Updated 24 Jun 2011

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Introduction

We tested 7 canopy-style rangehoods to see how well they dealt with clouds of steam and how easy they were to use.

Kitchens can produce a great deal of moisture when you’re cooking, with pots and pans bubbling away. An effective rangehood can help rid your kitchen of steam and cooking smells.

Note: our test is for 900mm wide rangehoods.

Models we tested

This report contains test results and recommendations for the following rangehoods:

All models are 90cm wide. Electrolux and Westinghouse aren’t included as their models were being changed at the time of our test.

Types of rangehood

There are 4 types of rangehood available: fixed, tilting, sliding and canopy. All usually come in 600mm and 900mm widths. Our test includes 900mm canopy models.

Fixed hoods

Shaped like a flat box, they're fixed permanently to the wall or under an overhead cupboard. Some have a small hinged visor. They can be fitted to a new or existing kitchen. DIYers should find these easy to install.

This type of hood works well with a couple of pots steaming away, but it will miss quite a bit of the steam if you have all four elements going. Because they always stick out they can get in your way.

Tilt hoods

These range hoods are mounted between cupboards and have a front panel that tilts open. The panel can be matched to your kitchen décor. To use the hood, you swing the front panel out over the cooktop.

Tilt hoods are more effective than fixed ones at removing large quantities of steam. So if you often cook with all 4 elements at once, a good tilt hood may be a better option. Controls on tilt models are usually somewhere behind the tilting front, and are a little harder to use than the front controls of fixed or canopy models.

Tilt hoods are usually considered for new rather than existing kitchens, because of their "built-in" nature. But if you're getting new cupboards done, or don't mind having to reconfigure your existing cupboards, they are worth considering.

Retractable hoods

These are designed for kitchens where you want the hood to be out of the way when it's not in use. They're generally mounted under cupboards and have an extension that slides out – the fan and light come on automatically.

Canopy hoods

Canopy hoods are large and comparatively expensive. Once confined to commercial kitchens, they have joined a range of other high-quality cooking equipment that has found its way into domestic kitchens.

While other types are usually ducted through the wall, most canopy hoods have a vertical flue that takes cooking fumes out through the ceiling or wall. The hood itself is usually made of stainless steel or glass, and can be deep and rectangular, or curved. Some are fixed to the wall, others hang from the ceiling.

With a more powerful fan, bigger chimney and greater width, canopy hoods often have a higher airflow than fixed types. They usually have additional features such as electronic controls, built-in halogen lighting, glass shelves, a rail for hanging implements, and three or four fan speeds.

Checklist

If you're thinking about buying a rangehood, here's what you should consider.

Ducted or recirculating

When you install a rangehood, it can be either ducted to the outside or set up to recirculate the air within the kitchen. It is now illegal to duct into the ceiling cavity, because the build-up of grease can be a fire hazard and moisture can cause condensation and rot. With the recirculation option, most of the grease and smells should be trapped by a special carbon filter. Moist air will still contribute to condensation problems and some smells may escape.

However, with external ducting, the process of removing a lot of hot air quickly does mean the room gets a little cooler. If you're used to having the oven help heat your kitchen or kitchen/living area, you may need to think about an extra heating source.

If you're in an apartment, recirculating the air may be the only option, but it should only be considered if you can't duct to the outside.

Tip: When installing a rangehood it’s best to use rigid ducting. Flexible ducting has ridges which can trap air and impede performance.

Size

With 2 pots on your cooktop, most hoods will cope pretty well, and won't let steam escape at the sides. However, most models won't cope very well with 4 pots of simmering water, particularly if they're only 600mm wide. Fixed hoods often fail to cover the front hobs.

The bigger the rangehood, the more effective it will be at removing steam and odours. If you have the space, consider fitting a 900mm-wide range hood over a 600mm cooktop. The extra width on each side will catch more steam. Our Test results are for 900mm-wide models.

Filters

All rangehoods have a filter to trap oil and grease. Reusable metal filters can be put in the dishwasher. The carbon filters for recirculating mode need to be replaced regularly and are an ongoing cost – check that they’re readily available, too.

Fans

Efficiency is not necessarily related to the number of fans. Some single-fan models can out-perform two-fan models.

Noise

Fans can be quite noisy on full speed, and there's a tendency for noise to increase with performance. A range of fan speeds is therefore useful: you don't need the thing whooshing away if you're just scrambling some eggs. Noise levels can get up to 60 or even 66 decibels (dBA).

Lighting

A good rangehood will provide enough light over the cooktop for you to see into the pots. Many models use only a single 40 watt bulb, which many cooks won't find adequate. Others use 2 bulbs, sometimes suffusing them with a perspex strip. Many of the more expensive rangehoods provide much better light with halogen lamps or suffused fluorescent bulbs. Check that the bulbs are easy to replace.

Exterior

The rangehood should be easy to clean and have no nooks or crevices where dirt and grease can build up. Fixed rangehoods with a smooth underside are generally easier to clean than retractable ones.

Maintenance

Rangehoods are not maintenance-free. You need to remove and wash the filter, clean the body of the hood and occasionally change a light bulb. You should be able to perform most of these tasks easily – if there's a problem, contact your distributor.

Controls

It's pretty standard for hoods to have their controls in an easy-access position on the front. However, some models have sliding switches that are a little tricky to set in the right position. Touch controls are easier to use.

About our test

The 7 rangehoods were installed above a 90cm ceramic cooktop and ducted to the outside. We then set them to work, looking at how well they removed steam from the room – first with 2 saucepans of simmering water and then with 4. We tested with the fan on high and on low settings.

All these rangehoods can be used without being ducted to the outside: they can be set up so that they re-circulate the air in the kitchen. But we don’t think that’s a good idea. In re-circulating mode they use a carbon filter to remove smells and then push damp air back into the kitchen, possibly contributing to condensation. Re-circulating the air should only be considered if you can’t duct to the outside.

We tested with ducting – so our performance results don’t apply to re-circulating mode.

Noise levels were measured at a high and a low setting. We checked how easy it was to get at and clean the mesh filter, to replace a carbon filter, to use the controls and to clean exterior surfaces. We also measured how well each rangehood lit the stovetop.

See the Test results for details of how all the rangehoods performed.