Usually a recirculating hood will recirclulate the air back into the kitchen, not into the empty upper cabinet. If recirculated effluent were to go into the enclosed cabinet above the hood, that would cause buildup and a significant fire hazard. The air is supposed to pass through a charcoal filter which will clean the air as best it can. Then the air is recirculated (note the meaning of that word is literally to circle back to where it began) back into the kitchen.

Probably one constructed like this Zline undercabinet model is better than one where the exhaust is expelled via the same path that it came in. I also recommend, when limited to a recirculating hood, that the cooktop be induction, not gas. Can you do that?

M Miller

Yes, I am planning on an induction range.

The under cabinet hoods I have been looking at all seem to have a round vent out the top. That is why I was asking about where the air goes with a recirculating because I can't figure out what happens to that old air when the recirculating unit is mounted under an enclosed cabinet.

This Zline you pictured sends the air directly out the front of the unit. That, I am assuming, is the critical distinction. So, If I go for an undercabinet I should look for one with front vents. Or, I should stick with my original idea of a chimney because those typically have either side or front vents at the top of the chimney.

Thank you for your help.

The VaH ARS (not really undercabinet type) expels exhaust from the top of the fake chimney. The ARS recirculating hood conceivably could be enclosed in a cabinet so long as the air could freely get out of the cabinet (perhaps by there being no cabinet top).

Thanks to all of you I now think I have a handle on the differences between the exhaust methods for the different types of hoods.