You picked out that hood for a reason.

The Best looks like it's designed for a supersleek kitchen that has the hood flush with the surrounding cabinets so it'll be the better choice for some designs. The cabinet (or custom hood) holding the Zephyr will stick out in a traditional hood kind of way.

Is you kitchen ultra modern or otherwise requires the hood cabinet to be flush with the neighboring cabinets? If not, tell them you already picked out a hood! (I'd go for the Zephyr's coverage instead of slightly higher CFM, but on the other hand, I have always loved the modern style with invisible hoods that won't work as well....)

If you cook and need a functional hood, choose the option which meets requirements, assuming you have determined what they are. One thing that the requirements always include is a hood aperture overlapping the burners/hobs by enough to ensure capture of rising and expanding cooking plumes.

Have you asked the architect and KD why they have selected something other than what you have selected? I usually make recommendations, not selections. I fear if I make selections my client will think I am paying for it.

“Just got an email from architect and KD which stated "we have chosen"... I don't know if I should force them to use my original choice or let them have their way. ”

Aren’t you paying them? I would never choose a hood with mesh filters. Only baffle filters. Just tell them that you want a hood with baffle filters. It’s your home.

Meanwhile, make sure they’ve spec’d the correct duct size from the hood to the outside. It needs to be 8” diameter. Ask them about that too.

You write the checks, you should get what you want.

Those were all suggestions.

Mind blown. I never knew that an architect had so much power as to override their client's choices on something as mundane as a hood insert.

It's your kitchen. You are in charge. You get to choose the hood you want to be us ing after they've moved on to other projects.

Thank you everyone for your responses. The ductwork is 8" and they will provide make-up air. I will be calling architect to see what his justifications are for trying to pull this switcheroo. You all have confirmed my choice, they will have to deal with it. The Best hood looks like something one would put over a low btu or convection stove, not even sure it would be safe.

Have you looked into an induction range? Bosch, GE, Miele are options. Because of less waste heat less capacity will be required. And the other benefits of induction follow. Many threads if you search but trying induction out when things open would provide first hands experience.

Who designed the actual kitchen? I ask because architects are notorious for designing unfunctional kitchens

We had the cabinet company design the kitchen but I picked out the appliances a couple of months ago. I don’t recall why I wanted a Zephyr hood over Best, but probably because it had a lot of what I was looking for, namely good power, low noise, baffles and good reviews at a decent price. Since this is a FL house I don’t envision doing a lot of high heat cooking indoors, that’s what the grill will be used for. Oth, we will be doing holiday meals so I will be using multiple burners in that scenario.

Dan1888, I never wanted an induction cooktop, I am wary of the radiation!

The electro magnetic field is quite close to the glass surface. Here's some info for those with certain types of pacemakers. Laptops and slot machines can also be sources of interference. .Here. I don't personally consider induction a hazard. Of course, there are hazards from indoor burning of natural gas and propane.

shermybeagle

The toroidal electromagnetic field generated by the induction cooktop over its coils will be significantly constrained because the field lines have to close when the coil is a minute fraction of the wavelength (~10 km) of the electromagnetic radiation. Even if you could get the cooktop to emit a field without a pan over the hob to constrain it further, the field would be extremely weak more than a few hob coil radii from the hob.

I was just able to see the field from my first Kenmore with a loop on a 'scope probe placed on the cooktop surface at the edge of a small pan. Other RF sources nowadays common in daily life might present higher volts/meter fields depending on what the source was and where you are in relation to it.

So direct damage to cells and processes would seem to me to be low risk. However, effects on certain heart control gadgets one might be using is a different level of sensitivity and in such a case, medical advice is warranted.

Yes we are at an age where heart gadgets are something to consider 🙄

The 19" deep hood you'd planned is actually too small to be very effective. 10" is ridiculous. You really should have at least 22" minimum though ideally 27" or 30" deep. It should also be at least 6" wider than your range.

More: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5161173/hood-faq

BTW, does your architect also spec the furnace that s/b installed? A hood is an important bit of mechanical equipment and s/b treated as such. Not doing so risks poor indoor air quality, health problems and unpleasant odors for you and guests. Once selected for its functionality the architect and kitchen designer can then dress it up if they want.

“though ideally 27" or 30" deep.”

Sorry, I do not agree. 24” depth is fine, and even that depth is hard to find without spending a lot of money or going custom. That is why people are forced to 22” deep. 30” depth would be intrusive into the space, and difficult to find in a 36” width without spending quite a lot.

Re induction - there are some of us who simply do not like cooking with induction and prefer gas, though that opinion can get flamed on this forum sometimes by the avid induction fans (yes, that was a pun, but I also mean it). If you are considering induction, see if you can find a friend who has it so you can try it, or, some appliance showrooms will have them to demonstrate by appointment. Make sure you like it before diving in.

Why is your architect picking out your hood? Or overiding your choice..are you in some kind of financial arrangement that doesn’t allow you to make choices. Clearly this person wants a hood that doesn’t cost much.

I can’t imagine a 10” deep hood.

