Kitchen Hotbox

How Do I Know If My Range Hood Is Ductless or Ducted

Many people want to know about range hoods but do not know the real difference between ductless and ducted range hoods. In today’s article, we answer the question “how do I know if my range hood is ducted or ductless?”.

This will allow you to know more about whether the range hoods have to be vented outside.

How Do I Know If My Range Hood Is Ductless?

how do i know if my range hood is ductless

The main indication of ductless range hoods is that they are not vented outside or there is no ductwork installed for vented outside. The charcoal filters in a recirculating range hood or ductless vent hood serve as filters. As a result, kitchen burner smoke is drawn out of the hood, recycled through charcoal filters, and then returned to the kitchen. So, if the range hood you use is made of carbon or charcoal filters and does not have ductwork to emit smoke, then it is a ductless range hood. You can learn more about ductless range hoods by reading the article below.

What Does a Ductless Range Hood Mean – What Is a Ductless Range Hood?

A ductless range hood circulates air through charcoal filters without requiring ductwork. As recirculating range hoods do not require external ductwork, they can be installed anywhere. Toxic odors from the kitchen air, sucked by grease charcoal filters, recirculates and re-blowing back into the room instead of the home’s exterior. This is the difference between ductless and ducted.

Are Ductless Range Hoods Effective? Do Ductless Range Hoods Work

No matter the ductless range hood how much hype is raised, it will never be as effective as ducted since the ducted range hood sends its sucked toxins out through the air ductwork. But ventless hood range brings it back to the kitchen through recirculating, so in the case of indoor air quality improvement and the way how does a ductless range hood work, the ducted hood is more efficient.

Yet, whether ductless range hoods are worth the investment depends on each individual’s needs and circumstances. It is due to the fact that, in all cases, there is no ventilation system outside the kitchen appliance.

Since there is no need to install ductwork outside, the user can install a ductless range hood at a convenient place as per his requirement. As a result, the contractor does not have to be paid for ductwork installation, which saves money.

Learn more: How to Install Under Cabinet Ductless Range Hood by 8 Steps

Are ductless range hoods safe? What Is A Non Ducted Range Hood

Ductless range hoods are safe but not ducted. If you cooked normal food that is fine but if you love to cook those kinds of food which generate heavy smoke like Asian-style food.

The ductless vent hood will be unable to ventilate the air effectively if you are always cooking like this. As a result of such long-term use, the indoor environment of the kitchen is deteriorating. There is a possibility that those inside a house can suffer lung damage or poor breathing health due to this condition. In contrast, ducted range hoods can handle heavy cooking.

Why use a ductless range hood – The Good & Bad?

The Good Side of Ductless Range Hood

Cheap rate: Ductless range hoods are cheaper in price than ducted ones. Thus, you can buy a ductless range hood for a reasonable price.

Ease of installation: The range hood can be installed wherever you want as there is no need to place any ductwork outside. So that the kitchen does not have to be renovated anew.

DIY friendly: The installation process is also a very easy and much more durable job for DIYers as there is no hassle with ductwork. There is no need to spend $100 and $200 on the back of the contractor as there is no need to install vent work by breaking down the walls.

The Bad Side of Ductless Range Hood

Poor air quality: A ductless hood vent draws toxic fumes from the kitchen, which grease mixes with a variety of hazardous chemicals, and filters, and returns them. There is a risk of lung diseases as a result of this method, which does not bring long-term success.

Hard maintenance: Since ductless vent kitchen hoods suck dirty air and recirculate it through the filter and send it back, grease, and oil accumulates in the filter. That’s why you have to clean the charcoal filters regularly. Which costs both money and time.

How Do I Know If My Range Hood Is Ducted?

how do i know if my range hood is ducted

The term “ducted range hood” refers to any range hood with a duct outside. The ducted range hood emits kitchen grease, smoke, and harmful substances through the ductwork. Also, when you turn on the machine and you see the range hood fan sending air out of the house through ductwork then you should understand that it is a ducted hood not ductless.

How to tell if range hood is ducted? The duct/pipe connects the inside with outside air. This is the mechanism for the expulsion of airborne particles from the kitchen. This is the difference between ductless and ducted range hoods. Ducted range hood ductwork can be installed on your kitchen room cabinet, ceiling, or wall. Where under cabinet ducted range hood cabinet or through the wall and wall mount ducted range hoods must be installed through the wall. The ductwork range of the ducted machine varies horizontally or vertically depending on the type of hood.

What Is a Ducted Range Hood?

Range hoods with ducting or pipes that vent airborne particles are known as ducted range hoods or ventilating hoods. A powerful blower sends kitchen air to the exterior of the house and is called a ducted range hood. As they are carried out with duct pipes, where they are located depends on the architectural design. So due to ductwork, the ducted range hood has to be installed in the pre-determined place.

Kitchen smoke and grease particles are sucked through the filter and expelled by the vent pipe in order to maintain a peaceful cooking environment. Ductwork is a critical part of all ducted hoods. A ducted kitchen hood can serve you the best service better than a non ducted range hood one. The ducted range hood is a popular choice for commercial kitchens. But whether you use ducted or ductless depends on your needs and cooking style.

Are Ducted Range Hoods Worth It?

