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EcoSpection
Serving the greater Houston area and surrounding coastal counties
Cooking Ventilation Basics - The truth about efficiency and indoor air pollution
The Home Ventilation Institute has indicated
that the main source of pollution in the home is
produced in the kitchen. Grease from cooking
is a main contaminant. Studies show that a
household of four people will produce a gallon
of grease per year because of improper
ventilation. Spatter around the cooktop or left
in filters is about 15% and the remainder is in
the form of vaporized grease. A small amount
of vaporized grease is some of the reason why
there are odors in the home. Most grease
particles are three microns in size.
A micron is a millionth of a meter. A human hair is 100 microns. A grease particle could float
in a home for  up to three days. Controlling grease can also help in controlling moisture, heat
and odors.

The height of a kitchen ventilation hood should generally be about 30" to 36" from the
cooking surface, or maximum 72" from the floor. The width of the hood should match the
width of the cooking surface. In some cases, it is desirable to have a wider hood, but never
one smaller.

To determine the proper ventilator size, there are two facts to consider. First, if the total btu is
less than 60,000 then the unit should be 100 cfm per linear foot. Example, a 36" cooktop
would require 300 cfm. If btu is greater than 60,000 it is 100 cfm per btu, which would equal
600 cfm.

If the noise of some lower end vent hoods bothers you, consider a hood with the fan located
in the attic.


Energy Efficiency
Some think that ventilators waste energy because they are pulling conditioned air outside
the home (assuming you have a ventilator that truly vents to outside the home). Studies have
shown that this not to be true. In the case of cooled air (air conditioning), removal of the heat
from the cooking area is more efficient than trying to cool the heated air from cooking.

Clean Home