Of course we know the obvious benefit, that range hoods ventilate odor and smoke from the kitchen. The other benefits of a range hood include preventing grease deposits all over the kitchen. It also sucks out the heat that emanates from the stove, which is particularly nice in summer. Best of all, the ventilation prevents that awful chain of events in my apartment where the room gets all misty, the smoke alarm goes off, and the old woman downstairs starts slamming her broom and screaming, shaking the floorboards beneath my feet. Ha! Yes, this is the torment I live with. Fortunately, I have a range hood that can prevent the whole thing.

The Black Range Hood from Broan

The black range hood depicted above is the most similar to the one I have. It goes right under your cabinets and ports through the wall, giving you that extra bit of storage space. The aluminum filters are dishwasher safe, which is great, but I don’t have a dishwasher.

Broan White Range Hood

Broan manufactures a huge selection of range hoods like this white range hood here. My range hood is very quiet because it has the centrifugal squirrel cage blower. This is a pricier feature, but it is more efficient delivering airflow than the less expensive and noisier air-ring fan.

Broan Chimney Range Hood

This white chimney ventilator can  go over a gas stove against a wall, or an island’s electric stove.

Large Stainless Steel Range Hood from Broan"

Range hoods work better when they’re closer to the stove, but this can be hazardous to the user who might bonk their head on the sharp edge while cooking. Also, with a gas stove,  flames have on occasion hopped 20″ gaps to the greasy filter of the range hood and spread. 24″ to 30″ above the stove is a good distance, and if the range hood is larger like this huge stainless steel one it can still be exceptionally efficient at a distance of 30″.

Stainless Steel Shell Ventilator

Broan also makes the hood shell ventilator made of heavy gauge stainless steel with an aluminum finish. It pulls air into the shell and sucks it out through the air duct. When purchasing your air ducts, follow all the manufacturer’s recommendations. A duct too thin or too wide can be noisy or inefficient.

Round Transition Range Hood

The round transition ventilator by Broan is small and would be an ideal and cheaper option for an electric stove. It is an inexpensive choice that will ventilate the most effectively when it is closer to the stove top.

Stainless Steel Chimney Range Hood

The stainless steel chimney hood is perfect for a sleek contemporary kitchen decor. As you can see, the flat wings of the hood were used to hold vases. That’s a cute idea.

Square Plastic Grille Mount

There is also the option of mounting a fan like this one with a square plastic grille right into the wall or ceiling. This and the range hood together can be a great team as long as they are not run at the same time. When they work together simultaneously, the fan renders the range hood useless. Run the range hood for ventilating the range top and its grease, and then turn it off and turn on the fan wall mount for extra ventilation, removing heat and scent from the kitchen. Ventilate the kitchen after every time you cook and you’ll notice a huge difference in how often you have to wipe down the surfaces.