A ventless hood is a hood used in a cooking application that does not require a vent in order to operate and remove impurities caused by cooking. Whenever there is cooking, steam, smoke and fumes are almost always produced at various levels. In order to maintain a good atmosphere in the kitchen, these impurities must be dealt with in an efficient manner. A ventless hood offers one option for control of these fumes.
Ventless range hoods have some advantages over traditional kitchen range hoods. In most cases, a range has a hood with a flue leading up to the roof, where the gas is expelled. This is often why it is easy to smell what a neighbor is cooking when outside. It is expelled then carried by the outside air.
While these traditional types of kitchen range hoods are easily installed when a home is being built, it may be harder to do if kitchen appliances, including the stove, need to be moved to another location. This may be caused by a rearranging of the kitchen or a complete remodeling. Taking these steps may encourage a home owner to consider a ventless hood.
In order to perform a move of a stove with a normal vented hood, it will also require the moving of the flue, or the running of an entirely new flue at least a portion of the way. This could cause some significant expense, as well as additional time for the project. Therefore, the ventless hood can actually work to save a home owner money.
This hood works by employing the use of a filter, or perhaps a couple of different types of filters. Most of the time, an electrostatic filter will be used for particle collection. These types of filters use air or other gas to produce an electric charge which then attracts particles to it, much like static electricity on clothes can attract products. A charcoal filter is also used to help eliminate odors. Used in conjunction, these two filters can make a ventless hood just as effective, or at least nearly as effective, as vented hood.
The major disadvantage of a ventless hood is the maintenance issue. Unlike most vented hoods, which are virtually maintenance free, there may be a need to do some minor maintenance work on a ventless hood. This has mainly to do with replacing the air filters. Still, this is usually a simple procedure that can be done quickly and does not require any special expertise in most cases.