The Appliance Everyone Buys Last and Regrets First
Cooker hoods are usually the final line on a kitchen order, chosen on looks in about five minutes. Then the kitchen is fitted, someone fries bacon, and the whole house smells of it for two days.
A hood is not decoration. It is a ventilation appliance with a measurable job: pull heat, steam, grease and smell out of the room before they settle on your units and your ceiling. Get the extraction rate and the ducting right and you barely notice it working. Get them wrong and no amount of stainless steel will save you.
We stock hoods from CDA, Smeg and Bertazzoni, from £79 to well over £1,000. Here's how to choose properly.
Step One: Ducted or Recirculating?
This single decision affects how well your hood performs more than the brand, the price or the motor.
Ducted (extracted) hoods push air out of the building through a duct to an external wall or roof vent. The grease, steam and smell physically leave your house. This is always the better option and you should choose it if the run to an outside wall is realistic.
Recirculating hoods pass air through a charcoal (carbon) filter and blow it back into the room. They remove most odour and some grease, but they cannot remove heat or moisture — the steam stays with you. They are the right answer for island installations with no duct route, flats, and internal kitchens where ducting is genuinely impossible.
Most hoods sold in the UK can do both, but recirculating usually needs a separate carbon filter kit that isn't in the box. Charcoal filters need replacing roughly every three to six months depending on how much you fry. Budget for that as a running cost.
Step Two: Work Out the Extraction Rate You Need
Extraction is measured in cubic metres per hour (m³/h). Manufacturers quote the maximum figure, usually on boost.
The standard rule of thumb is to change the air in your kitchen ten to twelve times an hour:
- Measure the room — length × width × height in metres. A 4m × 3m kitchen with a 2.4m ceiling is 28.8m³.
- Multiply by 10 for a closed kitchen, or 12 to 15 for open-plan or a heavy-use kitchen. That 28.8m³ room wants roughly 290–430m³/h.
- Add headroom if you cook with a wok, deep fry, or have a gas hob — those produce far more grease and heat than an induction hob does.
There is also a legal minimum. Under Approved Document F of the Building Regulations, a kitchen needs intermittent extract of at least 30 litres per second (around 108m³/h) where the hood sits directly above the hob, or 60 l/s elsewhere in the room. Almost every hood we sell clears that comfortably — but a very cheap recirculating unit in a large open-plan space will feel underpowered even though it technically complies.
One warning. If you have an open-flued gas appliance in the same space — an older boiler or a solid fuel stove — a powerful extractor can pull combustion gases back into the room. Get that checked by a Gas Safe engineer before fitting a high-output hood.
Step Three: Choose the Type
The type is dictated by where the hob sits and what's above it.
Chimney hoods mount on the wall with a visible flue running up to the ceiling. The most common choice and the widest range. Flat glass, curved glass and traditional stainless versions all sit in this family — the CDA 60cm flat glass chimney at £199 and the CDA 70cm curved glass at £229 are typical.
Angled and T-shape hoods tilt the front face away from your head, so you can stand at the hob without ducking. If you are tall, or the hob is against a wall you lean into, this is worth the extra. The CDA 90cm angled chimney is £259; the Smeg KATE900EX 90cm T-shape is £299.
Canopy and visor hoods fit underneath an existing wall cabinet, so the cupboard stays and only the underside of it is taken up. The cheapest way to get real extraction — a CDA canopy extractor is £99.
Integrated and telescopic hoods hide inside a cabinet completely, with a pull-out slider you draw forward when cooking. Best choice if you want the hob wall to look uninterrupted. From £94 for the CDA 60cm integrated, up to £329 for the Smeg Classic telescopic.
Island hoods hang from the ceiling above a hob in an island. They need a ceiling duct route or a recirculating kit, and they are visible from every angle, so this is where design budget goes. The CDA 90cm flat glass island extractor is £379; Smeg's 90cm island hood is around £920.
Venting hobs and downdraft extractors put the extraction into the worktop instead of on the wall, which is the answer when there is no wall behind the hob — an island, or a hob under a window. They pull steam sideways and down rather than letting it rise, so they work harder for the same result and need space in the cabinet below, but they leave the sightline completely clear. The Smeg SIM3644MB 60cm induction hob with built-in Auto-Vent is £999, and the Smeg 83cm induction hob with integrated extractor is £2,445.
Hob-and-hood pairs are the halfway house. The CDA Hood Connect induction hob at £449 links an induction hob to a compatible hood so both run from one control — worth knowing about if you're buying a hob at the same time. Our induction vs gas guide covers the hob side of that decision.
Step Four: Size It Against the Hob, Not the Cabinet
A hood should be at least as wide as the hob, and ideally wider. Steam and smoke rise in a plume that spreads outwards, so a 90cm hood over a 60cm hob captures noticeably more than a 60cm hood does — if you have the wall space, size up.
- 60cm — standard, matches a standard hob and a standard cabinet run.
- 70–80cm — a small step up that catches far more from a 60cm hob.
- 90cm — the right match for a 90cm hob or a range cooker, and the most common upgrade.
- 100–120cm — for wide range cookers. The Smeg Symphony 110cm at £990 and the Bertazzoni 120cm professional T-shape at £1,039 cover this end.
Mounting height matters as much as width. As a general rule, allow 65–75cm above an electric or induction hob and at least 75cm above gas — but always follow the manufacturer's figure for your specific model. Too high and the hood loses capture; too low and it's a fire risk over gas, and you'll hit your head. Our measuring guide walks through recording all of this before you order.
