for what it's worth... In the Twin Cities, I was able to look at the Broan Allure models mounted right next to a Vent-a-Hood in the Stellian showroom. I can't recall what the VAH model was, but it was comparable in price to the Allure III, about $350. My cooking is done on a 30 inch regular electric range. Standard cooking; some broiling but fish is usually done on outside barbecue. For our family, the sound of the vent is of much more significance than the airhandling capacity--background sound prevents conversation or hearing of other things when you're slightly deaf. Loud sound is unacceptable to us and would prevent us from using the hood altogether. The Broan Allure III, which I can purchase at Stellian for a little over $300, has a very low setting which is barely audible to me, remember I'm somewhat deaf. The Vent-A-Hood was also fairly low in sound, but my (eccentric) ears said that the Allure III was quieter on low and on pretty low, and those are the modes I will be using much of the time. The Allure III on high and on ultraboost mode is med. loud and very loud and their cfm movement will suffice for occasional short time use for big smoke/stink I think. Salesperson, an old hand type, says he prefers the V-A-H but not because of sound issues. He likes the mechanical stuff with the VentAHood because it collects grease and you wash it out afterward and he says the air collecting area is better size. The Broan has a dishwasher washable grease filter and will be fine for my purposes. I have steam issues more than fat. My Broan from the 1970s still works but it's too noisy for my old ears. I generally run it on lowest setting now, unless I'm blanching veg, etc in summer. I should have bought a replacement years ago, but at least now the quietness technology is improved. As for over-the-range microwave hoods, I don't like them. Short people can't reach them and the air handling is not as good or as quiet as a dedicated unit can offer. Also, as your kids grow up, you will be saying "excuse me" all the time as two people try to do different things in the same space. If the microwave goes belly up, your vent hood goes as well. How many microwaves have you already owned in the last few years? Broan vent connections seem to be problematical; plan to buy some specialized vent ducting. In our case, we think we can recycle the old vent connection.

Thank you all for posting the pictures -- it helps me visualize. The look definitely works for transitional or traditional cabinetry. I'm still trying to figure out if a modern look requires wider. Fouramblues, I asked my architect and GC a few times about whether our city has a MUA requirement. They both said they had never heard of one (and they both appear to be allergic to research). I tried researching myself online without any luck. We live in SoCal (no AC) and leave the kitchen window open most of the year for fresh air, so that is our MUA plan, lol. We also have a 50-year-old house that is not even close to air tight. Secondhalf, is that the Kobe RA-02-1? Are you satisfied with the finish? I was considering the 42" 1000 CFM version of that hood. I could only find 1 Kobe hood in a local store. It was a different model (pyramid with straight corner instead of beveled) and there was a visible seam all the way up the "corner" where the front panel overlapped the sides panel (i.e., the pyramid part was made with 3 pieces of metal instead of 1). Is that how your hood is constructed, or is the lower part seamless? Also, how much space do you have between your uppers and the hood? GreenDesigns, I thought I could offset size with higher CFMs. Would I be better off with a 42" 715 CFM hood? One hood in my budget that I find aesthetically pleasing (other than the mesh filters) is the Zephyr Venezia. I'm not sure I will ever use the grill on the range, as we grill outdoors year round. I only bought that model because it was a floor model at 35% off. If I had realized what venting my "bargain" range would cost, I would have skipped it. Now I wish I had bought induction, as it would have been cheaper to replace all my pots and pans if I could use a simple 600 CFM hood.

Lumine: The function of cooking ventilation is to capture and contain grease particles in the air along with water vapor and odor. The ducting and blower remove those components that do not get collected on the baffles or mesh filters or walls of the VAH blower unit. Smoke, odor, and smaller parts of the grease aerosol spectrum are usually blown into the atmosphere. It is the large particles that are collected. Different types and temperatures of cooking make the balance of these components different. No filter can collect everything, and in commercial settings is not usually expected to. In extreme cases, intense UV is used to breakdown the components of the exhausted effluent. Note that the hood system does not suck up effluent from the burners. It captures rising effluent (which can move at 3 ft/s if hot enough) and pulls it though the baffles or whatever. If the effluent, which expands as it rises, misses being captured, it distributes itself in the room or house and some will settle out on the walls and furniture. The part that remains in the air will slowly be removed by the hood's operation replacing house air. Hood system blowers can be in the hood, in series with the duct, or on the roof. Silencers only silence what is beyond them relative to the cook. So they work with in-line and roof blowers, not in-hood blowers. Exterior noise from roof fans is usually modest. I have to deliberately listen to hear my 1500 CFM roof unit from locations in the yard during a typical day. It might be more noticeable on a very quiet night with no traffic noise within a mile or so. However, I live in NH, not CA, and don't have neighbors' windows closer than perhaps 75 feet from the blower location on the roof. kas

Wow, I'm very grateful to all of you who took the time to reply! Great to see your pictures, too. Some responses (if you're interested), now that I've finally been able to go through: Sammy and The Kitchen Place are correct that we could put it in the upper above the dishwasher — that's the only upper that is the right size that wouldn't block other cabinets. (Thanks for the pictures, The Kitchen Place!) I was intrigued by nidnay's idea of bumping into the bedroom closet, but that closet is filled with custom cabinetry so it would be a huge project to put the microwave there.If Icould put a Miele microwave (/speed oven) in an upper cabinet, I'd try for that, but of course our uppers are only 13" deep and the Miele opens down, so not workable. My better half is against mounting a "normal" microwave in an upper cabinet (he thinks in that case we might as well go OTR, and that it will pull away from the pretty stove/hood that's the whole reason for this conundrum). (ci_lantro questions the whole premise of opening the kitchen. Others in our building have done it and it makes a significant difference in the feeling of the whole unit—we're confident it's the right move, long term.) Helen, HU-41121833, Buehl, Interior Concept, RTHawk and others: Thanks for saying good things about the Sharp microwave drawer. nidnay, thanks for your criticisms of it, too! The slimline microwaves are attractive too! Unfortunately induction sounds great, but not in the cards for us. I do believe everybody who says we need something more powerful than a microwave fan — the Vent-A-Hood system does look quite good. kaseki, thanks for your hood comments. pittsburrito, I hear what you're saying about external ventilation. There is a small vent in the kitchen and windows in the living room, so we try to be careful. Thank you all! Still not sure what we'll do, but I'm grateful for all the advice on the Houzz forums.