Hoods that try to mimic actual commercial hoods while retaining a more modest size, practical aspect, and decent aesthetics are widely available from many sources that can be found on the Internet. For example, you can download the Wolf Design Guide and look at the pro island hoods to get an idea. There are others fabricating similar designs. While this is a necessary exercise, the first step is characterizing the parameters of the hood, blower, and make-up air system. To do this, it is necessary to start with the size of the cooktop. If you have already done all the math and know your necessary hood size, then a tour of hood makers' wares is next. Please keep in mind that of performance, aesthetics, and affordability, generally only two out of three can be maximized. Most hoods are compromises within these factors.

Am looking for recommendations on wall mount vent hoods please? What did you buy? Do you like it? Regrets? Happy? Pics if you can.. I’m going to need a 36” wide stainless over a 30” pro type range.. stainless steel - interior vent size is negotiable- price depends on brand / ratings but would like to keep it under $1000 or less.. thanks!

ksc36: I think you are missing the point; any hood capable of exhausting in excess of 400CFM generates a need for makeup air to compensate. Almost all hoods are multi-speed and Zephyr's ACT is only a sales pitch and even they sell makeup air dampers. I doubt a county inspector will accept a statement from an owner promising to run a hood only at 400CFM setting even though it can go up to say 1200 or more CFM; it won't fly. Then again new homes are pretty tight, would one want to live in a negative air pressure environment even if you could get away with it? A home with negative air pressure can result in dire consequences. Air will get in by any means necessary, and with this unfiltered air comes some serious dangers. Good design no doubt costs $$$$ The way I designed our home is the heated makeup air enters the home at the opposite end of the home, which not only helps compensate the hood exhaust cfm difference but also complements the hvac system hence heat is not wasted as the warmer air travels through the corridor, family/living areas then the kitchen; due to the size of the home there is no perceivable draft. Right next to the massive makeup air inlet grill in the corridor ceiling, is a large hvac return air grill. The makeup air unit is programmed to 'just about' exceed hood exhaust cfm and the excess air is fed back into hvac return hence heat is not lost while maintaining zero negative pressure. Considerable design engineering went into it; I was primarily responsible for its final design with the help of a commericial hvac company that did the entire hvac systems including makeup air unit and tankless heaters.

I won't recommend specific hoods that I haven't owned. Performance requirements first, cost vs. aesthetics to meet performance second. Assuming a wall hood... Overlap is needed front-to-back as well as side-to-side. Assume a hood entry aperture of 42 inches by 24 inches (from a 27 inch deep hood). This is a hood entry aperture area of 7 square feet. You will need 90 CFM/sq.ft. for containment of hot gas combustion products and hot oil from stir-fry. So the requirement is to be able (on high) to pull 7 x 90 = 630 CFM. To do this with typical pressure losses in baffles and ducts, a 900 CFM rated blower will likely be required, consistent with your plan. However, this assumes that the house interior pressure is not reduced (relative to outside) by more than a few hundredths of an inch of water column. Most code authorities now-a-days will be enforcing make-up air (MUA) above 400 CFM (rated). You will need either a large duct opening outside with damper and minimal filtering (perhaps dumping air into a mud-room or basement with a powerful enough heater, or a powered MUA system with filtering and heating, depending on environment. The latter alone will eat your budget. For the hood itself, one is best served by a commercial-hood-inspired configuration (often called "Pro") with a capture volume before the filtering and baffles for filtering. Ducting out the wall or up through an attic are both appropriate, but using a remote blower and intermediate silencer will yield a lower noise configuration if enough duct length is available. No matter which duct layout is chosen, capture volume and baffle filtering will preclude a thin under-cabinet hood. Bottom line, a kitchen ventilation system suitable for the specified range may not cost as much as the range, but will not be far behind if the residence is to be kept free of greasy wet cooking effluent and the hazards of dropping your house pressure are to be avoided.