What is a Convertible Vent Hood?

Have you ever woken up in the morning to your house smelling like last night’s dinner? Have you ever come home from work and walked into a house still smelling like that same dinner? It does not matter how much you enjoyed that dinner, nobody wants to continuously smell it days later. The good news is that you can keep your home smelling clean and fresh with the help of a convertible vent hood.

The Importance of a Vent Hood

Sometimes referred to as a range hood, this appliance is an addition to your kitchen that is installed over your range and designed to keep the air fresh. And once you hear why you need a vent hood, you won’t think twice about having one. You may think that it is just to remove the odors left behind from your stellar cooking skills, but a vent hood is so much more than that.

When you cook on your stove, a lot is being released into the air, including heat, smoke, steam, food debris, and grease. Even carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and other toxins have the potential to be released into the air. Breathing in all of these things cannot be good for you.

A vent hood is designed to remove all of these from your kitchen so that you only have the freshest, cleanest, and safest air to breathe. And who doesn’t prefer clean air?

How a Vent Hood Works: Ducted or Ductless

A vent hood can work in two main ways. Not every home is designed to handle each type of vent hood. Understanding the options available can help you to determine which type of hood will fit best in your kitchen.

Ducted vent hoods, such as THOR Kitchen’s 30-inch professional range hood, use a vent fan to pull the smoke, steam, toxins, and the like from the kitchen and carry it outdoors. This is done through a vent or ductwork that is built into the home. It allows for the dirty air to be pulled out so that only fresh air remains. For those who have ductwork or a vent fan in place already, a ducted vent hood may be a great option. However, for those that don’t, this can often involve quite an extensive project.

Ductless vent hoods are, as their name suggests, one that works without a duct. This is for those kitchens that don’t have ductwork in place to carry the dirty air outside. These use a fan to pull in the steam, smoke, odors, toxins, etc., from a kitchen and run it through filters. The filter then removes the harmful, unwanted pollutants and returns the clean air back to the kitchen.

Both types work equally well in giving your home a rejuvenated airflow. Choosing the right one for your kitchen is a matter of preference.

What is a Convertible Vent Hood?

A convertible car allows you to drive it like a regular car with the top closed. Or, it allows you to drive with the top down for some open freedom. In other words, you have options. Well, the same holds true for a convertible vent hood.

With a convertible vent hood, like this 36-inch professional wall mount pyramid range hood, you can connect it to a duct or use it with the vent fan and filter. It is like having the best of both worlds. If you currently do not have a ducted ventilation system, you can use a convertible system with a vent filter. And you can continue to use this for as long as you own your home or for the life of the vent hood. In fact, many people do this. However, if you intend to one day have a ducted system installed, investing in a convertible vent hood gives you the ability to simply switch over – or convert to the other method of ventilation.

Pros and Cons of Each Vent Hood

So, are all vent hoods great? Well, let’s just say that all vent hoods do their job, and if they are of high quality, they do that job superbly. It is important to note, though, that each type of vent hood (like anything else) has its pros and cons. In your quest to discover the right vent hood for your kitchen, let’s take a look at a few of them.

Ducted Vent Hoods

With powerful fans, these vent hoods succeed at removing the unclean air from your kitchen with no chance of it coming back. In fact, it is headed outside. Many find this type to be a little quieter than the alternative.

On the downside, ducted vent hoods are a little more involved when installing. They will have to be installed directly where the ductwork is – which means you have to get something that fits the measurements of the space perfectly, and you won’t be able to move it elsewhere. And, of course, if you don’t have ductwork built in already, it will require that to be done first.

Ductless Vent Hoods

Remember, this type of range hood is ductless and can be placed wherever your range is. They come in different models and don’t require specific placement. The baffle filters that they use to clean the air can be removed, cleaned, and then returned.

On the downside, they do require maintenance, such as cleaning the filters. And they do tend to be only slightly louder than a ducted vent hood – but not in a disruptive way. Finally, because it is removing air, filtering it, and then returning it, the steamy humidity doesn’t get removed as well as it does with a ducted unit.

In all, both ducted and ductless vent hoods offer a great service to you and your kitchen. Finding the right one to meet your needs will help everything fall into place. With a convertible vent hood, you get the incredible qualities of both types of units.

Must-Have Convertible Vent Hoods

If you are interested in making the air in your kitchen feel much better and more breathable, then it is time to get a range hood. Take a look at the space over your range and determine your measurements. Then, look for the best high-quality convertible vent hood for your space when you shop THOR Kitchen.