Which range hood is best

Like many ducted range hoods, this 2-speed one comes with filters that can easily be cleaned, or replaced if they get too gunky. To help you see what you're cooking, it does have space for a watt incandescent bulb. Since ductless range hoods don't vent to the outside, they aren't rated for CFM with ducted hoods.

A few users report that this hood isn't as powerful as some vented hoods, which might be an issue for heavy-duty cooking. What We Love: Powerful yet quiet.

What We Don't Love: Installation can be tricky. ZLINE makes beautifully designed range hoods that are also on the quiet side, even on the highest setting.

A win-win. When you have a gas stove you need a more powerful range hood, especially when you're searing steak , and this one delivers. This stainless-steel hood comes with four fan speeds to choose from, the highest of which is CFM, but even when cranked up, you can still hold a conversation in the kitchen.

The baffle filters can be occasionally run through the dishwasher to clean off oils and grease, while compatible charcoal filters are available if you want to go ductless. Unlike some other models, this features easy-on-the-eyes LED lights to illuminate your stove area. It also features a 3-year warranty on parts with a lifetime warranty on the motor. Related: The Best Gas Ranges. What We Love: Modern looking, powerful.

What We Don't Love: Can be noisy. Your kitchen island is a centerpiece, so it deserves to have an aesthetically pleasing range hood to match. It also needs a powerful range hood to keep the unpleasant particles from floating around the kitchen. The Cosmo ICS fits the bill of stylishly modern with a glass visor and powerful with three fan speeds.

Capable of reaching CFM, it can handle your largest special-occasion meals or when you accidentally burn the toast. The stainless-steel permanent filters are dishwasher-safe, and it does have the capability to be converted to ductless. The LED lights are bright and energy-efficient, while the LED panel makes it easy to control the settings and adds to the streamlined look. This also has one of the longest parts warranties at five full years.

Range hoods come in different varieties of mounting styles. There are under-cabinet range hoods that are literally mounted under cabinets. They tend to be smaller than other range hoods but also look uniform with the range. Most wall-mounted range hoods come in chimney designs. This means that the air and particles get pulled in and channeled up a shaft that gets expelled outside.

For those who prefer sleek kitchens, however, a downdraft range hood might be preferable. A downdraft range hood is integrated into the range. Popular versions include telescopic models which stand a few inches above the range. Ducted range hoods use ductwork to pull in particles and push them outside of the house. These are effective but costly. Their designs are modern and minimal and should look good in most kitchens. Both are well-respected and make HVI-certified hoods with great suction.

They tend to be relatively low-powered, and light on features. Air King has a wide selection of HVI-certified hoods that all seem pretty solid.

They also have many Energy Star-certified options as well. We ultimately dismissed them because Air King hoods are a bit difficult to find widely available for sale online. Pacific makes high-powered range hoods that are excellent for high-smoke cooking like stir-frying or searing, or for high-odor foods like fish.

The options we considered were mostly lower-powered, with CFM of suction or less, barely hitting our minimum criteria. It comes with most of the bells and whistles, including a three-speed fan, built-in timer, heat sensor, and Energy Star certification. But that is generally the trade-off for an Energy Star-certified hood.

KitchenAid makes decently reviewed upgrade hoods. IKEA makes attractive and inch hoods in the most popular styles, including wall-mounted and under-cabinet designs. Some of its wall-mounted hoods are good, with decent fans CFM that have three speeds.

Some of the hoods Costco carries are also probably too powerful for most home cooks, like the Valore Plateau , which has a CFM fan.

We looked at two newer hood brands, Z-Line and Cavaliere , which are widely available, even on Amazon which is uncommon for appliances.

Their hoods are powerful and inexpensive. Shelly Miller, professor of mechanical engineering, Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder , phone interview, July 24, Scott Kirkendall, vice president of global sales, Broan , phone interview, July 31, Our pick. GE JVW A popular, solid choice A classic hood with clean pyramid-style design, and solid features including powerful suction, a three-speed fan, and multiple lighting settings.

