Compare the Best Cooker HoodsJuly 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.

Cooker Hood Prices

We currently list 74 extract hoods ranging from $56 to $3,191. A new extractor fan costs on average $651 and 80% of cooker hoods are priced between $136 and $1,501. The Cookology VISOR600SS is the cheapest kitchen extractor at only $56, and Elica Yin is the most expensive at $3,190.

Extractor Fan Brands - Price Range

Elica extractor fans range in price from $460 to $3,190, and the average price of Elica extractor fans is $1,909 which is the highest average price of all cooker hood brands.

Miele cooker hoods start at $899 and their most expensive kitchen extractor costs $2,000. The average price of Miele cooker hoods is $1,549 which is the second highest average price of all kitchen extractor brands.

The average price of Siemens extract hoods is $963 which is the third highest average price of all extractor fan brands. Siemens extract hoods range in price from $325 to $2,353.

Kitchen Extractor Brands - Average Ratings

We have evaluated 3 expert reviews and 1,216 user reviews for kitchen extractors and used this data to evaluate the average rating for each brand of extract hood. Bosch is the top rated kitchen extractor brand with an average rating of 89%. Miele is the second best brand with 86% and Siemens is the third best brand with 86%.

Biggest Extract Hood Retailers

We found 22 current offers for extractor fans from eBay making it the biggest extractor fan retailer. That is over 11 times bigger than the second biggest retailer, Adorama for whom we found 2 current offers for extractor fans.

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 trend. 11 new extract hoods were released in January 2019 making it the biggest month that year for new extract hood releases. In June 2018, 168 new cooker hoods were released making it the biggest month that year for new extractor fan releases. June was also the biggest month in 2017 for new extractor fans, with 103 new extractor fans released that month.

How Fast Do Cooker Hood Prices Drop After Release?

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

A typical new extract hood costs on average $651. By waiting 6 months before buying you could save on average $20.

Maximum Extraction Power

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

Across the range of extractor fans, the maximum extraction power range from 21m³/h to 2,500m³/h. The maximum extraction power of most 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 kitchen extractor and sells for $1,488.93. The extract hood with the lowest maximum extraction power is the Cookology VISOR600SS, which is a 180m³/h max extraction power extractor fan and is priced at $56.09.

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.

Chimney / wall-mounted is the most frequently found type amongst new kitchen extractors. We found 1,959 kitchen extractors that are chimney / wall-mounted cooker hoods. Built-in is the second most frequently found type amongst new extract hoods. We found 394 extract hoods that are built-in cooker hoods.

Noise Levels

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

The noise levels of extractor fans range from 24dB to 90dB. The noise levels of most cooker hoods range from 64dB to 68dB. The Cookology IDLINT901SS, which sells for $274.27, has the loudest noise level and is a 72dB noise level extract hood. The Bosch DWB97LM50, which is on sale for $626.48, has the quietest noise level and is a 45dB noise level cooker hood.

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.

The most popular energy efficiency rating amongst new kitchen extractors is A. We found 657 kitchen extractors that have an energy efficiency rating of A. We found 517 kitchen extractors that have an energy efficiency rating of C, making C the second most frequently found energy efficiency rating amongst new kitchen extractors.

Which Are the Cheapest Retailers for Extractor Fans?

The chart below helps you decide which retailer is normally cheapest for buying extract hoods. For each retailer it shows the total number of extract hoods 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. 22 of their extractor fan prices were the cheapest that could be found anywhere.

Proportion of Kitchen Extractors for Which Each Retailer is Cheapest?

Assessing how cheap each retailer is for extractor fans by counting the number of cheapest prices for that retailer, makes the retailers that offer the greatest number of kitchen extractor prices more likely to offer the greatest number of cheapest prices. The chart below considers the proportion of each retailer's kitchen extractor 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.