I have just been through a similar situation. I opted to ask two appliance stores, well respected in my area, for their suggestions. I told them what cooktop I was purchasing and listened to what they suggested. Then I double checked their advice with this forum and my contractor. Then the specs for the hood insert I selected went off to the cabinet maker. Good luck.

Hi Greg, That's the conclusion I was coming to a well, since I need the ducting on the kitchen side of the wall. (The other side will be a bedroom, probably the guest room.) I drew the thing four different ways in SketchUp and did 2d images of them.... Chimney hood. I think this one is my favorite because I'm going for a contemporary look: Hood under stacked cabinets like my architect suggested. Overwhelming, but maybe OK if I were going for a more traditional look. A lighter color on the 2nd row might make it a it better, but I couldn't find an easy way to draw that. Lowering the ceiling by a foot might help too, by making the 2nd row shorter. A chase / soffit like tubeman has. I think this one is a close second place visually. I wonder if this would be quieter since the ducting would be less exposed. Just for the heck of it, a hood inside a wooden enclosure. This looks nicer than I thought it would, and it might be nice in a more traditional / transitional design. It's probably not quite right for me, but I need to think about it and go find some real life pictures of this sort of design. Thanks for all the advice! BTW, for anyone wanting to play with SketchUp, the 3d warehouse has some "SketchData" frameless cabinet components that make this sort of thing pretty easy to create. There are even some YouTube videos explaining how to use them. Laura

I also think the 100 CRI (outstanding color rendering, important for lighting up food) plus low cost plus not on too often keeps halogen bulbs in use here. LED light bulbs are an electronics device that lights up, and they are more susceptible to heat/moisture/grease/smoke that ventilation hoods must deal with. And only recently have high-quality, reasonably priced LEDs with good color rendering become available. If your hood takes reflector bulbs (MR16, PAR20, PAR30, PAR38) or regular incandescent bulbs there are good LED replacements available now. The LED replacements for tiny halogen bulbs are still too dim.

My entire kitchen is 18'10"x10'x10" for over 200 ft^2, but the L-shaped area where the cabinets and appliances are is only 10x10'5" or so, or just over 100 ft^2. I don't have a ceiling fan but I have a vent on the ceiling between the hallway and the kitchen, plus there are French doors to the yard right next to the refrigerator and near the stove. I have a 30" gas stove/convection oven, a Samsung model NX58H5600SS. Just bought it at Lowe's and haven't even gotten it delivered yet. Whatever range hood I get doesn't need to use LED lights but I'd prefer it since the rest of my home will be all LED. My local Lowe's has a few different types of range hoods and they have different CFM ratings. I'm confused because the display ranks them as "standard", "advanced", and I think "professional", which I obviously don't need. I'd like one in stainless steel to match my new stove, but I'm confused by the different CFM ratings. Most in the store have a CFM of 250 yet vary a lot in price. The display shows the "advanced" ranking as 300-600 CFM and recommends such for "typical gas & electric ranges, cooktops, higher heat, more steam/aroma", whereas the "standard", or under 250 CFM, is for "electric ranges & cooktops, less steam/aroma, light cooking". I'll be the sole inhabitant of the house and I'm no chef, but I do love to cook, especially spicy food. Btw, there's no range hood being replaced because I need to basically build my kitchen from scratch, as it had no appliances, cabinets, or even flooring when I bought the house, but at least there is wiring in the wall where the range hood will be so I can hardwire it. I'm not sure if the presence of these wires indicates anything to do with a duct, but I suppose I'd be fine either with ducted or ductless. I have a contractor who can install it if it's too difficult for me to do. It's a little hard to see but in the photo below from before I bought my house, the wires are circled. On the other side of that wall is the outdoors, and directly above the kitchen is the attic, although there is so much insulation up there that it is difficult to go through the attic to where the kitchen would be.