Why not? ducted range hoods are much better than ductless because of their effectiveness. Ductless kitchen hoods are not enough efficient as ducted exhaust hoods. Ducted range hoods are perfectly suited for commercial and home kitchens. They can effort heavy-duty cooking with a powerful motor as they are able to remove all airborne particles time to time.

Especially if you enjoy cooking steak dishes, which produce more smoke and grease. Then the best pics for you is a ducted hood. Because they suck out the excess smoke and range hood vent outside immediately. But it does not blow in like a ventless vent hood system. As a result, the kitchen environment is fresh and healthy and the furniture is grease-free.

Why use a ducted range hood? – The Good & Bad

The Good Side of Ducted Range Hood

Efficiently removes particles: A ducted range hood ensures effective suction by eliminating smoke, grease, odors, fumes, dirty air, and harmful chemicals completely by ductwork and eliminating unwanted particles.

Make grease-free kitchen: The ductless hood circulates and sends it back so the smoke stays in the kitchen. But on the other hand, the effective use of a ducted range hood er keeps the kitchen wall, cabinet, and furniture grease-free and keeps the kitchen clean and new.

No more extra pain: Ducted baffle filters or mesh filters like ductless rangehoods do not need to be replaced frequently. Ducted range hoods are less noisy because inline blowers are placed in the ductwork.

Healthy life: A ducted one ensures the health of all by maintaining a healthy environment by sucking harmful substances.

The Bad Side of Ducted Range Hood

Expensive added costly: Since ductwork has to be placed on the ducted range hood, it costs a little money. Again, this type of work is not DIY-friendly so you have to spend 100$ – 300$.

Can’t be installed anywhere: It is impossible to set up the range hood machine wherever the ductwork is needed. Because duct systems must be installed where they are currently available. Otherwise, if you want to arrange a new duct system, you have to spend money on it.

Ducted VS Ductless Range Hood – What Is the Difference Between Ducted and Ductless Range Hoods

The main difference between ducted and ductless range hoods is ventilation. One range hood directly vents toxic air outside of the home through ductwork. On the other hand, the opposite one uses fan, bowler to suck air, and using a filter to recirculate then through back in the kitchen. There are also more features between ducted vs ductless range hoods which may influence them to differ from one another.

Noise

When you go to ducted range hoods, they usually produce less sound. Because they do not have to recirculate air with the help of filters or fans. They can vent out directly in sucked weather.

Ductwork

Ductwork must be installed in the ducted range hood in order to discharge smoke outside, but it does not need to be installed in the ductless range hood. This is because the ductless rangehood can recycle the sucked smoke on its own.

Filters

In ductless kitchen hood filters are especially needed to recirculate air. As opposed to that, it is not necessary for ducted range hoods.

Installation Cost

It is slightly more expensive to install a ductless range hood compared to a ducted range hood installation cost. Because here is the range hood ductwork installation. In order to replace the range hood, an experienced contractor is needed, which adds 150 – 300$ to the cost. But the ductless vent hood does not have to be vented range hood vents outside, so there is no additional cost to install range hood duct.

Maintenance Cost

The ducted range hood will again protect against operating expenses. Since they vent directly into the air, there is no filter to clean. Due to this, they don’t cost anything to clean. But this applies to the ductless system. As a result, they have to clean both filters regularly and replace them every 3 to 4 months.

Outdoor Installation

In our opinion, ductless range hoods will win the race for outdoor kitchen setups. Because there is no need to place ductwork in a ductless range hood, you can install it wherever you want. This opportunity does not exist in the ducted kitchen hood.

Do Range Hoods Have to Be Vented Outside – Do All Range Hoods Vent Outside

Since range hood is a long-term investment, people will usually go for research on it. Just then the question may arise in their minds, do range hoods have to be vented outside?

The answer to this question is No, all range hoods don’t must need to vent outside. Those range hoods that need to be vented outside are referred to as ducted range hoods. But range hoods that are called ductless do not have to be vented outside. They are called recirculating/ductless range hoods because they recirculate air with the help of internal filters.

It is important to consider which range hood is best for your needs when purchasing one. To assist your decision, we’ve provided guidelines on ducted vs non ducted range hoods above.  Once you know what you want, you will be able to choose the right range hood for your home.

In our view, an overall ducted range hood is much more effective than a non ducted range hood. Because the ducted kitchen hood duct/venting pipe eliminates toxic fumes, vapors, grease, and toxic weather generated in the kitchen, the kitchen becomes more efficient.

How Do I Convert A Ductless Range Hood to Ducted?

Since it is a matter of conversion from ductless to ducted, it depends on the model or specification of the range hood.

How Do I Convert A Ductless Range Hood to Ducted

Some range hoods can only be converted from ductless to ducted by changing the recirculating kit. After removing the recirculating kit and installing the ductwork in the proper way, the ductless is easily converted to ducted.

However, find out from the manufacturer if the existing range hood you are using has a similar arrangement and then try to convert it to ducted. The fact remains that most ducted range hoods have a simple charcoal filter kit that can be fitted to convert to ductless, while not all ductless range hoods can be fitted with this kit.

The Bottom Line

Hopefully, our team has been able to explain to you what is the main difference between ductless vs ducted and which one is better for you. If you want to learn more about hoods, check out the links below!

Related Articles

Leave a Comment