Cooker hoods: Features explained
Chimney cooker hoods are shiny and stylish
Cooker hoods are used to extract the steam and smells from your kitchen. There are lots of different types but the best one for you will depend on your kitchen and budget.
Types of cooker hood
Built-in
Compact at just 52 to 60 cm in width and designed to fit into any kitchen unit or cabinet of the appropriate size. Suitable for use with a traditional four-ring cooker or hob.
Chimney
Big, stylish and shiny. Chimney style hoods are made of stainless steel and glass and comprise a canopy to capture the steam and smells and a chimney fitted with a fan to extract them. Fitted to the wall and at 90cms across they look good and work well with six-ring range style cookers.
Free standing
Integrated cooker hoods are suitable for use with a four-ring cooker or hob
You won’t need a cabinet integrated or otherwise for this kind of hood. Should be fitted directly to the wall above a four-ring cooker or hob. The least powerful and the cheapest of the hoods available.
Integrated
Designed to fit snugly into integrated fitted kitchen units. Not as powerful as chimney or island models and suitable for use with a four-ring cooker or hob.
Island
The biggest of the hoods available at between 90 and 100 cm in width and the most powerful. They attach directly to the ceiling so you’ll need a big kitchen with a lot of space to accommodate an island hood and are suitable for use with a range style cooker.
All types of hood can be used in extraction or re-circulation mode – handy to know if you live in a flat and can’t fit a vent in the wall.
Features to look for
Grease filters
Easy to clean metal grease filters
They catch the grease as it rises from your hob and they can be made of aluminum, stainless steel or fleece material. Metal filters are dishwasher proof and will need to be washed regularly, fleece filters are disposable and will need to be replaced after a couple of months.
Controls
Hoods with the controls on the front are easier to use than those with the controls on the inside or the underside. Most cooker hoods have three speeds and some hoods come with helpful indicator lights that tell you the speed the hood is operating at and when the grease filter is saturated.
Canopy
Illuminate your cooking
Chimney and island hoods are made up of a stainless steel chimney housing the duct and a glass or stainless steel canopy where you'll find the extractor fan and filters. Glass canopies are easier to clean than those made of stainless steel, it’s also easier to see when they are dirty.
Lights
Most hoods come with two or more halogen or incandescent lights to illuminate your cooking.
Extraction or re-circulation
Hoods can be set up to extract air through a duct to a vent in your wall or to pass extracted air through carbon filters before re-circulating back into your kitchen. We tested all hoods in extraction mode.