Undercabinet hoods tend to be small, weak, and underpowered. You may get 300 CFM with 1 or 2 speeds, and a single light... that's about it. Also, if you're looking for "invisible", this ain't it - usually about 4-5 inches thick, and sticks out about as much. A cabinet insert hood ("power pack" or "insert liner") will give you several advantages: a.) Higher CFM (it's not a toy with 2 little fans anymore) b.) Much quieter performance (because it's located inside the cabinet) c.) Option of ducting it out or using charcoal filters to make it ductless d.) Option to use bigger duct than an undercabinet hood e.) Squirrel-cage blower, not 1 or 2 simple fans - better performance and less noise f.) Depending on the manufacturer, may have an option to use a remote control, which makes it simpler to operate The only negatives I can think of for in-cabinet hoods: a.) you lose a portion of the cabinet space (but honestly, how often would you reach to the cabinet over the stove?) b.) getting to the control buttons, and finding the right one, may not be convenient. c.) the bottom edge of the doors, as well as the bottom edge of the perimeter of the cabinet, are still exposed to the steam. According to my experience, there are plenty of undercabinet range hoods, which are OK to put in if you don't intend to cook with adequate ventilation, but if you want something that actually works, go for an insert or full-size wall hood.

As a point of clarification, hoods in general can be separated into two types: (a) self contained having an outside providing some level of acceptable appearance and an inside that contains filters or baffles, possibly a blower or fan; and (b) a liner or insert that is to be put into a hood supplied by someone else and generally made of wood to look like a cabinet; the liner/insert containing hood guts such as filters, blowers, etc. There is no performance difference between a liner having aperture area A and CFM B and a complete hood having aperture area A and CFM B, all else being equal. Liners vs. hoods is an aesthetic consideration. As for what the properties of a good liner or hood should be, you can read the material at my My Clippings for source material, and rummage through this forum reading hood and MUA posts until the basic concepts are clear. I'm not going to rate prices or devices I don't own. kas

It might be easier to think of this hood as being comprised of two assemblies. The outer assembly is made of wood parts rigidly bonded or otherwise attached together to generally resemble a cabinet without a base. The inner assembly (called a liner) is a metal shell that incorporates (hopefully) a set of baffles, light and motor controls, lights, and, optionally, a blower. The blower subassembly comprises a fan blade sub-assembly and a motor sub-assembly. Alternatively, if an external blower is used, then there is also a cover and damper as part of the blower assembly. I would not expect a typical cabinet maker to supply the liner assembly, but may want it on hand to fit to it. As I don't have one of these, I welcome any refinements of my description that may be needed.

Hi there! While it isn't the most common, there have been times we have made a very long/large range hood and only need a certain size insert (for example 10' wide hood, only needing a 48" liner), so most often what we would do is install a stainless steel panel to allow everything to look smooth and coherent with the liner. Some people opt to add lighting to the "dead" panel space, and I would definitely recommend making sure you get the proper CFM for your space, but yes you can have an insert smaller than the range hood. Hope this helps!