Sirius Range Hoods Facts and Decision Sheet

Range Hood Facts and Decision Sheet

Why bother with a range hood at all? The incidence of asthma and respiratory problems, particularly in children, has jumped by 61% since 1982 - American Lung Association Indoor pollution (not limited to the cooking zone only), coupled with poor ventilation was a probable cause for high increase in respiratory problems - Mayo Clinic Why the jump since 1982 - what's the significance here - in recent years our homes have become very efficient and air tight, particularly in the snow belt - the result is a huge reduction in the fresh air circulating through our homes - our homes have become air pollutant hazards. Approximately 60 lbs of cooking fat and airborne particles get "dumped" into the fabric of your curtains, furnishings and carpets every year, if you do not have adequate range hood ventilation. I am sure you have smelt an egg, being fried on the first floor of your home whilst you were sitting in the loft - two floors up - smells great, but that's the air pollution and fat invading your home. Good ventilation can reduce the symptoms and the conditions which increase the likelihood of contracting respiratory ailments. Good ventilation can reduce the symptoms and the conditions which increase the likelihood of contracting respiratory ailments. I am sure you will agree - YOU SHOULD BOTHER WITH A RANGE HOOD
Basic decision criteria for either island or wall mount hoods Noise - it has been proven that homeowners do not use their hoods if they are noisy Establish what the sones are for the styles you want, as well as their cfm - remember generally the higher the cfm the higher the noise. Noise is a big factor so consider it very carefully. CFM - cubic feet per minute- the volume of air "sucked" in by the range hood every minute. What types of range are your using Electric - range hood of up to 475 cfm is more than adequate Gas - what is the maximum BTU capability of the range - every 100 BTU you need 1 cfm from your range hood - so a 45000 BTU range requires say a 450 cfm range hood. This assumes the worst case scenario - all burners are going at the highest setting at the same time - so if your cfm is marginal ( a few 1000 BTU's) you should be okay. How big is the kitchen area - the Home Ventilation Institute recommends 15 air changes per hour Multiply the floor area by 2 for an 8 ft ceiling - so a kitchen area of 20 ft by 20 ft with an 8 ft ceiling has 800 cubic feet, the range hood should remove 12000 cubic feet per hour - it should have as a minimum 200 cfm range hood. A word of caution here - remember our home are very air tight these days - where will all this replacement air comes from that is being expelled outside - the only source of air is back down your chimney on your fireplace or from the exhaust on your furnace or hot water tank - very dangerous pollution - so be very careful in over sizing the range hood - maybe you do not need 650 or 900 cfm - if you do, then you must provide a fresh supply of air to feed these monster Size - the all important size - as a standard, your hood should be 3" wider than the range on either side, or, as a minimum the same width. Duct length - try and stay under 30 ft and limit the bends to two of 90 degrees - try and use two 45 degree bends in preference to 1 by 90 degree bend - sharp bends disturb the clear flow of air. Venting method -External or re-circulating and updraft or downdraft External venting or re-circulating - wherever possible, vent externally. Most hoods can be fitted with a carbon filter kit that purifies the air before it dumps it back into the room. However, you must replace the carbon filter on a regular basis otherwise those pollutants will invade your home again. The other downside to re-circulating is you will generally lose 15% efficiency by using a re-circulating kit. There are times however, when you have no options but to re-circulate Downdraft or updraft - hot air rises - downdrafts are fine where you cannot re-circulate or vent up and out, but remember you are now forcing hot air that is rising, to go back down into a downdraft system - you will lose a lot of efficiency and maybe pollutants as well Static Pressure- measured as Pa - the ability or "horsepower", at the exhaust point, to "push" the air its one thing to be able to "suck up" all this pollutant air - make sure the range hood has the ability in terms of Pa to push that polluted air down the ducting and outside your home. Very much like comparing a very fast car to one that can go as fast but has more horsepower - the one with the greater horsepower will generally win the race up a steep hill. Range hoods are similar - when the required work rate gets high, lots of smoke and particles to remove, you want horsepower - cfm alone is not enough Other factors - today we are not just limited to choosing a big square hunk of steel that invades our visual space - we have some magnificent choices in style from delicate stainless steel shapes to appealing glass and to any wood look or material of our choice. We also have choices between the number of fan speed settings, remote or manual controls, the halogen (best) or other sources, timers, filter cleaning warning systems and so on - consider them all. Workmanship, warranty, cist, aesthetics, style, budget - you have to decide.
The ten step guide to choosing the right range hood
Step One: Island or a wall mount range hood - circle choice	Wall/ Island
Step Two: The range hood cfm should be the largest number computed here: Gas Range BTU - __________ divide by 100 = required cfm Electric (light to heavy cooking) Room air exchanges required converted to cfm	_____ or 200-450 or _____
(A word of caution - REAL commercial ranges require a minimum of 650 cfm and big overhangs)
Step Three: External vent or re-circulate - notice we have not considered downdraft -most decent range hoods can be re-circulated	vent/ re-circ
Step Four: Maximum sones at full power setting - guideline	4.5
Step Five: Minimum static pressure in Pa required - guideline	450
Step Six: Range hood width - add 6" to the width of your range - ideal minimum width	_____ _____
Step Seven: The all important style and wish list: Custom wood range hood or hood totally concealed into the underside of the wall cabinet - called a liner or power pack Manual (M) or remote control (R) All stainless (SS) or stainless steel and glass (SG)	Yes/No M/R SS/SG
Step Eight: Circle your wants - Fan speeds - 2 or 3 or 4 / Timer - Y/N / Halogens - Y/N
Step Nine: Evaluate all of your available options against the above criteria
Step Ten: I want ______ made by ______ and sold by ______

Produced with the compliments of Sirius Range Hoods, in an effort to assist you in making an informed choice for your kitchen ventilation needs - good luck and happy renovating - if we can be of any assistance give us a call.