Couple of questions to piggy back onto this informative thread as I am also struggling with the large selection of range hoods. Depth? Lots of love for Kobe goods on these forums and I thought I had narrowed it down to CH-191SQB-1. Then I read a post that a depth of less than 24" is not good as it misses the effluent from the front burners. Every Kobe range hood I have looked at is 22" Optimal ducting. I'm looking at under cabinet installation. What is better (quieter and more efficient) a vertical round duct (the Kobe I'm looking at is 6") that goes into the cabinet above then makes a 90 degree elbow and vents out the back wall or a rectangular horizontal duct (3 1/4 x 10") straight out the back wall. Lighting: halogen vs LED Anyone with personal experience with LED lights? All of Kobe's new model hoods have switched to LED. We actually prefer the look/shape of some of the older discontinued hoods that are discontinued but still available online for purchase but they all have the old halogen lights. Also other brands that have hoods in 24" depth all have halogen lighting. Is this a big step down from the newer LED lighting?

Mine, over 30" induction cooktop, is a 36" Kobe in the CH191 series. It has max 720CFM, although the long run and multiple turns in my duct means the effective CFM is less. I usually run it on the second lowest setting anyway. It's quiet and easy to clean, and the corners are curved so no one can impale his head by accident. Mine has halogen bulbs, but I understand that they come with LED now. I thought ventingdirect.com had pretty good prices, although others have found even better deals on other sites. I think I read that there is a more affordable Kobe-made hood sold at Costco. Maybe the Brilla? Marcia's right - it's better to have 36" hood over 30" stove. But if you aren't changing the cabs and you're replacing a 30" MW, I don't know that you can avoid having 30" hood. Not the end of the world. Still much better than OTR MW. There are more discussions of hoods over on the Appliances forum. Try googling "gardenweb hood recommendation" or something similar.

And the saga continues....HVAC man came by. looked all around, house is not tight but current state code is requiring MUA above 400 or 600 CFM, but enforcement is varying town by town. The town 3 miles away is rejecting permits without MUA. My town is not. He said given location of furnace and if I absolutely promised to crack a window, he'd be ok with no MUA. If the plans get rejected because of a lack of MUA, a simple unconditioned system could be put in through the crawl space at around $1800-$2500. That is of course if I get rid of the infestation of the biggest crickets he has ever seen in his life that are presently residing the crawl space. Still haven't connected with Kitchen consultant.

For islands and peninsulas, one not only needs a hood entry area large enough to capture expanding cooking plumes, but also to compensate for drafts -- even from people movement. Higher mounting to improve sight lines further exacerbates the plume expansion. I use the largest Wolf Pro Island hood to cover a Frigidaire 36-inch induction cook top plus an adjacent Cooktec induction wok hob. The hood base is at 34.5 inches about the counter. 36 inches mounting height would also work, capture wise, but the duct cover would have to be embedded in the ceiling -- 8 ft at that location. I am presently a bit under six feet tall. I have no head clearance problem, but did change the lights to LED to avoid having to wear a hat if standing just under a halogen light. Flow velocity into the hood base should be at least 90 ft/min (mine is running a bit above that; full characterization is pending). Actual CFM is given by 90 times the entry area of the hood (10 square feet in my case). Blower rating has to be higher to compensate for the pressure loss in the baffles, ducts, and make-up air supply. Without analysis, use a factor of 1.5X. My blower is nominally rated at 1500 CFM. My blower is on the roof with an intermediate silencer. Adequate make-up air is needed to achieve this velocity with a reasonable blower and also avoid interior negative pressure in the residence. Mount the hood so it is centered over the hobs, not the physical cooktop area. Some bias may be desirable if there is an on-going draft due to air conditioning. Bias toward the range door might be helpful if opening it dumps a lot of greasy broiling effluent into the kitchen. One can always design (and pay) for a nearly perfect (large) kitchen ventilation system; usually, however, one has to balance aesthetics, performance, and cost.