Yes, when possible, a range hood should be at least six inches wider than your cooktop. The hood should extend three inches past the kitchen range on both sides. The extra coverage allows your hood to capture greasy air and smoke more efficiently. It vents the cooking exhaust outside your home quicker than a hood that is just as wide as your cooktop.
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6 Benefits of Buying a Range Hood Wider Than Your Cooktop
More Coverage = Cleaner Air
The larger your hood, the more easily it will capture grease, steam, and smoke. It will also do a better job capturing that cooking exhaust and getting it safely outside of your home.
Think of it this way. If you’re fishing and you cast seven lines into the water, you’ll catch more fish. Similarly, if you’re cooking with a range hood wider than your stove, it’ll catch more grease and other unwanted contaminants and chemicals produced from your cooking. This will dramatically improve your indoor air quality. Not only that but it will also improve your long-term health.
Great Safety Net in Case of an Emergency
When cooking, sometimes you can make mistakes. Whether you leave your oven on too long or you’ve been cooking for many hours, smoke can fill your kitchen fast! This is the perfect time for you to use the max speed on your range hood. High CFM and extra coverage is the ideal combination to vent heavy grease from your kitchen in just minutes.
Allows You to Cook More Food
With a larger hood than your range, you can cook more and still enjoy clean air. You won’t have to be as cautious when you’re cooking. Rather than spend time opening windows and turning on fans, you can focus on your cooking. Also, you’ll hear a lot less of your smoke alarm
Can Run Your Hood on Lower Speeds
With more coverage, you can run your range hood at lower speeds and it will still be effective This has multiple benefits to you and your hood.
Quieter: Lower speeds allow you to socialize with friends and family while your hood is running.
Lasts Longer: Lower speeds put less stress on the motor, so it will last for years to come.
Power: With a smaller range hood, it takes more power to suck up the same amount of air as a large hood. Either that or it will take more time to vent the same amount of greasy air outside your home.
Increases the Life of Your Range Hood
If you run the hood at lower speeds, this will increase the life of your range hood. It puts less strain on the motor
Easier to Maintain
A hood wider than your cooktop is easy to maintain. It picks up more cooking exhaust than a smaller range hood, which means there is less grease and oil droplets in the air. Instead of accumulating on your hood, walls, ceiling, and cabinetry, this air vents outside your home.
Should an outdoor range hood be wider than my cooktop?
Ideally, an outdoor range hood should be at least 12 inches larger than your cooktop. Outdoor BBQs are much hotter than indoor ranges. They produce much more smoke and cooking exhaust. Also, outdoor air moves much more than indoor air, and moving air is much harder to capture. The added coverage helps capture kitchen air to keep your outdoor patio clean and fresh.
How high should I position the range hood above the stove?
Mount your range hood between 28” and 36” above your cooktop. Under 28” is too close to your stovetop and it may cause damage to your hood in the long term. Over 36” is too far away and most of the cooking exhaust will escape into your kitchen.
For more information on how high to mount your range hood, check out this ultimate guide.
What size range hood do I need?
Your range hood should be six inches larger than your range. For great coverage, you can even buy a hood 12 inches larger than your range. Larger range hoods are always a great idea. With smaller hoods or hoods over electric stoves, you may be able to get by with a hood that is equal to the size of your cooktop.
Check out our ultimate guide on range hood size right here.
Recap
Hopefully you learned more about range hood size and how to choose the right range hood for you. For the best results, remember to size your range hood at least six inches larger than your cooktop. Outdoor hoods should be at least 12 inches larger to keep up with the intense heat of your grill.
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