Luxury Housing Trends & Home Improvement Ideas

When in the process of installing your kitchen, you need to decide between a downdraft ventilation and a large range hood. Although both of these units can cost anywhere from $300 to $3,000, the question lies in what design is best for your kitchen.

A downdraft ventilation is similar to a hood, but it takes up less space and therefore is not the focal point of the kitchen. This unit is more appropriate for smaller kitchens. In addition, downdrafts have a remote blower, which you can put on the exterior wall of the kitchen to reduce noise. Hoods are often loud and sound like airplanes taking off. The downside is that remote blowers can be more expensive and challenging to install on your own.

Another difference is how the ductwork is installed. Hoods have ductwork running through the ceiling and out the soffitt, but for downdrafts, the ductwork needs to go through the floor and out the exterior wall or through the interior wall and ceiling and out the roof.

The Viking is a discontinued model sold for a moderate price, which has remote mounted controls. The Broan AP1 Series AP130 is an under the cabinet range hood that is less expensive.