Kitchen exhaust fans are recommended for domestic and commercial use, in many areas of the country it is mandatory to have exhaust fans in food preparation areas. There are different types of kitchen exhaust systems available, including a range hood, a ventilation hood or an exhaust fan. Many older homes were never fitted with kitchen ventilation but modern fans and exhaust systems are not difficult to install so retrofitting a dated kitchen is not something that cannot be done.
Some sort of ventilation is very important in a kitchen, they are necessary to eliminate the smoke, odors and humidity that are by products of food preparation. Washing dishes will produce steam when hot water is used, cooking will create heat, fumes and odor; all of these must be eliminated. If the kitchen is fitted with a gas range and stove it is important to provide adequate ventilation due to the possibility of carbon monoxide fumes from gas combustion.
There are a couple of different types of kitchen vent hoods. One is a vented hood that pulls the foul air and pushes it outside; this type of extraction device must be installed on an outside wall. There are vent-less hoods available that filter the air but instead of exhausting outside, the air is returned to the kitchen. This type of system can be installed against any wall including interior walls, they feature filters that can be cleaned and reused or simply thrown out and replaced.
A range hood is always mounted directly over the range or stove top. When the range hood is energized, a ventilation fan built into the hood pulls air from above the range top and exhausts it outside through a vent pipe. These hoods are best used when the range is installed against an outside wall but as they work in conjunction with ducting, they can actually be installed anywhere as long as the duct can reach the outside.
Most kitchens are fitted with kitchen exhaust fans even though there may be a range hood or ventilation hood as well. These fans are mounted through an external wall; they are usually mounted high on the wall as hot air rises. These types of fans suck out the contaminated air, either dispersing it outside or returning it to the kitchen.
