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Appliances Design Dilemma Kitchens

range hood venting straight back vs. up?

2 years ago

We are planning a 600 sq. ft. Weekender, and are contemplating venting the range hood straight back through the wall (rear exit from hood), rather than up and out through the wall (top exit from hood). Does venting back rather than up significantly compromise the hood's exhaust effectiveness? We want to preserve cabinet storage space above, but don't want to do it if increased air pollution will result. (electric range, btw) Thanks for sharing your wisdom on this matter!

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Comments (7)

kaseki
2 years ago
If the hood is designed for venting from the back, which would require sufficient hood height to fit the duct and an internal blower if used, then it shouldn't matter significantly. If you care about house pollution then the first issues to address are hood entry aperture overlapping the cooking zone, sufficient air flow (CFM) to ensure capture and containment of the cooking plumes, perhaps noise, and make-up air. I'm sure, @pittsburrito, you have encountered the many threads on this topic generated here over the years.
pittsburrito
Original Author
2 years ago
Yes, I have, and you are a wonderful teacher! I just had never seen noted whether venting behind rather than up made a difference, so thank you for responding to this!
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I'd recommend going straight out the side. Some hoods with blowers can vent straight back, others vent out the top of the hood and should go up 24" before going out. That's so the fan is'nt blowing against the elbow. So, if you have a back vent, with no elbows and going straight out the wall, that's the best. The next best is going up 2 feet and then out the wall. Going all the way up to the roof doesn't seem to make sense unless I'm missing something. Fewer holes in your roof the better. I don't know what the overhang of the roof has to do with the ventilation whether you go up or out. If you go out the side wall, you just put a vent cap on the outside wall, and you're done. I wouldn't think an external blower would be necessary or desired.
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kaseki
2 years ago
You are welcome. It is possible, of course, for the internal construction of a hood to facilitate one direction better than another, but the likely (slight) differences in pressure loss might easily be reversed when the UP option is longer and has to take a bend to go out.
acm
2 years ago
Yeah, I think you're more likely to lose pull if you need a bend than if you use one orientation or another -- the fam will move the air in whatever direction it pulls! :)
pittsburrito
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Will pull be enhanced if changing from 3.25x10 duct to round? I mean, it's going horizontally straight back through the exterior wall, and the Broan installation instructions depicit it exhausting via a wall cap for 3.25x10 ductwork, but I'm just wondering if transitioning to a round duct would have any advantages? Damper effectiveness, or sound reduction, or something else? (Fantech's powder coated round duct wall caps look so much better than Broan's aluminum 3.25x10 wall caps!)
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
I have never seen a goodfunctioning hood with a 3.5" duct . As for out the back versus straight up usually it depends on the hood it will tell you how to duct it. IMO you buy a hood for theistall you need and with the CFM the range suggests who cares what the duct looks like function always first .
kaseki
2 years ago
Round duct of the same sectional area as rectangular duct will have lower pressure loss. This won't matter if the distance is just through a wall

Would you even have room for a transition?

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