To me, that is less of an issue than whether the lights shine in my face or not.

I agree with the, "not shining in the face". Most higher end hoods come with halogen spots which wouldn't shine in the eyes unless they were pointing right at your face. I had a vent-a-hood that had lights on both sides. The Prestige I just got has lights in the middle. So far, I think I prefer the center position. I was also pretty happy with overhead (i.e. front) mounted lights as long as they are mounted high enough like in typical restaurant settings.

Keep in mind a lot of this depends on how high you mount your hood and how tall you are. Also, if your hood is 24" or 27". You just want to avoid shadows in the primary cooking area as well as anything shining directly at your eyes. Also watch for reflections. I found this to me more of a problem in restaurant kitchens were there are chrome fixtures or containers around the range.

I'm 5'4" and my husband is 6'4". Are you saying that the higher we put the hood, the less likely the lights will shine in my eyes? And how do you avoid the shadows that you mentioned.....again, by placing the hood higher......or is it prevented by adequate lighting (50 watts instead of 20 watts for instance) on the hood? Gosh, you guys both raised some interesting things I hadn't thought of. Thanks!

There is one range hood I remember seeing that had one 50 w. halogen bulb in the middle. I may try to find that one again. Do you think that would provide enough light for the 30" cooktop?

My 30" VAH has 2 halogen bulbs mounted toward the front. They are bright enough for open heart surgery but I've never had them shine in my eyes, nor have I had shadows. That can be a function of the cooking surface. With a pro-style range you stand further from the counter due to the oven handles protruding into the kitchen, whereas with an drop in induction surface you can stand right up close.

Ours are mounted at the front and they provide great light and don't shine in our faces. I don't think I would like them at the back.

Given the height difference, how high do you have the hood mounted? It'd have to be pretty high to avoid being right a eye level for your husband. The higher the mount the more likely back mounted lights could get in your eyes. Given your husbands height, you'll probably want your hood mounted high so he doesn't bump his head on the hood while using the range. I'd suggest side or front mounted lights in your situation. The only risk of shadows in typical home environments isn't great so don't worry too much about that. I worked in a kitchen once that had a fire sprinkler that cast a shadow right over the cooking area but that's pretty rare.

I'd avoid hoods with a single bulb. First, that doesn't give as much light obviously but it also doesn't give even lighting usually. At least two lights are recommended to provide even shadow free lighting across the cooking surface. The two bulbs should be far enough apart left-to-right or front-to-back to cover the whole cooking area.

I'm getting some great feedback here. Thanks! We won't actually mount the range hood until the cabinets go in. Then we'll be in a better position to gauge the height. Both hoods I'm looking at need to be mounted between 24" and 30" above the cooktop. Yes, definitely we don't want it to be a hazard for my husband hitting it.

Sounds like front (or at least middle) lights are the way to go. I've picked out a Bosch induction cooktop, which has a texture to it. I was afraid that the shiny black surface of some of the inductions would cause unpleasant reflections or glare.

Speaking of hoods, since you all seem to be a really knowledgeable group.... :-) (flattery will get you everywhere!) Would you go with baffles or mesh filters? Quiet (low sone rating?)is the number one concern for me since I'll be in a small space. I'm looking at hoods with 600 CFM's or less.

I'm looking at hoods by Best and Broan, Zephyr, Bosch, and Kitchen Aid. They all have styles that are slimmer, less bulky styles, but some have mesh filters and some have baffles. If I don't get answers here, I'll post this separately.

Thanks everyone! (Oh, based on idrive65's post, I'll check out VAH also.)

If you mount your hood at 30" above standard height counters, that would be at a height of 5'6" which is pretty low. You might want to consider getting a hood that's wider and deeper than your cooktop and mount it a bit higher. More typical hood heights are 30-36" above cooking surface so the 24-30" is on the low side. Something to think about when shopping for your hood.

amcook.....we're limited to the 30" width because of upper cabinets. Since we'll have an induction cooktop, I think the 30" hood should still amply service the area of the burners. Although I have read that you should always have a bit bigger hood than cooktop.

We can certainly place the hood higher if need be. Our ceilings are only 8 feet high, so I thought it would look funny if we moved the hood too high.....it would mean the upper tower part would be really short. I hadn't heard a recommendation as high as 36"....thanks for the heads-up. We'll definitely consider placing it higher, especially since I now know that front lights probably won't shine in my eyes. :-)

My caution was more based on your husband's height than venting efficiency. At a 5'6" mounting height, he'd be staring right into the side of the hood. Of course this depends on the shape and style of hood you choose. 36" is certainly on the high side and I'd suggest more power and size to compensate for that. In the end, as long as you and your husband are comfortable with the height, that's all that matters. I just mention these factors because I've run into them before.

It seems to me that lights in the back might obnoxiously reflect off of the glass surface of your cooktop.

I would look for a hood with LED lights. It's a much softer light than halogen, so you have the freedom to get any light arrangement that you want.

Here is a link that might be useful: LED Range Hoods

Just another perspective...
In our house the hood light only gets used as a light in the kitchen to keep from turning on all the kitchen lights when not needed. The eye socket type down lighting always gives plenty of task lighting for cooking. Where it is located in our situation doesn't matter. Being near the front makes it less of a chore to disassemble, clean and change the bulb if necessary.