Compare the Best Cooker HoodsApril 2020

Types of Cooker Hoods

Cooker hoods come in all shapes and sizes. The 3 main fitting types of are island (free hanging), wall-mounted and built-in. The hood that is best for you will be dictated mostly by the shape of your kitchen, and the position of your cooker within it.

Island

They are regularly used for kitchens where the cooker is situated in a central ‘island’ work surface. They are the most stand-out and visually impacting style of hood, and give a kitchen a modern, open-plan feel.

Wall-mounted

These hoods are attached to the wall of your kitchen directly above the hob, pulling smoke and dirty air away from the cooker. They aren’t as dramatic as island hoods, but aren’t hidden like inbuilt extractors. They can be simple as a ‘visor’ hood over the hob, or as eye-catching as giant ‘chimney hoods’ looming over the whole cooker. Wall-mounted hoods are the most common type of cooker hood, and suit all kitchens, from the very small to the larger ones.

Built-in

These hoods are generally smaller and quieter, but also come with less power. They are meant to be integrated into cupboards and ‘hidden’ away from obvious view. Because of their smaller size, they are ideal for more cramped kitchens, or places where a traditional chimney extractor hood would be too bulky.

Extraction Types

Cooker hoods work by sucking up the air given off from cooking, and either moving it to the outside through a duct or cleaning and recirculation it inside the room. Most cooker hoods can be operated both ducted and in recirculation mode.

The extraction power rating is measured in m³/h - the higher a hood’s extraction rating, the quicker it extracts air from the room.

Ducted

Ducted hoods feature a duct which channels hot air and smoke to the outside. Because they require access to the outside air (normally through a hole drilled through an outside wall), these type of hoods usually require specialist installation, or a hole from a previous installation. Extracting the air is more effective than recirculation the air.

Recirculating

Recirculating hoods take the dirty air and smoke given off from cooking, pass it through a filter to clean it, then blow it back into the kitchen. They do not require outside access, so are easier and less invasive to install, but are not as efficient at removing smoke and cooking odours as ducted hoods.

Filters

Filters serve to trap grease and smoke given off by cooking, leading to a better-smelling and cleaner kitchen. There are 2 different types of filters for cooker hoods - grease filters are important for all different types of hoods, since they help reduce the grease in the air and the smell of cooking. Carbon filters, on the other hand, are only necessary with recirculating air systems, since they strip the smoke from the air before it is recirculated back into your kitchen. These filters last about a year before they need to be replaced.

The hoods in our system are given a grease filtering efficiency grade. The better the grade, they more efficient they are at removing grease and odours from the air.

Cooker Hood Colours

Cooker hoods come in many different colours to best complement your cooker and kitchen. Most hoods can be found in plain silver, white or black but you can also find more adventurous colours - from bright red to fluorescent green - if you really want to make a statement!

Noise Level

A cooked hood is basically a large fan, so they make can make quite a lot of noise when turned on. The noise will depend on the power level of the extractor used - generally speaking the more powerful the fan, the louder it will be. Other factors such as the material used for the hood may also affect the noise level of your cooker hood.

Many hoods feature a low and high speed, with differing noise levels for each.

Extractor Fan Prices

In total we found 91 extract hoods ranging from $55 to $3,168. On average, a new cooker hood costs $658 and 80% of extract hoods are priced between $137 and $1,450. The most expensive cooker hood that we found is the Elica Yin at $3,168, and the cheapest is the Cookology VISOR600SS at only $56.

Extract Hood Brands - Price Range

The highest average extract hood price out of all brands is Elica kitchen extractors with an average price of $1,886. Elica kitchen extractors range in price from $457 to $3,168.

The second highest average extractor fan price out of all brands is Miele extract hoods with an average price of $1,792. Miele extract hoods start at $625 and their most expensive extractor fan costs $2,600.

The average price of Siemens kitchen extractors is $840 which is the third highest average price of all extractor fan brands. Siemens kitchen extractors start at $185 and their most expensive extractor fan costs $1,555.

Extract Hood Brands - Average Ratings

We have analysed 1 expert reviews and 1,226 user reviews for extractor fans and used this information to determine the average rating for each brand of kitchen extractor. Bosch is the top rated extractor fan brand with an average rating of 89%. Siemens is the second best brand with 86% and Miele is the third best brand with 86%.

Biggest Cooker Hood Retailers

The biggest extractor fan retailer by number of products currently for sale is eBay. We found 53 current extractor fan offers from eBay.

When Are Most New Cooker Hoods Released?

We looked at the release dates for new extract hoods over the last 3 years, but couldn't see any evident pattern. The biggest month in 2019 for new cooker hood releases was January, with 11 new extractor fans released that month. In 2018 most new cooker hoods were released in June, with 171 new cooker hoods released that month. In June 2017, 103 new cooker hoods were released making it the biggest month that year as well for new kitchen extractor releases.

How Fast Do Extract Hood Prices Drop After Release?

On average, in the first 6 months after release, extractor fans drop in price by 3%.

A typical new extract hood costs on average $658. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $21.

Maximum Extraction Power

'Max Extraction Power' denotes the maximum speed of air extraction for the cooker hood.

The maximum extraction power of kitchen extractors range from 21m³/h to 2,500m³/h. The maximum extraction power of the majority of cooker hoods range from 650m³/h to 800m³/h. The kitchen extractor with the highest maximum extraction power is the Siemens LF91BUV50, which is a 940m³/h max extraction power extractor fan and sells for $1,449.85. The Cookology VISOR600SS, which currently retails for $55.69, has the lowest maximum extraction power and is a 180m³/h max extraction power extract hood.

Types

The type of the cooker hood denotes it's case design, such as wall mounted or integrated. Different kitchen designs will favour different types of hood.

We found 1,856 kitchen extractors that are chimney / wall-mounted extract hoods, which makes chimney / wall-mounted the most popular type amongst new kitchen extractors. Built-in is the second most popular type amongst new extractor fans. We found 385 extractor fans that are built-in kitchen extractors.

Noise Levels

'Noise Level' denotes the noise level of the cooker hood, measured in decibels (dB).

The noise levels of extract hoods range from 24dB to 90dB. The noise levels of most extract hoods range from 64dB to 68dB. The kitchen extractor with the loudest noise level is the Cookology IDLINT901SS, which is a 72dB noise level cooker hood and currently retails for $272.33. The extractor fan with the quietest noise level is the Siemens LF98BIP50, which is a 42dB noise level cooker hood and is available at $1,420.17.

Energy Efficiency of Cooker Hoods

The Energy Efficiency Class of a cooker hood shows how well it uses energy, and how much is unnecessarily wasted. Products are ranked from G to A++ in terms of how little energy they use compared to the norm.

We found 626 kitchen extractors that have an energy efficiency rating of A, which makes A the most common energy efficiency rating amongst new kitchen extractors. We found 489 cooker hoods that have an energy efficiency rating of C, making this the second most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new cooker hoods.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Extractor Fans?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying extractor fans. For each retailer it shows the total number of extractor fans where they currently have a market leading price. The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying kitchen extractors. For each retailer we took all of their prices and looked at what proportion of those prices where the cheapest on the market. The cheapest retailer that we found was eBay. 53 of their extract hood prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Extractor Fans for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for cooker hoods by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of extractor fan prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's extractor fan prices that are the cheapest compared to other retailers. The cheapest retailer that we found using this approach was eBay. 100% of their extractor fan prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.