Ducted vs Ductless Range Hoods

A quality kitchen range hood can really enhance your enjoyment of cooking, and improve the air quality in your home and kitchen. Range hoods come in two kinds, ductless and ducted. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of each kitchen range hood type.

Ducted Range Hoods Pro’s And Cons

• Pro: Ducted hoods are very common although there can be limitations on where they can be installed in a kitchen because the duct has to be able to remove air from the kitchen environment.
• Pro: Ducted hoods are often found in commercial kitchens and homes with larger ranges producing a great amount of fumes, smoke and unclean air that needs to be cented to the outside.
• Pro: Highly efficent at removing humidity and steam from the kitchen and as they are not recircualting or filtering air but are actually venting the air from the kitchen.
• Pro: They are often quieter and more efficent. Some argue this can be debatable as it is dependent on the brand, model, size and the maintenance of the range hood.
• Con: Space can be greatly limited where the cooking range and hood can be located so the duct system has to be positioned where one has already been installed to force air from the kitchen.

What Are Ductless Range Hoods?

Able to be installed in just about any location, ductless hoods do not need to vent to the exterior of the home and do not need to be installed where a duct is already located.

Ductless Range Hoods Pro’s And Cons

• Pro: A ductless range hood has greater versatility and instalaltion is simple in just about anywhere in your kitchen. Because these types of hoods filter and recirculate the air of your kitchen, it is not mandatory to install them near duct or pipe that reaches the outside.
• Pro: As well as the simplicity of installation, many ductless models have programmable timers that turn on or off automatically when they detect odors or smoke.
• Con: Ductless hoods recirculate air after filtering as opposed to pulling in fresh air or pushing out unclean air. So your kitchen may become fairly humid. They are also sometimes noisier than ducted models.
• Con:  Filters are required to be cleaned and replaced on a frequent basis so the performance of the ductless range hood is optimized. This may mean result in greater out of pocket expenses.

To Duct or Not To Duct, That is The Question

You have a choice of a ductless range hood or a traditional ducted range hood. Certainly ducted range hoods are in the long run more cost-effective and efficent in their performance but lack the adaptibility of ductless hoods. Commercial kitchens are far more likely to choose ducted range hoods but both options are reasonable propositions for residential kitchens.