Cooker hoods, or kitchen extractor fans, are indispensable for keeping your kitchen free from clouds of cooking fumes and banishing burning smells and smoke. If you’re sick and tired of a smelly, cloudy kitchen, a cooker hood is a very worthwhile investment. And with prices starting from as little as £65, you don’t need a bottomless budget to take advantage.
Admittedly, a kitchen extractor fan isn’t a vital element if you mostly boil vegetables or lightly sauté ingredients – an open window in the kitchen may suffice to keep the inevitable steam and smells at bay. However, one is indispensable when frying or grilling, and especially when it comes to fatty, smelly ingredients such as bacon, sausages and steaks seared on a high heat.
With these types of ingredients, it’s not just a bit of steam you need to worry about: steam mixes with fats to coat kitchen walls, ceilings and cabinets in a very fine layer of sticky fat that attracts dust like iron filings to a magnet. That’s something you might be blissfully unaware of at first, but that bliss will almost certainly subside when you come to redecorate the kitchen and discover that the walls and ceiling need extensive cleaning before you can even think about applying the first coat of paint.
If you’re in the market for a cooker hood or the best kitchen extractor fan, but haven’t a clue where to start, read on.
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There are two types of cooker hood: extraction and recirculating.
The key specification here is the unit’s airflow rate. This is measured in cubic metres per hour and is usually written thus: m³/h. Lower rates will be just fine for smaller kitchens, but the bigger the kitchen, the bigger the number you’ll want to look out for. A useful rule of thumb is to choose a cooker hood with a flow rate that’s ten times higher than the volume of your room.
It’s easy to work this out yourself. Simply multiply your kitchen’s width, length and height in metres to get your kitchen’s volume in m³, and then multiply the result by ten. Make sure that whichever hood you choose has a flow rate that matches or is above that figure, as that will allow the hood to filter all the air in your kitchen at least ten times per hour. With the models here ranging from around 350m³/h up to 500m³/h, you’ll find something to suit all but the very biggest of kitchens.
All cooker hood manufacturers recommend a minimum distance of 650mm above a cooker hob if it’s electric (induction or ceramic) and a minimum of 750mm if it’s gas. Bear that in mind if your kitchen has a very low ceiling. Thankfully the majority of extraction cooker hoods come with a telescopic chimney section that can be expanded or contracted to fit the exact height of a ceiling.
You’ll also want to make sure that the cooker hood matches the width of your hob, so it can efficiently and effectively remove steam and smoke from all of your bubbling pots and pans.
Read on and you’ll find a list of the best kitchen extractor fans. Before taking the plunge, we’d recommended visiting the retailer and manufacturer sites to find out a bit more about their installation processes – after all, you want to make sure whichever cooker hood you choose is perfect for your kitchen.
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Price: £80 | Buy now from Amazon
This ultra-low-priced, wall-mounted kitchen extractor fan can also be used as a recirculating hood with the addition of some optional CBCF002X2 carbon filters. The Ciarra has a very decent extraction rate of 380m³/h and comes with three fan speeds and bright LED lighting for extra reliability (halogen bulbs don’t last nearly as long). With a claimed noise level of 63dB, it shouldn’t be too loud either.
The Ciarra comes with everything required for pretty fuss-free installation, including screws, decorating tubes for the chimney, 15cm exhaust port, fixing plates and wall bracket. If you’re feeling daunted by the installation process, make sure to watch the manufacturer’s handy instructional video.
For the price, this rather dapper stainless steel model represents great value for money. If the raft of excellent Amazon user reviews are anything to go by, it performs the task of removing kitchen smells and cooking smoke with aplomb.
Key Specs – Type: Extraction and recirculation; Canopy size: 60cm; Extraction rate: 380m³/h; Noise level: 63dB
Price: £429 | Buy now from John Lewis
Neff produces a wide range of fine kitchen gear, which is why it’s usually the brand of choice among high-end property developers. If you want to compliment your stylish induction hob with a classy hood that’s efficient and quiet (noise levels are a claimed 47dB), this may be the model for you.