Also great. Broan EWSS Bolder style, slicker features A Pinterest-friendly concave-glass design, with more automated features and a stronger fan than our main pick. GE JVX A nice under-cabinet hood If you need an under-cabinet hood, this is one of the better-looking and more full-featured models you can get. Everything we recommend. Why you should trust us. Shelly Miller, PhD , professor of mechanical engineering in the Environmental Engineering program at University of Colorado, Boulder, whose research focuses on indoor air quality and particulate air pollution Nicole Esposito-Polly, design editor at ThisOldHouse.

Who should get this. How we picked. Crucial, bare-minimum features. There are a few schools of thought about how much air movement you need. But the experts we talked to advised that if you have a typical or inch range or cooktop, a hood in the to CFM range is totally adequate. Anything more than that is overkill unless you regularly use very smoky cooking methods like cooking with very high heat in a wok.

Your AC or furnace can struggle to keep up. More speeds are good, too. The lowest speed is usually good for boiling water, running quietly with enough power to draw away the moist air.

Medium speeds are suited to low-powered frying like making an egg or a grilled cheese—enough to clear the modest pollution without being too loud. Home cooks that do a lot of high-heat searing and find themselves battling smoke will appreciate the extraction capabilities of this fan, but more routine cooking tasks will benefit from the low and medium-power fan settings.

The noise level for each fan is not noted as being within range of normal expectations. This made-in-the-USA unit is well-constructed and gives a professional-grade appearance. The company stands behind the integrity of the fan motor with a year warranty. This unit is at a higher price point than under cabinet hoods with a lower CFM, but it is well-priced for professional-grade power. Thanks to a unique slanted design and high CFM, this ducted range can keep the air circulating even with heavy smoke or high heat.

It has three fan speeds, with simple push-button controls that make operation easy. The slanted housing of this model allows for better airflow over the entire cooking range. Overall, users love the solid construction and quality look of this powerful under-cabinet range hood.

This makes a great choice for cooks looking for a high CFM unit that will fit under existing cabinetry without compromising performance. For a wall-mounted range hood that looks great and offers high-power fan operation, the Cavaliere SVB is hard to beat.

The SVB has a six-speed fan, which is more speed options than many competitors. At top speed, it has airflow speeds of CFM. This is top capacity for residential range hoods available on the market today. Other standout capabilities include a timer function, a minute auto-shutoff option, and a reminder to clean the unit after every 30 hours of use.

The dual-chamber motor also is designed to dampen noise and keeps fan noise between 25dB and 56dB. The under-hood lighting is halogen and located to the rear of the hood. The keypad is capacitive touch, which required a little bit of a learning curve users unfamiliar with the feel of capacitive buttons.

Also, the keypad emits a blue light that is not dimmable. Sliding or push-button controls on the front panel are easy to reach and operate. Some retractable models have controls on the underside of the hood. On some retractable units, the further you pull out the hood, the higher the fan speed becomes. Ask in the shop if you can listen to the rangehood on all its settings — you should be able to hold a conversation while it's on.

A one-way flap inside a ducted rangehood can help keep hot air inside during winter or cold air inside during summer, instead of escaping through the duct to the outside. Some rangehoods have these built in, and some have them as optional extras. In brief: Help regulate the temperature in your kitchen with a one-way flap.

Installing a rangehood can be fairly simple if you have some DIY skills, and provided there's a power point close by — if not, you'll need a licensed electrician to install one.

Always follow the instructions carefully. You'll need an electric drill, possibly a stud finder to locate the best anchor points in the wall, some basic hand tools, and ideally someone to help. Screws are usually supplied, but you might need to get the right type of wall plugs to suit your wall. To install a rangehood in recirculating mode, mark on the wall, or in the kitchen cabinet, where to drill the holes. Some manufacturers supply a template for this, or you can use the rangehood itself.

Observe minimum height distances from the cooktop that are given in the instructions. Fasten the screws while your helper holds the rangehood in position. Plug it in and it's ready to go. Installing a rangehood in ducted mode is more complex and involves knocking holes into the wall or ceiling for the pipes.

The manufacturer usually sells the ducting kit separately.