Large Home Appliances

One of the most overlooked areas of kitchen remodeling projects is kitchen ventilation system. Without proper kitchen ventilation, it is almost impossible to keep a kitchen clean and grease-free. More importantly, proper kitchen ventilation also improves indoor air quality by removing harmful cooking contaminants (including heat, steam, smoke, odor, and hazardous gases such as nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide generated by gas stoves) before they mix with the rest of the air in the home.

There are three basic factors to be considered when choosing a kitchen ventilation system – price, noise, and effectiveness/capacity. System effectiveness is often measured in the amount of air the system can remove per minute (CFM or cubic feet per minute). Obviously, system with larger CFM measures is often more effective in removing air and grease. For typical-sized kitchen in a four-bedroom house, the recommended minimum kitchen ventilation system capacity is 150 CFM.

Keep in mind, however, that there is often a trade-off between the noise level and system capacity. And, ventilation system capacity usually doesn’t tell the whole story about system effectiveness. Ventilation system effectiveness also depends on the draft type. Specifically, there are two major types of ventilation systems: Updraft Hoods and Downdraft Vents.

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