I have a 30" induction range and put a Kobe CH2730SQB hood over it. In my last house I had a Wolf 36" cooktop on an island and put a VAH hood over that. Neither one of these is "quiet" like a good dishwasher but the VAH was definitely worse (which, considering its larger size, is probably expected). What I didn't expect was the vibration experienced in the bedroom floor (on the second floor directly over the kitchen) when the VAH was on high. My current house is a ranch and so that issue doesn't exist here. The Kobe is pretty noisy on its highest speed but not what I'd classify as cover-your-ears level. The default (middle) speed is acceptable or better, IMHO. The two lowest speeds are quiet but of course do not move as much air. The Kobe has five speeds; I normally use it on #3 which is adequate for what I do. That said, I never fry. I did crank it up a couple of times to #5 when I accidentally let a pan of cookies burn (darn email, LOL) and filled the kitchen with smoke. I was impressed with the job it did clearing out the resulting fog and scorched smell very quickly. I am less impressed with the Kobe's lighting. There are two halogen bulbs and three light settings. The brightest setting is the only one I'd consider adequate and I have a well-lit kitchen. The VAH had four halogen bulbs with two light settings, low and high; the bulbs themselves were larger but again, so was the hood. The only quibble I have about the Kobe is that while it works great for items on the two back burners, it really does not come out far enough to effectively pull stuff up from the front-burner pans. And we are talking about just steam here, folks. My range does have the controls at the back, which means the front burners are more "forward" than a front-panel range's would be. I suspect that if I had one of those, the hood would be in a better operating position re: the burners. But I was determined on this induction range and so we gotta work with what we've got, LOL I paid $699 plus tax for the Kobe last year from a local appliance store. I see that Amazon has it now for $657. As for a microwave hood, the prior owners had one and the first thing I did was get rid of it. All they do is recirculate the same air through a not-very-efficient metal filter/screen. If I have a fan, I want it to REMOVE the odor/grease/etc-laden air from my house... not simply move it around and deposit it back into the same living space it was originally in. This post was edited by Helena2013 on Thu, Nov 27, 14 at 13:27

You might want to cros-post on the Appliances forum. There are some very knowledgeable people there (here too of course).

Thank you all for responding. Arc1017, I think your kitchen is beautiful and I've referred to it many times before, actually. Thank you for your honest assessment of the situation! Edlakin, I called around to various dealers in my area (metro Washington DC) asking about using another manufacturer's island trim, and was basically told (not very politely either) that messing with the island trim would invalidate my warranties...they sounded mostly annoyed with me and just wanted to finish the new sale, but I'm just a bit of a wuss and not much of a DIYer in these kinds of situations (I actually work in a creative field and I'll improvise in design, clothes, food...but BTUs and heat transfer are just out of my league!) so I caved. Bottom line, I'm getting full credit on the Thermador and will be getting a Viking 36" instead. Alku, our dealer doesn't have Bluestar so it wasn't an option as far as the exchange. BUT It turned out to be less of a price difference than I thought because the Viking island trim costs a lot less, but still more than I'd budgeted for. GRrr. I've kept to my budget so faithfully on this project and was really looking forward to my new Pro Harmony. Thanks all for indulging my crazy question!

It will be much easier, and there will be less risk of damage, to install the backsplash and the countertops first, before the range. We always tell our clients that the range should be the last thing to go in the kitchen. If the installation can be postponed, that would be my preference. If not, your countertop / backsplash contractors will have to be extra careful working around your brand new range :)