How Much Wider Should a Hood Be Over a Stove?

Significance

• Having a hood that is wide enough to collect the rising air from a stove is important for a number of reasons. It will prevent your kitchen from becoming too warm, which can be uncomfortable if your dining area is nearby or while cooking during warm weather. An adequate hood will also prevent hot, moist air from causing your ceiling, molding and cabinetry from swelling as they become wet. Without a hood that is large enough to trap most of the air, particles of oil and other products from cooking also rise, coating your kitchen with a sticky film that requires special cleaning to remove.

Minimum Hood Requirements

• A range hood's size refers to its width in inches. A hood should be at least the width of your cooking surface. If your stove is installed between cabinets, with matching cabinets hung directly above them, you may only be able to install a hood that is approximately this size. If your kitchen has a more open layout near the stove, a hood that is about 6 inches wider than the cooking surface -- installed with 3 inches of overhang on each side -- will ensure that as much rising air as possible is collected in the exhaust system.

Standard Dimensions

• Range hoods come in some of the same standard widths as stoves and cook tops, including 30 inches, 36 inches and 42 inches. Some hoods come in finishes and sizes that match specific stoves perfectly while others are available individually for kitchen designers to pair with stoves based on width, ventilation needs and appearance. Industrial stove hoods for restaurant and cafeteria kitchens are even wider to accommodate multiple cooking surfaces or ovens and cook tops that operate at high temperatures.

Other Size Factors

• A stove hood's width isn't the only measurement that ensures it can handle the heat from cooking. Different types of hoods also have fans that move air at different rates. For example, centrifugal fans move more air than rotary blade fans. The interior width of a hood's exhaust duct work also impacts how much exhaust it can handle. Hoods come rated for CFM, or cubic feet per minute, to indicate how much air they can take in. Gas stoves require higher CFM ratings than electric stoves, regardless of the width of the cooking surface.