Recirculation Cooker Hoods

delfagio

Hey guys

1.) Has anybody installed a recirculation Cooker hood into new build well airtight house recently that could share some views or opinions on them and

2.) Can anyone recommend a good quality recirculation cooker hood for kitchen.

PM me as not able to mention brands, models on this forum.

Thanks all

baby builder

My plan is to put a re-circulation hood over the island unit. We will also have an MHRV and I am undecided between elica and falmec, but too be one or the other.

rampantbunny

delfagio wrote: »

Hey guys

1.) Has anybody installed a recirculation Cooker hood into new build well airtight house recently that could share some views or opinions on them and

2.) Can anyone recommend a good quality recirculation cooker hood for kitchen.

PM me as not able to mention brands, models on this forum.

Thanks all

Also interested in this. Don't know much about hoods but not sure a recirc. model would be as effective as hole-in-wall types. I suppose, it depends on how much a person is willing to spend and from what I can see these units are not cheap.

I've no airtightness test done yet but it'll be going against the grain if I get a good result and then don't go with a recir. hood.
However, SWMBO will have the last word on this. Airtightness result be damned if the hood doesn't perform.

Not to hijack, but if anyone has come across airtight valves for the hole in the wall extractors, I would be interested.

delfagio

Yes I know what you mean. It's great making your house as airtight as possible. That in itself has its own advantages of energy efficiency and the heat performance of the house and controlling airflow with HRV units but when it comes to the practicality of actually living in the house there are the odd downfall.

Once such downfall been the cooker extractor hood. If technically you are not allowed put a 6" hole in the wall to duct out the extractor hood then it forces the installation of recirculation hoods. However looking at reviews on boards and the internet it seems these recirculation units are not great compared to a cooker hood which is ducted to outside.

It's leaves you in a catch 22 situation. You either duct outside and lower the performance of the house or you just have to do with a recirculation hood which doesn't remove the moisture and steam very well, or at all.

I also have HRV so there will be an extraction point at the kitchen ceiling about 3-4m away from the cooking area. I did install the white 6" flexi extraction duct into the kitchen ceiling above the hob and up through the 1st floor bedroom and up into the attic ready to be installed if it was ever required if the recirculation unit just doesn't do the job, but I would really hate to go put a hole in the building envelope if I had too.

It also seems that if you want a good recirculation hoods, then crack out the check book because they are pricey. But I'd want to have some confidence that they are good and do work before buying.

So anybody got experience with recirculation hoods installed in a new build recently??

Tuttlinghorn

Anybody able to report back with any recommendations ? We need to decide on a hood, soon. Island hob with MHRV installed.

hexosan

Tuttlinghorn wrote: »

Anybody able to report back with any recommendations ? We need to decide on a hood, soon. Island hob with MHRV installed.

+1 on this. Surely someone has found a solution at this stage.

Tuttlinghorn

hexosan wrote: »

+1 on this. Surely someone has found a solution at this stage.

... or maybe not ...

rampantbunny

Tuttlinghorn wrote: »

... or maybe not ...

...better chance of finding a unicorn at this rate

shooter69

rampantbunny wrote: »

...better chance of finding a unicorn at this rate

I have one of these downdraft extractors that sits flush into the island and then a motor brings it up when you cook, it's an elica brand and as were in an airtight house its non ducted (but can be if you want). Pros - looks very snazzy and gets lots of attention from anyone who sees it! Has two charcoal filter cassettes which are easily removed for cleaning (can be put into dishwasher). Easily cleaned as it has glass / stainless steel make up.
Cons - we have 5 burner gas hob and when using main burner with wok on full blast it doesn't capture nearly enough smoke /fumes / smells to be efficient . Will catch a lot more spills and splatters as it sits perpendicular to the hob. Quite pricey if I recall it was approx €1200 from KAL distributors (4 years ago)
Hope this helps ! Image below of similar one to mine

https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Images/Products/size_3/ELADAGIOSS.JPG.

rampantbunny

shooter69 wrote: »

I have one of these downdraft extractors that sits flush into the island and then a motor brings it up when you cook, it's an elica brand and as were in an airtight house its non ducted (but can be if you want). Pros - lo

What's your overall impression with it shooter? Can you compare to a ducted one for performance?

[Edit]
Nevermind shooter...you were editing your post as I was posting the above questions.

shooter69

rampantbunny wrote: »

What's your overall impression with it shooter? Can you compare to a ducted one for performance?

[Edit]
Nevermind shooter...you were editing your post as I was posting the above questions.