"Sorry, I do not agree. 24” depth is fine,"

You are disagreeing with physics :-)

24" is certainly OK, depending on other aspects of the hood design and your tolerance for how much effluent you keep in your kitchen and don't exhaust. However, a 27" will work better, a 30" better than that and a 36" deep better still. All depends on how often you cook, cooking styles and tolerance for the the remains of gas combustion and odors of meals past.

As well, a 22" with a good open aperture and containment area will perform considerably better than a typical consumer 24" with a 4" light bar across the front and too little containment area.

A 30" deep hood with open aperture and a lot of containment area will perform better at a silent 150 CFM than a typical 24" deep consumer hood at an annoyingly loud 1200 CFM.

Opaone I agree bigger would be better. However the house is in Key West so doors are always open, plenty of fresh air haha! Ilovered idk why he over rode my choice but it probably has to do with the cabinet maker’s opinion. We will find out next week. Shannon, I agree, I am not a professional chef and will not be using the burners to the max every day. So I was thinking the monsoon hood would be good enough. It doesn’t have to be perfect but it should be pretty good.

Yes we are at an age where heart gadgets are something to consider 🙄

My husband and I are also in FL full time and at that age too. In fact he has a pacemaker. There were some questions about pacemakers originally but all newer pacemakers have no problem with induction cooking.

In fact, when I called the pacemaker company to check about induction and his pacemaker, the gentleman said as long as his pacemaker is 6" away from the surface he'll be fine and his is over 25 years old. We are in the house 2 years and no issues at all.

The new pacemakers actually have the wires encased so you can even go through MRI machines. They are not the issue anymore so if you don't have a pacemaker yet, I wouldn't worry.

I never wanted an induction cooktop, I am wary of the radiation!

That's been debunked over and over again. As Kasaki explained. On the internet there is lots of junk science unfortunately.

I am in SW FL and had the choice of gas or induction. I am so glad I went with induction. First of all, I find it more precise than gas.

It's also cleaner. None of those fumes which are more scary than the supposed radiation.

And so much easier to clean up. I use a spray of Windex and a paper towel and my cooktop is clean. No more having to scrub the grates or lift them to put them in the DW. It's because nothing can ever bake onto the surface.

And if something boils over, I can wipe it up with a paper towel as I'm cooking!

And now when I want to make something like rice, it comes out perfect every time. I have the Bosch 36" induction cooktop and each hob has its own timer. I boil the rice, then turn it down to simmer, put the timer on that hob and when it's done, the hob turns off. Perfect rice. Perfect oatmeal too.

The only thing it doesn't do is char, but in FL, that's what outdoor grills are for. And you can do that 364 days a year.

I have the Zephyr Monsoon and am quite happy with it. I have the one that's an insert and it works quite well.

I hope when the kitchen company designed the kitchen, they made all your lower cabinets drawers and not cabinets with pull outs, especially since you're "at that age". Plus all drawers allows you to put more stuff in every drawer. And make sure they're as wide as possible. Not a series of 24" wide drawers or cabinets.

Totally jealous! I use to spend a bit of time in Marathon. Dive captains would pay us $25 to go out when they had an odd number of divers and needed someone to buddy up with one of their customers. 'Mama' charged us $10/day for a bed and breakfast. I kind of miss those days. Wasn't getting wealthy but made for an enjoyable time.

Oh and I forgot to add, with induction, the house and kitchen never heat up!

Didn't read all the comments but wanted to say I have a BEST hood insert. It has baffle filters and my kitchen is far from "sleek", it's more traditional. It is loud but I have no other hood inserts to compare it to. I also rarely fry or sear. Love it.

Did the architect explain why he / she has a preference? How about the rep at the appliance store?

FWIW, I prefer gas to induction though induction is quite good/better for some things.

It's also possible to have the best of both worlds. A gas range and plug-in induction hobs on the counter when necessary.

My trusted appliance store loves Zephyr - however I ended up with a different brand as my range vent is concealed in a plaster hood and needed a lip which not all Zephyr models have. So planning installation in the cabinetry is key. One thing really cool about some of the Zephyr range inserts is that they have a CFM selection feature (they call it ACT, or Airflow Control Technology) to meet code for makeup air. But fortunately that's not an issue for you.

cpartist, thanks for the info on the monsoon (and pacemakers). I will stick with the monsoon and gas though even though lots of folks here love induction. Opaone, you must revisit the keys then after this pandemic is over! Although I think you would find it a bit different from before, more people have discovered it. But it is such a relaxed lifestyle. Regarding your above question about heat, we don't have any in this house! Megs, thanks for your input on Best, I feel that the noise level is what pointed me towards Zephyr in my initial research. Fureywoman, thank you for relaying your store's confidence in Zephyr. We emailed architect today and he is fine with our choice--which supports the theory that the cabinetmaker was the source of the recommendation.

The selection by the architect and kitchen designer is probably a recommendation since I doubt they intend to place an order to purchase the hood or direct the builder to do so.
You should be having this discussion with your designers instead of an Internet forum.

I was looking for opinions on the quality and function of these two hoods from people who have them or have experience with the brands. I don’t think either the kd or architect could offer that type of help. Isn’t that what the forum is about ?

Find out if your Architect or Kitchen designer have them or have experience with the brands.

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