The flat-shaped Neff D64BHM1N0B is designed for wall mounting and comes clad in easy-to-clean brushed stainless steel for added flair, plus an adjustable height chimney for painless installation. Its standard airflow rate is an excellent 368m³/h when ducted and 270m³/h when recirculated, and that’s enough power to deal with the steamiest of cooking sessions. However, if things get out of hand, there’s an "intensive" button to ramp up the suction to a whopping 605m³/h – enough oomph to clear even bigger kitchens.
Other highlights include tactile touch controls for its three main fan speeds and a pair of reliable LED lamps to see by. In the pantheon of the best kitchen extractor fans that measure 60cm, this snazzy mid-priced model is a top pick.
Key Specs – Type: Extraction and recirculation; Canopy size: 60cm; Extraction rate: 368m³/h; Noise level: 47dB
Buy now from John Lewis
Price: £819 | Buy now from AO.com
If you have a 90cm range cooker or induction hob and can’t stand the sight of a large triangular-shaped hunk of metal protruding over the cooking area, consider installing one of the new range of angled extractors. This aesthetically pleasing glass-swathed model sits against the wall towards the rear of the hob at an acute angle. It not only looks extremely classy but you’ll never bang your head on it, which is more than one can say for the majority of standard hoods.
At 89cm in width, the Bosch Serie 6 uses a powerful EcoSilence drive motor to draw steam, greasy air and cooking smells towards its large recessed intake and out of the kitchen. Aside from being commendably quiet (the claimed noise level is 53dB), the Serie 6 also features a Perfect Air sensor that constantly monitors the air quality, automatically adjusting the suction power accordingly. Alternatively, a simple tap of its DirectSelect touch control panel provides three manual power levels and two intensive settings for frying sessions – the hood remains on until the sensor detects that all kitchen vapour and smells have left the room. As to be expected, it also comes with two bright 1.5W LED lamps to illuminate the entire cooking area.
You can rarely go wrong with a Bosch and this one’s a case in point. It performs the task of expelling air without sounding like an aircraft, and it looks extremely elegant while doing so.
Key Specs – Type: Extraction; Canopy size: 89cm; Extraction rate: 460m³/h; Noise level: 53dB
Buy now from AO.com
Price: £259 | Buy now from AO.com
This brushed steel model features a glass surround – which looks good and is easy to keep clean – two washable filters and two bright LED lamps that are much longer-lasting than the previous model’s halogens. We recently fitted this 60cm model over a standard John Lewis cooker and it has performed superbly, despite the racket it makes on full blast (the claimed noise level of 69dB is much higher than some of the pricier rivals).
The control buttons are easy enough to get a handle on: simply hit the first one to turn on the LEDs and the other three for increasing power. This thing is very loud on the third setting – too loud to entertain by – but the good news is that it’s remarkably efficient at removing the undesirable results of even the fattiest of fry ups.
You could easily spend a whole lot more on a kitchen extractor fan that won’t perform any better than this model. As long as you’re prepared to put up with the noise, the Zanussi ZHC62352X comes highly recommended.
Key Specs – Type: Extraction and recirculation; Canopy size: 60cm; Extraction rate: 500m³/h; Noise level: 69dB
Buy now from AO.com
Price: £129 | Buy now from Currys
If you’d rather go down the simple route and avoid having holes drilled into the wall, perhaps consider a recirculating model like this fine canopy example from the house of Bosch. The Serie 2 simply mounts to the wall above any 60cm hob (cooker style or integrated) and recirculates cooking vapour through its charcoal filter at a rate of up to 350m³/h.
This hood couldn’t be easier to use – tap the fan speed button of choice and, well, that’s it. On the far right, there’s another button to turn on the two ultra-bright 4W LEDs.
The downside here is that this cooker hood is one of the louder models on the market (it’s rated at 72dB at full speed) so bear that in mind if you have a kitchen diner or open-plan living space. Other than that, this is a fine contender that installs quickly without the need to make any holes in your walls or ceiling.
Key Specs – Type: Recirculation; Canopy size: 60cm; Extraction rate: 350m³/h; Noise level: 72dB
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