Most of the noise from a range hood will come from the air being moved, not from the motor itself. Even if you move the motor outside, you are still going to have the air noise. If you have little air noise, that means little air is being moved due to restrictive ductwork. That's bad!

I wouldn't stress out about hood noise. Think about it, how many minutes per day (or per week!) do you run your hood at high speed? The bottom line is, you are moving a lot of air over not much surface area, it is going to be loud if it is doing its job right. Also keep in mind, an external blower is going to be more of a pain to service down the road. I would definitely go with the internal blower in your situation (well, I would in all situations except where I needed to exhaust ridiculous CFM).

How many CFM? It's my belief that hood manufacturers and appliance stores often oversell on CFM. One way to keep noise down is to not buy a hood many times more powerful than what you need.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Sun, May 11, 14 at 9:29

We ended up with a Kobe CHX 191 series model and are very happy with it. Kobe seemed to have a lot of models that were quieter than others and some have a Quiet Mode (low) that is impressive. At the time, ours maxed out at 630 CFM. That's still reasonable for most people without being ridiculous, but enough that we only use low and medium most of the time, which also helps keep the noise down (higher speeds=higher noise levels). Be sure you know your MUA requirements before deciding!

If you have the time, pick your model, or a couple of models that you would actually buy, and stalk the price. There are often good sales for Memorial Day, Fathers Day, and July 4 that might help you out. If you find a genuinely good price on one of your models, pull the trigger!

I have a Broan (boost to 350)
It is relatively quiet but it is the one item in the kitchen that I hate. It has mesh filters which do go in the DW.
It has one fan on the left side.
Wish I hade bought the Kobe with the baffle filters

Can I ask why you hate the mesh filters and would prefer the baffles? If they both can go in the dishwasher, what is the difference in terms of ease of cleaning? I am about to purchase a hood myself and no one has given me a clear answer to that question. People seem to prefer baffles and salespeople push them but I am most concerned about ease of cleaning and I'm confused as to why the baffles are considered preferable in terms of that.

Maybe the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
Mostly from my reading on GW that baffles are better.
Both the Broan mesh and the Kobe baffles can go in the DW

The mesh things just seem flimsy and I have to make sure they are really in place, so they don't fall down.

The piece that disappoints me the most is the Broan looks like it should have 2 fans based on the filters but only has one.

Again, I was trying to keep the CFM down to avoid MUA issues...

Thanks everyone for the advice!
Hvactech, you're right I'm trying not to stress about every detail, but I'm one of those noisy messy high heat cooks. A new open floor plan has me concerned about both noise and messy counters after whipping up a feast.
Makeup air shouldn't be a problem, house is 65 yrs old and certainly not tight.thanks williamsem and a2gemeni for the Kobe and broan input. The salesman specifically said best broan with the NEW IQ extra quiet motor, so if anyone knows if this is just a marketing gimmick, please advise.

Hi, I'm considering the Best by Broan hood with the internal IQ blower as well (under cabinet model). Just giving this thread a bump, and wondering if you made your choice or got any other feedback about the hood?

Hi lydiacaitlin
No decision yet...was considering Kobe but on doing more research, realized I would dislike cleaning the fan blades and grease trap of the quieter squirrel cage design I was considering....I have been looking at ModernAire and Rangecraft too (waiting on price info with fingers crossed) Seems crazy spending more on a range hood than I did on my 36" pro-style range (got at a going out of business sale for $2500) However, noise and ability to remove effluent is very important to me with an open floor plan. I was hoping the new IQ blower Best might be a good mid priced option, however I would like to to hear from someone who actually has one...

I'm also considering a Best by Broan hood with the IQ blower. All the sales reps tell me it's the quietest out there, but I have yet to hear one in person. It seems to be impossible to find one hooked up in a showroom. If anyone has some real world experience with one I too would love to hear about its performance and hear if it lives up to all the hype!

I'm also considering a Best by Broan hood with the IQ blower. I will need to purchase it in a couple of weeks. Any updates from the OP or others that expressed the same interests?

peacecorp: I cannot comment on the Best by Broan hood, but I had a remote blower (very straight, short run to garage and roof) 20 years ago and a Ventahood the last 10 years, mounted on an external wall. The Ventahood was THE thing ten years ago recommended extensively on GW, but I HATED it. So, so noisy, I could not talk when it kicked on and ramped up on its own. By contrast, the remote blower could be manually adjusted and I could still listen to the radio (slightly louder) while sautéing, so I definitely intend to purchase a remote blower for this third home we are building. Good luck!

I, too, am considering the Best hood (42" Colonne island hood), and I'm also looking at Modernaire. There is a significant price difference. Both have the same 1200 cfu . The Best is actually deeper at 30" (Modernaire is 27"). Loads of people on GW rave about Modernaire, though, so I'm trying to understand the reason for the $$ difference.

The function of a hood and blower (no matter where the blower is in the path) is to capture and contain rising and expanding effluent from the cooktop, and to collect the grease particles from the larger end of the particle spectrum so they don't deposit in the ducting. To do this the air velocity at the baffles has to be high enough, the hood capturing aperture has to be wide and deep enough, and the baffle design has to be effective. Also, the air velocity depends on several factors addressed in numerous topics here that can be searched out.

kas

kaseki, I understand those points. I am specifically interested in what makes the Modernaire hoods better (if they are) since Best appears - on paper - to be at least as good. Both have baffle filters. Best is 30" deep, which gives it more capture area. I don't mind spending the extra money if there is a true difference in quality and effectiveness.

Riese1 - which did you select? Best Colonne and ModernAire are on my short list.

Evidently I didn't see riese1's message last April. But I can't answer the question without seeing the two models. Normally, I stick to requirements, not brand promotion.