Rampantbunny I don't think they compare to an overhead extract system (whether ducted or not ) as you're trying to pull the smoke/fumes etc away from the path it naturally wants to take i.e straight up! We have a vaulted ceiling in the kitchen so we had no option a but to go with it but on the whole it's a good compromise and I'm happy with it, hope this helps ...

BreadnBuddha

shooter69 wrote: »

Rampantbunny I don't think they compare to an overhead extract system (whether ducted or not ) as you're trying to pull the smoke/fumes etc away from the path it naturally wants to take i.e straight up! We have a vaulted ceiling in the kitchen so we had no option a but to go with it but on the whole it's a good compromise and I'm happy with it, hope this helps ...

Have a recirculating hood here. Compared to a ducted extractor, it's brutal.

Never again.

delfagio

Hi all,

We still haven't got to the stage yet where we have installed a 're circulating hood, but we are getting close now, probably mid November.

Personally I have 're searched this all over the internet and its all very much mixed views on the topic.

A lot of people say that the recirculation hoods aren't up to the job while others say they have no issues with them.

Personally I'd rather give the recirculation hood a go for the sake of the BER and going as airtight as we can. If it really doesn't work then I have a backup option in place ready to duct a normal hood up through 1st floor into attic and out gable wall. But hopefully won't have to do this.

Looking at the elica range of hoods but they are quite expensive. That's one of the downside too.

Would still love to hear from people who currently have a recirculation hoods in place a while to see what their opinions are on them.

BryanF

BreadnBuddha wrote: »

Have a recirculating hood here. Compared to a ducted extractor, it's brutal.

Never again.

Can you talk us through the issues your having and your Mvhr? In the zone? Thanks

BreadnBuddha

BryanF wrote: »

Can you talk us through the issues your having and your Mvhr? In the zone? Thanks

Not really. Modern build (3 year old house) in Scandinavia. Positive pressurised system, heat exchanger/recovery setup on air pump. Heating via a thermal mass fireplace with supplemental electric.

Recirc hoods used in all modern build houses and apartments here. Universal disappointment. Spectacularly fail to handle 3 boiling/steaming pots and a pan.

Fine in an apartment, hopelessly inadequate in a family home where the stove and kettle are in regular use.

rampantbunny

Shouldn't it be possible for manufacturers of MHRV systems to design systems capable of taking over the function of the kitchen extract hood. IMO, all it should take is a dedicated duct run for this area which is filtered independently.
Come to think of it, a normal extract duct run to the hood area would probably be OK provided you ensured grease and other contaminants were filtered from entering the duct.
I'm sure there's more to it but it's something I would pay for.

Tom Hagen

BreadnBuddha wrote: »

Not really. Modern build (3 year old house) in Scandinavia. Positive pressurised system, heat exchanger/recovery setup on air pump. Heating via a thermal mass fireplace with supplemental electric.

Recirc hoods used in all modern build houses and apartments here. Universal disappointment. Spectacularly fail to handle 3 boiling/steaming pots and a pan.

Fine in an apartment, hopelessly inadequate in a family home where the stove and kettle are in regular use.

just found this thread.

This is an eye opener. in the middle of building.

It didn't occur to me that having an airtight house would cause such issues as regards cooker extractors, grease, steam, moisture, smoke, gases.

my other half she lives and breeds cooking, monthly dinner parties for 10 people would not be uncommon. with 5/6 boiling pots and pans on a rangemaster in the kitchen. (currently using a hole in wall extractor in a rented house.)

what hope would a recirculating hood have?

any info from current users in airtight houses would be appreciated.

893bet

Tom Hagen wrote: »

just found this thread.

This is an eye opener. in the middle of building.

It didn't occur to me that having an airtight house would cause such issues as regards cooker extractors, grease, steam, moisture, smoke, gases.

my other half she lives and breeds cooking, monthly dinner parties for 10 people would not be uncommon. with 5/6 boiling pots and pans on a rangemaster in the kitchen. (currently using a hole in wall extractor in a rented house.)

what hope would a recirculating hood have?

any info from current users in airtight houses would be appreciated.

The MVHR system should go into boost mode to take away excess moisture. A recirculating hood with charcoal filter that is regularly changed should capture smells etc.

murphaph

Don't forget there's a safety aspect to venting to outside with a hood. In an airtight house this will create a significant vacuum unless you also open a window slightly.

Here in Germany it's mandatory for properties with non dbit certified (even if having own fresh air supply for combustion) stoves to include a reed switch at a window that only allows the hood to extract when the window is open.

You can spend more money on clever systems that detect when the stove is in use and prevent the hood being switched on if it is and the window isn't open.

