and opt instead for a range that is between 30 and 50 dB.
Son design
This is a very important selection criterion because nowadays the kitchen is a key room, which we no longer want to hide. The hood must therefore fit perfectly into this universe. Everyone chooses the design and model that suits them best. We find among others the hood:
- Visor (also called cap hood): classic, it is fixed to the wall preferably under a high cabinet to go unnoticed,
- Suspended in island : very contemporary,
- Mural : it is the chimney hood either with inclined face, or hexagonal, cylindrical, square, or even pyramidal,
- Built-in : very discreet,
- Drawer : closed it is completely integrated under the wall unit and cannot be seen. It only works when pulled.
Analyze your way of cooking before choosing your exhaustless extractor hood
The cooking habits count enormously to determine the power of the recirculation hood that one wishes to install. Indeed, there is a clear difference between reheating daily meals prepared using mainly a microwave oven and launching lunch and dinner in a kitchen worthy of a gourmet restaurant. In the first case, there is no risk of being bothered by smoke, cooking odors or grease particles, unlike the second case.
Home-made aficionados also equip their kitchens with a variety of cooking appliances and do not hesitate to add to the traditional plate a iron integrated, a Pizza oven or even a professional fryer. Cooking like a pro therefore requires being able to recycler quickly and powerfully the look of the kitchen, especially if it is open to the living room. When you do not want or cannot install an exhaust duct to the outside, the only solution is to buy a recirculating extractor hood as powerful as possible but it will have to be doubled with a VMC because cooking a lot generates steam than a hood without external evacuation can’t eliminate.
So don’t hesitate to ask an adviser or, better still, bring in a cookan expert in the field, who will be able to present his client with the hoods best suited to his needs in order to guarantee him the greatest possible satisfaction.
Closed circuit kitchen hood: what budget should you plan for?
Of course, the more powerful the recycling hood, the higher its price. But she still remains cheaper than an externally vented hood. It takes a minimum of 100 € for a small model intended for the kitchenette of a student studio who rarely prepares food at home, and several hundred euros for top of the line suitable for a large kitchen that is used frequently.
The price also takes into account the design of the hood, the type of filter (grease or charcoal), the existence or not of aintegrated lightingits design which makes it more or less easy to clean, the type of control panel which can be simple or sophisticated, and of course its energy class…
Finally, the cost generated by the filter change, in particular the carbon filter which must be replaced at least twice a year. As for the grease filter, if it is in syntheticit does not last as long as the model metallic. The latter is economical because it is dishwasher safe which is much more effective than washing by hand. Let’s not forget that a kitchen extractor hood filter is extremely greasy. This therefore requires that the temperature of the washing water be at least 65°C.