We have selected the Miele Decor hood because we won't know until we open up the ceiling and walls if we will be ablel to vent into our building chase vent, or if we will need to recirculate. We also have an island cooktop.

I briefly considered the option of a recirculating hood, but then decided against it. If I can't have an exhaust that goes to the outside, I'll opt for no exhaust at all. In a sense, that's what I have right now, since my downdraft system, which cost as much as my cooktop, is beyond useless.

Our architect has used the hood as recirculating in several clients homes and said they are vey happy with the results. When I asked about a down draft he said he would refuse to install one because they don't work.

I just had a conversation with my kitchen designer who has consulted with his HVAC person. Here's what he told me -- he said that every 90-degree bend adds 5 linear feet of ducting. That means that the 4 bends plus the distance from the hood to the outside will total about 35 linear feet of ducting. He told me that an exhaust fan of 300 to 400 CFM will adequately vent cooking odors and steam. Keeping in mind that this is over an island, does this seem like adequate exhaust ventilation?