I’m building a new house that has an island cooktop for myself. The delema is what type of venting to use for the kitchen. I know an island hood is the best choice but I would rather not have the vent as the focal point of the kitchen. Also the higher cost of the island style vent is also an issue. The second choice is a downdraft type. Much better as far as looks go, not near as efficent trying to pull hot air sideways and down, and cost is almost the same as overhead. I have noticed several kitchens in publications that have no downdraft or island venting. I was thinking about not having any typical hood type vents and just installing a 250-400cfm ceiling fan. I am not a “professional” cook and have noticed that I do not run the fan much in our current house so think that a celing fan may suffuce but would like some input from someone who has built or has the same set up in their kitchen. Any thoughts on this?
Thanks,
Jeremy
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Greasy steam will stick to whatever it has an opportunity to hit. Over the years this buildup will attract dirt. You're talking a move the air ceiling fan, not an overall exhaust fan for the room.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I am talking about using an in ceiling vented fan like used in a bathroom but bigger. The aesthetics are the main reason for not wanting an overhead hood but having to spend $2000-$3000 for venting a stove seems like a lot. I just wonder how much it has been hyped over the years that a "big" 1000 cfm unit is required to properly vent a kitchen. What did people do back in the 1940's and 50's or before? Are the manufactures over selling to make more $$? I feel they will not tell me that I could get by with something else besides the $$$ SS hood they have for sale. As noted the downdrafts because of the design also create their own set of problems. The photos I saw definitely did not have a pop up type vent either. But you know some things are done just for looks and the practicality goes out the door.
Jeremy
Unless you use the hi BTU faux commercial cooktops or ranges I feel you can get by with the 3-350 area ( About the draft of a over the stove micro exhaust). However, if you try to boil water with those things in 8 seconds, you generate alot of heat-much of which goes around the pot and up. And in the case of the micro exhaust, that heat can possibly screw with the electronics. To get rid of the ambient heat, the smell and moisture I would think you would be alright with 3-500. Vent a hood makes an exhaust box that might fit in that range. You cover it with your own finish. A "large" exhaust up on the ceiling MIGHT pull air up there, but I would think it would grab ceiling and surrounding air b/4 it would pick up the cooking air.
Personally, we don't use the exhaust fan on the micro, enjoying the smell of cooking.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I'll tell you what we did in the 70's, living in a circa 1920's apartment with no vent. With the steam radiators cranking full blast on a cold winter day, we'd open bathroom windows while showering and kitchen windows while cooking, with the ceiling fan on. That's why people put exhaust fans in their kitchens now. Because we have better ways of doing things than we did 50 years ago.
ummm....you are concerned about aesthetics and you are going to install a giant celing fan in a kitchen? IMO, that will look pretty strange.
you might be able to meet code with one or more exhaust fans mounted inside your ceiling ... might be worth checking on
Giant celing fan???? No, vented exaust fan in ceiling is what I was looking into. See prior posts.
Good venting for a cooking area is simply good functional design. I was with you on the asthetic issues, but it sounds more like the underlying basis for your choices turned to economics.
There are simple designs that hang over a stove without being a focal point, but a downdraft would solve the problem completely. A high mounted fan on the ceiling would be very inefficent since it would have to pull a huge amount of air to have a minimal effect on what's happening near the island.
Are you sure that they have no downdraft venting.
There are pop-up downdraft units so when they are not running all you see is a piece of trim.
If your cook top or stove is a gas unit, consider the downdraft unit carefully. I had mine interfere with the flame. It sucked the flame out....fan on high, flame on low. It was a Thermador unit. Then the starter piezo electic unit would keep clicking. Annoying.
the popup venting system in the thermador range works great for me.
the only thing that takes some getting used to is that the range simmers by turning itself off -- and then back on again -- which is why you hear the repeated clicking noise when simmering.
I had a similar dilemma with my island. Can't send photos this week - DW's got he camera.
I put one of the thru-wall Nutone rectangular boxes (containing a fan) on the outside wall, vertically centered between the kitchen ceiling and the 2nd floor. I dropped the 11' ceiling a little in this room (for cofferering), then ran an 8" duct above it over 10' to the center above the island. Here I put a collection box with an 8" "Inductor" fan, a 14x14" charcoal filter, and a black iron 16x16" grill, flush with the ceiling, from Reggio Registers.
Both fans are wired to the same switch, and both are permanantly accessible.
It's worked really well, and I demonstrate to people by flipping a piece of paper up towards it - the suction will grab it and catch it.
Everything came from HD except the grill.
Forrest
I had a kitchen with no vent fan and I regretted it. Our current cooktop is in a peninsula with a build in down draft. There are issues with down draft, but if I was building from start (or redoing this kitchen) I would get a seperate pop up down draft. The higher it pops up, the less it interfers with the flame on the burner. Thermador has one that pops up about 14" as I recall.
But they are expensive.
A matching kitchen cabinet can be hung over the stove top. With mirrors, one row of wine glasses on both side, it would appear as a full wine glass cabinet. The mirrors can cover 3 8'" ducts that open up to a shallow hood at the base of the cabinet.
Vents 8' high in the ceiling are just too high to be effective, no matter how many CFM's. Old house that use to have them, just had to contend with cleaning greases walls or their lifestyle did not included cooking. A high gloss painted ceiling can be cleaned easily. Lots of cooks fail to use the fans as they should and so just the house keeper suffers.
Many Architects and Homeowners will not compromise their Artist ideas and are willing to suffer the disadvantages it brings. All the Builders can do is to remind and write down the possible problems so the blame goes back to the designer. So just install what you like and your kitchen will always show good, that is your priority
We're real happy with our arrangement. Hood is 81" off the floor, 44" off the cooktop. Fan isn't in the hood, switched in the island. Our hood was a commercial something (no fan at all), orange when I bought it at auction, but wouldn't be difficult to fabricate. Fan is a recycled 1950's kitchen vent fan, low cfm. I spent maybe $75 total, including the automotive paint.
Matching the scale is important. This is a huge box hanging here. If anybody ever noticed it, they didn't mention it. Not a focal point when there are other more interesting things to look at. Aesthetically worst thing would be to put one at or below eye level.
The downdrafts I've known were loud. Without a hood, you're going to want to move a whole lot more air. I'll be doing ours again in the next house, complete with light under the hood.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!