Extraction Cooker Hoods

Extraction is the appliance most often specified last and complained about first. Get it wrong and you get condensation, lingering smells and grease on the ceiling — in a rented property that turns into maintenance calls, and in holiday accommodation it turns into reviews.

Ducted extraction vents outside. It removes moisture as well as smells, which is what actually prevents condensation, and it needs no consumables. Specify it wherever there is a route to an external wall or roof.

Recirculation passes air through a carbon filter and returns it to the room. It is the answer for internal kitchens and flats where ducting is not possible — but it does not remove moisture, and the carbon filters are a consumable that has to be replaced periodically. In a let, that means either a recurring maintenance task or a hood that quietly stops working. Budget for the filters at the point of specification, not the first time somebody complains.

A hood should be at least as wide as the hob beneath it. A 60cm hood over a 60cm hob is the standard pairing; going one size wider captures more at the edges, which matters on island installations where there is no wall to help.

If you are replacing the hob at the same time, decide the hob width first and let it set the hood.

Most hoods have a 150mm outlet, but plenty of older installations were ducted at 120mm. Fitting a 150mm hood to 120mm ducting means a reducer, and a reducer costs you extraction performance and adds noise — you end up with a more powerful hood that works less well than the one it replaced.

Check the existing duct before you order. If you cannot change the ducting, filter to the diameter that matches it.

New build and material change of use work carries minimum kitchen extract rates under the Building Regulations, and the required rate differs depending on whether the hood sits directly above the hob. Confirm the figure your project is being signed off against and check the hood's quoted extraction rate meets it — manufacturers usually publish a maximum figure, so check what it delivers ducted rather than on boost.

For existing rental property there is no equivalent requirement, but adequate extraction is part of keeping a kitchen free of damp and mould, which is a landlord obligation in its own right.

Chimney hoods are the default for a hob against a wall and have the widest choice by a distance. Integrated hoods hide behind a cabinet door, which suits developments where the kitchen is part of the sell. Canopy hoods fit inside an existing chimney breast.

Island hoods hang from the ceiling over an island and need the ceiling structure to carry them, so confirm that early. Downdraft extractors rise out of the worktop where there is neither wall nor ceiling available — they are the most expensive answer, so reach for them when the layout genuinely leaves no alternative.

Grease filters need cleaning; most are dishwasher safe, and telling tenants so at handover saves a call-out. Carbon filters in recirculating hoods need replacing rather than washing, and that is your job rather than theirs unless the tenancy says otherwise. Keep spares on hand if you are running several properties on recirculating hoods — see cooker hood accessories.

Models with a carbon filter included save you sourcing one separately at fit-out.

Landlords and property managers should favour ducted where possible, because it removes moisture and needs no consumables. Building and renovation contractors need the extract rate confirmed against the project's sign-off requirements before the kitchen is ordered.

Holiday accommodation lives and dies on how a property smells on arrival, which makes extraction worth over-specifying rather than under. Hospitality kitchens cooking at volume need commercial canopy extraction rather than a domestic hood.

Shared kitchens get heavy, unsupervised use. Mechanical or push-button controls survive it better than touch panels, filters need checking between tenancies, and a slightly oversized hood copes with several people cooking at once.

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