Island hood reviews: good weather over the island

When installing island hoods, which work on the exhaust air, you have to solve the problem of placement of the duct, and for built-in models – even stuffing the hood. For this purpose a false ceiling is made, which lowers to the right height in order to put the necessary utilities behind it. For laying the pipe leave a height in the light , slightly higher than its diameter, for a flange of 120 mm – 150 mm, for a flange at 150 about 180 mm. If it is decided to replace the pipe with a rectangular one, its cross-sectional area must match that of the flange. Narrowing is unacceptable, as it increases the load on the hood motor, increasing its wear and tear, reducing the resource of the device. The daily noise level is also increasing. Despite the fact that the suspended ceiling dampens the sound of air passing through, for installation it is preferable to choose a smooth PVC pipe corrugated, depending on the chosen speed of the device, rustling or noticeable noise and again make the motor work harder .

In the case of built-in models, the “stuffing” under the ceiling must also be placed, and here it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of built in, which are specified in the technical specifications. For example, the Elica Cloud Nine model requires a height of 50 cm above the ceiling, while the Best Phobos model has a height of 38 cm.

Living in the ceiling

Circular island hoods are not very common yet, and you can only find a few models on sale: Best Cirrus 110 IX and Enigma, Kuppersbusch EDL 12700.1 GE, Miele DA 2900. But they are incredibly interesting, as they compete with climatic equipment, but unlike it have magnificent appearance, on which very good designers have worked. Outside, that is, in the ceiling, only the fume cupboard area of the hood is visible and can be controlled using a remote control. The cooker hood is not in the way – or rather it can be almost unnoticeable.

When installing an island hood, you need to pay attention to another important parameter – the optimal distance to the cooktop, which ensures the suction of air from the burners or hobs. Especially in places with high ceilings. For example, the hood Falmec Nuvola will be effective at a distance of up to 1.7 m.

Who can do what?

The output of an island hood is calculated as normal, regardless of the type of hood. The requirements are that the air in the kitchen must be changed 10 times per hour, but the calculation takes into account a 20 % safety margin. From here, the formula looks like this:

PERFORMANCE = AIR volume x 10+20 %

or

PERFORMANCE=WIDE x DEPTH x HEIGHT OF THE KITCHEN x 12

But in some situations this factor is simply not taken into account. Islands are often used in places where the kitchen is combined with several areas: dining room, living room, sometimes the hallway. The volume of the room becomes large enough that even a very powerful device is ineffective to comply with the rules of air exchange. In such cases, the air extractor comes to the aid of the. They use something like an air curtain at the boundary zones, letting in excessive air flow. It invisibly separates the cooking area from the rest of the room and prevents the air from dispersing everywhere. These technologies are active in the restaurant business, for example, to separate the smoking room from the non-smoking room or open kitchen.

The anatomy of a chandelier

Hanging hoods are designed for installation above the island, and therefore they must look good from all sides. Because there is an island in the vastness of the room, the design of the hoods is an integral part of the cooker hood design. There are always a few little twists and turns that change the way we think about hoods all the time.

Rethinking the design of hoods has led to a number of models that resemble a chandelier. These models look the most impressive in austere, ascetic and modern interiors. One of the first of these was the Elica Star, a highly sophisticated chandelier with sparkling crystals. These models showed that the hood can be so graceful, glamorous, bright. This is when joystick control became fashionable. Air extraction hoods of this type are now becoming more and more popular. This is confirmed by the appearance of new products: Electrolux EFA 50700 X, Faber LUXIA, Elica Evolution Platinum, Best Gemini. The similarity of the hoods with chandeliers is emphasized by modern lighting.

The models are placed on ropes or thin tubes. Mobile – are lowered to the hob, and after completion of work return to their original position. They work in recirculation mode. Some of them can be used for draining, but in this case a duct is added to the construction, like the Falmec Round or Elica Evoque.

Hanging pear

Hanging hoods sometimes take on a particular plasticity that is realized in bold forms, capable of collecting all the attention of the viewer on themselves. Faber Drop looks like an upside-down glass, its shiny surfaces can be painted black, white or red wine. The Elica Wizard looks more like a shot glass, with its flowing lines tapered to the bottom. The model looks most effective in yellow, but is also available in black and white. Such models – a piece product, not every company has the courage to make such decisions, and, what is important – not every person can live with such “courage”.

In a circle of color

The form is no longer the only form – the hoods are increasingly accented by light. The Faber Arkea model is able to change its color, or to be more precise, the color of backlighting: you can choose a constant color or change it as you like. Similar models were presented by Whirlpool. The Moonlight range hoods have 8 preset backlight colors from a choice of 256.

For those who understand

But the customer, and thus the manufacturer, is not indifferent to the already familiar design solutions: The T-shaped or bent-wing hood, the cube, the tube. These hoods smoothly fit into modern interiors, captivate by simplicity and adequacy of design that can be understood by everyone. Although these established forms are constantly being redefined, they take on a new meaning.

Two-Faced Janus

But appliances that are designed for two-sided perception look bulky. Their design is based on a tilted hood, where two appliances, “looking” in different directions, are combined into one. You get a design that looks like raised wings from the side like the Franke FAK 907 I XS, Best IS 280 90 IX .

Two-pipe ship

A special place among island models take hoods with two modules – two-tube, such as Miele DA 5330 D, Falmec Horizonisola 150 IX 1600 , Gaggenau AI 480-180 IX. Using two modules allows you to organize the space above the countertop. It is such a spectacular sight that designers often use a pair of single hoods in the form of a pipe, less often – a cube.