Ceiling vent in the kitchen??

13 years ago

We're planning a remodel and we'll be opening up the kitchen to the den and creating a peninsula. I know I'll get some flak about this, but we'll have the range on the peninsula.

Because the kitchen is small, I think a hood would be too much and would make the kitchen look crowded. I saw a great idea in a magazine where the architect connected a ceiling vent to a remote fan on an exterior wall. Then he used a vintage-look grate to cover it.

It looked great, but is this a viable solution to not using a cooktop hood? What do you think?

Comments (5)

snoonyb
13 years ago
The efficiency will be substantially reduced because of the volume of space you are drawing from.
And, of course, you need to love the smell of your preparations permeating through the house.
A mitigating factor is the CFM of the exterior motor, which has the potential of being a noise source.

But do not be dissuaded, it's your house.
palimpsest
13 years ago
I have also seen powerpack inserts like those used in custom hoods mounted on the ceiling. Since the optimal range is usually between 24" and 36" for these units, I can't imagine that one mounted at 60" would be very effective, plus it would draw a lot of grease onto the painted ceiling surface.

This might be a case where a telescopic downdraft would be better than the ceiling inset solution. But I would really consider getting an island hood that you liked the look of rather than going the route of what you saw in the magazine. Its a minimal look, but it probably doesnt work.
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skyedog
13 years ago
You think you'll get SOME flak? Ha! Be prepared for nearly the whole weight of this forum to come down on you.

Because my cooktop is in front of a window, a hood is not an option. I did something similar to your idea - I put an inline Fantech fan (about 600 cfm) with a ceiling grid over my cooktop. It handles all the steam I generate (last night I had all four burners going). I macgyvered a filter for the grid and when I clean it, it seems to be capturing grease. The fan is completely silent. However, if I put the fan on the highest setting (I put in a variable speed switch) I can hear the air moving thru the vent. I've since read that if you put an elbow before you have at least a two foot run of vent pipe that it can generate noise.

Sirius also makes a flush ceiling vent made for islands - this could be an option for you.

By the grace of God my house has remained scent free and greaseless. Perhaps it was the pleas to St. Jude, Patron Saint of Lost Causes, to pray for me that worked.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sirius flush ceiling hood
formerlyflorantha
13 years ago
Our old kitchen had a 1950s ceiling vent, which we retained even when we installed a hood vent. I loved it and used it when we burnt toast, boiled vats of water, or needed to air things out, but DH wouldn't let me keep any kind of ceiling vent in the new kitchen. Not sure if I'll miss it. Glad to hear that there's a high powered ceiling vent fan available as an option, skyedog.
snoonyb
13 years ago
Skyedog, another factor in the success of your venting, is that opposites attract.
You have the heated effluents rising across the cooler glass of the window too the ceiling vent.
A flow test viewed in profile, would be concave.