We have a microwave/ vent and I do not like it. It does not actually vent to the outside and seems to be no more than a weak fan if we have any smoke that needs to be handled. I am not sure if the contractor installed it improperly or if this is the norm. I am harping to get a hood vent and have it installed in the future and ditch the microwave vent. Good luck

Based on input here, I am kind of ruling out the Berkshire Elite. I went back and got a quote from another company and they quoted Vytex Fortis windows. He said they do Sunrise, but they have a great relationship with Vytex (factory is probably 10-15 miles from here), the Vytex is just as good as Sunrise, and we could get a better price/deal on the Vytex. His quote on the Vytex (lifetime window warranty from Vytex, 10 year labor from the contractor) was as follows: Energy savor plus R-4 rating (double pane)=$6,997.00 Energy savor max, Triple pane r-5 rating =$7,972.00 Energy savor Ultimate Triple pane , Krypton r-6 rating,=$8,322.00 They also offer an Energy Savor max triple silver low-e coating: Cost for the Energy savor max 3S r-5 rating is $8,372.00. Energy savor Ultimate 3S, r-6 rating is $8,522.00 The triple-pane R5 has a U factor of 0.2, SHGC of 0.25, VT 0.42. I believe the AI is 0.05. The triple-pane R6 has a U factor of 0.16, SHGC 0.25, VT of 0.42. AI is the same at 0.05. I don't have CR ratings. These are the values for the base windows - not the ones with the triple silver low-e. I don't have any info on how that coating affects the ratings. In addition, I found out there were some discounts from the Okna dealer that I didn't account for. The updated price of the 1800 series triple pane is $10696 ($764 per window). I double checked - the contractor's labor warranty is lifetime. For reference, the quote for the Okna 1800 lists a U factor of 0.19, SHGC of 0.23, AI of 0.01, CR of 75, and VT of 0.37. The Okna contractor said they would use low expansion foam during the install. The Vytex installer said they would use it if needed (and probably because I brought it up). As of now, I think I have narrowed it down to these two options. What would you guys recommend? Is the Vytex triple silver low-e coating any good / worth it? Is the R5 Okna 1800 ~$2000 better than a triple pane R5 and/or R6 Fortis? Thanks.

High quality products including the door. Pretty low pricing. Make sure you do homework on the company proposing it. If they are legit, some companies do try to buy business this time of year, win for you. I see vytex down in the dumps like that often, but the sunrise and the Ls are usually much higher

As far as the Bosch cooktop - I considered the Benchmark with the flex zones. I did not like how you had to select a burner and then a level. I prefer a one touch operation - some call it “direct select”. I did not look at other Bosch cooktops as I wanted a cooktop with bridging capability. Bosch makes a very good induction top and many on this forum have been pleased with them. I did find Wolf has better pot recognistion on the large burner. I can put my smallest saucepan there and have it recognized - not so with the Bosch benchmark on the larger burner. That is not a big issue as how often would you put that small of a pan on the large burner. If you use a lot of smaller cookware - the flex units will allow you to put more than one or two on the flex/bridged space if they fit and are recognized. Same with my large burner. Say I want to keep 2 or 3 sauces warm and can fit them on my large burner - I can put them all there and use a low setting to keep them warm If I wanted to. There have been several new entries to the market since I was looking 5+ years ago. I did take my pans to a showroom with live units and tried out the interfaces and layouts to see what would work best for me.