Sure, I meant, not daily use, or constant use, but the volume of smoke, steam, etc. In those cases, the hood 'captures' the smoke/steam from billowing out while the fans do their work. Larger area hoods and deeper hoods hold the steam within the hood itself. If the baffles or the impellers are right on the lower surface, they only suck up the steam they can get to. If there is excess, it isn't held withing the hood, it billows out into the room or up to the ceiling. As an example, on the Kobe website there is the model you're looking at, CH122 and a similar model CH179 that has the impellers recessed up inside the hood a few inches. Here is a link that might be useful: Kobe rangehoods

Steph - It's a Kobe RA9230SQB. I assume you're limiting yourself to 400 CFM because of code or MUA issues? If so, I'd seriously consider something with more capture area, ie not a flat bottom, if you are looking for more than marginal performance. That's harder to come by in chimney style. The further forward it protrudes the better. I haven't really cooked anything demanding since the hood has been hooked up (I'm still moving back into the kitchen) but based on what I've seen when boiling water on the front burners I'm not expecting any greatness out of this thing even at the highest 760 CFM setting. I knew this going into it so I'm ok with it; my decision was strongly influenced by aesthetics, cost, and house resale in mind. kksmama - As with any appliances, you'll find plenty of range hood discussion over on the Appliances forum. I take a lot of the discussion with a grain of salt because their "conventional wisdom" does not always match my practical experience, but there is something to be learned there. Head on over to AF if you've not already done so. You'll see a lot of familiar faces.

Baffle filters are a better way to capture grease, etc. They are also easier to clean than mesh. I just throw my baffles in the DW once a week or so and then stick them back in. I've read over on the Appliances Forum that as mesh filters get dirty they don't filter. Apparently baffles can be dirty and still filter. Overall, baffles are preferred overwhelmingly than mesh on the AF. I was planning on a Kobe until I found a deal on my Rangecraft. And I did research for over a year before deciding on Kobe. Good brand without spending $$$$$. Be aware that your hood and range manufacturers have hood height recommendations. Going higher than recommended will reduce the effectiveness of the hood to capture HOGS (heat, oil, grease, steam), and, hence, will let those escape to coat your cabs and walls.

Expanding on what emho23 and jhmarie said, it is helpful to bear in mind that there's a difference between "the best possible," "optimum" and just "okay" (a/k/a what emho called "fine" or what I have called "acceptable compromises for the budget, design and circumstances.") Emho mentions wrestling with the issues. Many of us have wrestled with the resolving of choices of appliance compromises. At some point, we all wind up spinning and thinking "why is this so hard?" And if you think choosing a hood is hard, wait til you get to choosing a washing machine! LOL. So, let's try sorting through your preferences to see if we can make this a little easier for you to figure out. First, let's clarify what you meant when you said you "didn't realize all the $300-1000 ones in the big box stores were all recirculating or weren't a complete package." Are you thinking most are recirculating because the product tagline descriptions on the big box store websites rarely say a hood is "ducted?" The key here may be in knowing that almost all hoods at the big box stores will vent to the exterior by default but can be switched over to ductless. IME, the tagline descriptions in the product listings that say "ducted" or "ductless" are used only for the models that can't be switched from one mode to the other. If the tagline doesn't say one of the other, the hood is one you can vent to the exterior. Does this clarification maybe open up a wider range of choices for you? Second, you say you want a focal point hood on a wall between two windows. So, I'm thinking, maybe what you have in mind is a wall space without cabinets where you are looking for a pyramidal-shaped, wall mounted, canopy style of hood with a kind of chimney rising from the top of the hood. A hood with a canopy is a good thing because the canopy (as opposed to a flat base) is big assist in capturing the rising plumes of steam, heat and vaporized cooking effluents. A flat base can be acceptable if you have to do that route (as I did) but a canopy is better. With a good canopy, there is less concern with large numbers in the fan CFM ratings. As Kaseki has often explained here before (in excellent technical detail for those who want it), capture area is as important to hood efficiency as the fan power, and often more so. That likely gives you a much wider array of choices of hoods. Third, emho mentioned getting a 36" wide hood for the Jenn Air version of your Kitchenaid range. That reflects a standard recommendation here. The extra width enhances the hood's ability to capture cooking effluents (steam, aerosolized grease, etc.) which rise in an expanding cone. That brings us to the compromise in most less expensive hoods. Many are only 19" or 20" deep, front to back. Put a big pot of pasta water to boil on a big front burner on your stove and maybe some steam gets by the front of the hood. Neither the best nor the optimum design, but maybe okay for everyday living and cooking? Fourth, your builder's reluctance to install a vented hood in your kitchen might be understandable if the new house will be very tight, as many newly built homes may be. In that case, adding an unplanned-for hood may pose regulatory and practical problems. If your jurisdiction has adopted International Residential Code Section M1503.4 and/or International Mechanical Code Section 505.2, you might be able to avoid regulatory issues by simply choosing a hood with fans rated at 400 CFM or less But, there is still basic physics to deal with when the new house will be very tight. While you might avoid those kind of regulatory issues by choosing a hood rated at 400 CFM or less, and/or putting it in yourselves as DIY project, you've still got to look at the practical concerns. The biggest practical concern is one of safety. This concern arises when there are fireplaces or gas appliances from which CO can be backdrafted regardless of whether your range hood is rated below 400 CFM. You might avoid the CO backdrafting concerns if there are no fireplaces or wood-burning stoves and if the heating appliances have their own powered air intakes and exhausts sealed off from the rest of the house. However, a tight house still poses a practical physics problem akin to sucking air out of a closed box. (For that matter, I've seen a house so tight that the even bathroom fans didn't work well.) Where things can get really complicated (and therefore) expensive is when you have sought something like a LEED certification, or your builder is trying to meet the performance-based standards of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (e.g., ASHRAE ¶ 62.2), or the house is built in a state with it's own performance-based interior air quality standards such as those that Minnesota, Wisconsin and California have adopted. That means expenses for measurements and testing and maybe MUA expenses before adding an unplanned range hood to the design. OTOH, the builder may just be looking for a way to avoid dealing with the problem so as to move on to the next project. Or, maybe, all of the above.