Which is the Ideal Suction Hood for Your Home?
Cooking can get annoying if you do not have good fumes removal from your kitchen. While cooker hoods aren’t a necessity, having an appliance specially catered to improve ventilation around your kitchen space will greatly benefit your cooking (and cleaning) experience. Especially with the humidity of Singapore, good ventilation ensures that you will not have to suffer from the heat when whipping up your favourite meals. Enter suction hoods – an appliance capable of absorbing smoke, steam, grease and odours into the canopy before expelling or recycling the air to keep you and your kitchen feeling fresh and clean.
Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? But with plenty of options in the market, which is the ideal suction hood for you? It is also important for you to note that if you are living in apartments (HDB, Condos, etc), most likely you need to recycle the air as ducting or evacuation of the air is not allowed.
With this in mind, it is easy to choose from the wide selection of suction hoods – island, wall-mounted, telescopic, canopy and downdraft hoods available in the market! Read on to find out the difference between each suction hood.
Island Hoods
Best for home island kitchens with larger open areas and ceilings that are capable of concealing the ventilation pipes. Fixed directly above your hobs, this highly powerful appliance directly sucks in the smoke that rises from your cooking – very effective if you are looking to prevent smoke from building up in your kitchen.
Wall-Mounted Hoods
A common sight for kitchens as it is attached to a bare wall adjacent to your hobs. This suits your kitchen if you do not have an island cooking space. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to save space with a wall-mounted hood – by installing it in between your cabinetries!
Telescopic Hoods
A shorter version of a wall-mounted hood, telescopic hoods are commonly attached underneath existing cabinets, typically in households where it is tedious to create a space in between these cabinetries to accommodate one. Telescopic hoods can even be installed inside cabinetries to hide it from sight!
Photography by Electrolux.
Canopy Hoods
Canopy hoods are much like telescopic hoods – they can be attached right beneath your cabinetries or mounted onto a wall in your kitchen. They are specifically designed to vent out non-toxic materials such as heat, steam, and odours from kitchen appliances. These hoods are fantastic for low-ceiling kitchens and save space, giving an intimate touch to your kitchen without being conspicuous. 
Photography by Bosch.
Downdraft Hoods
Downdraft hoods are attached directly to the cooking surface, preventing smoke and odours from rising by absorbing them horizontally across the surface top. This is a great alternative for homes with space constraints as downdraft hoods are significantly smaller in size compared to the other hoods mentioned in this post.
Photography by Smeg.
Another factor of importance when it comes to selecting your ideal suction hood would be the distance between your hob and your kitchen ceiling. The recommended height would be between 29cm to 34cm for straight hoods and 65cm to 75cm for slanted hoods. Therefore, it is usually more difficult for tall kitchens to accommodate hoods due to the need for an additional installation of exhaust pipes just so that the ventilation can reach outside. On the other hand, kitchens with shorter ceilings enjoy the flexibility to accommodate the various hoods mentioned above.
Your suction hood should also be ideally more than 3 inches longer on each side compared to your hob – this is to ensure optimal absorption effectiveness. The width of a standard suction hood is around 30 to 36 inches.
Suction Power
For effective fumes removal, make sure to select hoods with suction power of at least 650m3/h to 800m3/h or as high as possible for fast and effective cleaning!
Final Thoughts
With these considerations in mind, you are now ready to choose the most suitable hood for your kitchen. Need help to replace your existing cooker hood? Kitchen Papa has more than 30 years of experience in suction hoods replacement. Contact us now at enquiry.kitchenpapa@gmail.com or 6282 2278 for more information.