The danger is that CO will be pulled into the living space by the vacuum created by a hood venting to outside. The district chimney sweep is responsible for verifying this stuff is adhered to and he visits once a year.

Tuttlinghorn

we are in the house since October last and haven't yet installed any extractor/ recirculation hood. relying on the MHRV which I am sure is a bad idea (grease will eventually build up somewhere, possibly inside the HRV ducting ..)

but based on all other research, i cannot see a solution worth going for ... has anyone else had HRV for a few years and not installed a hood ?

murphaph

Tuttlinghorn wrote: »

we are in the house since October last and haven't yet installed any extractor/ recirculation hood. relying on the MHRV which I am sure is a bad idea (grease will eventually build up somewhere, possibly inside the HRV ducting ..)

Oh that's really not good. Our DCV exhaust unit in the corner of the kitchen has an optional grease filter mounted in from of it to stop grease entering the ducting. I think you should address this sooner rather than later.

delfagio

We got our recirculating cooker hood in Ikea, searched for ages for different types of hoods, really liked the elite range but very expensive

Tuttlinghorn

delfagio wrote: »

We got our recirculating cooker hood in Ikea, searched for ages for different types of hoods, really liked the elite range but very expensive

How is it working out ?

delfagio

Tuttlinghorn wrote:

How is it working out ?

In our house 8 months now and it's working fine. We would often have two or three pots boiling when cooking and it manages well.

Definitely the recirculating hoods don't remove the cooking smells the same way that an extracting hood does but this is because of its nature, it's just basically filtering the cooking odors and steam to remove the grease.

We don't find it a big deal really, we usually light the scented candle in kitchen after dinner which freshens the air in jig time.

delfagio

Pictures of our recirculating hood

Bad_alibi

delfagio wrote: »

In our house 8 months now and it's working fine. We would often have two or three pots boiling when cooking and it manages well.

Definitely the recirculating hoods don't remove the cooking smells the same way that an extracting hood does but this is because of its nature, it's just basically filtering the cooking odors and steam to remove the grease.

We don't find it a big deal really, we usually light the scented candle in kitchen after dinner which freshens the air in jig time.

I remember reading a post by fclauson on here that lighting scented candles caused a major problem with his MVHR. I can't find the list now but it might be worth sending him a PM

rampantbunny

Bad_alibi wrote: »

I remember reading a post by fclauson on here that lighting scented candles caused a major problem with his MVHR. I can't find the list now but it might be worth sending him a PM

I remember that post too. Caused lots of dirt buildup on the MHRV filters. My wife is a big fan of lighting candles in our current house but I've them banned for new house.

jimmy_t

If you google "range hood heat recovery" there is a company that are supplying an attachment for heat recovery from the air out of the cooker hood, it has its own motor and grease filter and is ducted to the MHRV, this could be a good alternative to recirculating hoods

murphaph

jimmy_t wrote: »

If you google "range hood heat recovery" there is a company that are supplying an attachment for heat recovery from the air out of the cooker hood, it has its own motor and grease filter and is ducted to the MHRV, this could be a good alternative to recirculating hoods

From reading the info sheets it seems that product is proprietary and will only work with Nilan MHRV as it works by blocking off or reducing ventilation from the bathrooms and increasing the speed of the exhaust fan in the main unit. There must be some control interface to make this work so I don't believe you could slot this in to any system.

tedimc

For what it's worth, I've had a demo of those hob units with the extractor set into the middle of them. I think they are called Bora, but there is another similar make also.

They come with a re-circulating option and there seems to be serious performance off them. A pot boiling on the further ring wasn't expelling any steam with the only on at 50% or so.

The filters, etc are below the unit and easily removed from within the press. Not cheap, but worth a look and probably cheaper that a good hob and free standing extractor together. Getting more common now in Kitchen show rooms.

mickdw

What I've seen clients go for is a ducted extractor but with a good electrical shut off installed in line or internal to extractor.
Sure you loose some efficiency but only when in use. When not in use, the duct is sealed.
This was a solution following bad experience with recirculation hoods.

tedimc

That's interesting mickdw; can you share further detail;
What type of shut-off valve,
How was it wired into extractor/controller, etc.

Thanks.

mickdw

tedimc wrote: »

That's interesting mickdw; can you share further detail;
What type of shut-off valve,
How was it wired into extractor/controller, etc.

Thanks.

I'd have to look into it but I believe some extractors come with damper / shut off but not of the quality you would like in terms of airtightness.
In the cases I was involved with, the electricians had zero issue in sourcing and wiring this addition. Basically the damper is sealed when not powered. When extractor is on, power goes to open damper valve.