Step Five: Ducting — Where Most Hoods Are Ruined
You can buy a 700m³/h hood and get 300m³/h of real performance out of it with bad ducting. This is the part installers rush and customers never see.
- Use the largest duct the hood allows, normally 150mm. Reducing to 125mm or 100mm to fit an existing hole throttles the airflow and makes the hood louder.
- Rigid duct beats flexible hose. Concertina hose has a corrugated inner wall that creates turbulence and drag along its whole length.
- Keep the run short and the bends few. Every 90° bend costs you roughly the same as adding a metre of straight duct. Two gentle 45° bends beat one sharp right angle.
- Vent outside properly, through an external grille with a back-draught flap. Never vent into a loft or a cavity — that is how you get damp and mould.
Noise, Filters and Lighting
Noise is quoted in dB(A). Most hoods sit somewhere in the 40s on the lowest setting and the high 60s to low 70s on boost. The difference between a quiet hood and a loud one is mostly motor quality and duct design — a well-ducted mid-range hood is usually quieter than a premium one on flexible hose. If your kitchen is open-plan to a living space, treat the low-speed figure as the one that matters, because that's the setting you'll actually leave it on.
Grease filters are the metal mesh panels on the underside. Aluminium ones are dishwasher safe — run them through every month or two and the hood will keep its airflow for years. Neglected grease filters are the single most common cause of "my extractor has stopped working properly".
Carbon filters only exist on recirculating setups and cannot be washed. Replace them, don't clean them.
Lighting is LED across the range now. It's worth checking the light output if the hood is your main task lighting over the hob, which in most kitchens it is.
Controls and Extras
Push buttons and rotary dials are reliable and cheap. Touch controls look cleaner and wipe down easily. Gesture control lets you wave a greasy hand under the hood rather than touching it — genuinely useful when cooking, and available on the CDA 60cm gesture control extractor at £329 and the CDA 60cm gesture control canopy hood at £249.
Run-on timers keep the fan going for ten to fifteen minutes after you finish cooking, which clears residual steam and stops it condensing on the units. If a hood has one, use it.
What to Spend
- £79–£150 — a basic chimney, canopy or integrated hood. Real extraction, simple controls, no frills. The CDA 60cm standard chimney at £79, the CDA integrated with full-width slider at £109, or the CDA 60cm chimney at £139.
- £150–£350 — glass and angled designs, better motors, quieter running. The value band for most UK kitchens: the CDA 90cm curved glass at £249, the Smeg 60cm chimney at around £240, the Smeg KATE900EX 90cm T-shape at £299.
- £350–£800 — island hoods, matt finishes and premium builds. The CDA 60cm angled in matt black at £399, the CDA 90cm island in matt black at £699, the Smeg Portofino 90cm at £729.
- £800+ — design-led statement hoods and wide professional models: the Smeg Victoria 110cm at £957, the Smeg Linea 90cm angled at £1,089, or the Bertazzoni 120cm.
For how CDA and Smeg compare at each of these tiers across the rest of the kitchen, see our Smeg vs CDA comparison.
Before You Order: Five Checks
- Hob width and hood width. Same size minimum, wider is better.
- Duct route. Know where the air is going before you buy, and whether you need a recirculating kit instead.
- Duct diameter. Check what the hood requires and what your existing hole is. Don't plan to reduce it.
- Mounting height. Confirm the manufacturer's minimum clearance above your hob type, and check it against your ceiling and any wall cabinets.
- Carbon filters. If you're recirculating, order the filter kit at the same time — they're rarely included.
Our Recommendations
- Tight budget, cabinet above the hob: a CDA canopy extractor at £99 or the integrated 60cm at £94.
- Standard 60cm kitchen: the CDA flat glass chimney at £199 — modern look, straightforward fit.
- 90cm hob or range cooker: the CDA 90cm angled at £259, the CDA 90cm chimney at £199, or the Smeg KATE900EX at £299 for something more design-led.
- Island kitchen: the CDA 90cm flat glass island at £379, or Smeg's 90cm island hood if the hood is a design feature.
- No wall behind the hob: the Smeg SIM3644MB venting induction hob at £999.
- Design-led kitchen: the Smeg Linea 80cm angled in black glass at £839, or the Smeg Victoria 110cm for a traditional kitchen.
Browse the full hoods and extractors range, or get in touch with your hob width and where the duct can run — we'll tell you what will actually work.
Frequently Asked Questions
What extraction rate do I need for my kitchen?
Multiply your kitchen's length, width and height in metres to get its volume, then multiply that by 10 for a closed kitchen or 12 to 15 for open-plan. A 28.8m³ kitchen wants roughly 290–430m³/h. Building Regulations set a floor of 30 l/s (about 108m³/h) for a hood directly over the hob.
Is a ducted or recirculating hood better?
Ducted, without question — it removes heat, steam, grease and odour from the building entirely. Recirculating hoods filter odour and grease but return the moisture and heat to the room. Choose recirculating only when ducting outside isn't realistic.
How high above the hob should a cooker hood be?
Generally 65–75cm above an electric or induction hob and at least 75cm above gas, but always follow the figure in your model's instructions. Too high loses capture; too low is a fire risk over gas.
Should the hood be wider than the hob?
Ideally yes. Steam rises in a spreading plume, so a 90cm hood over a 60cm hob captures noticeably more than a matching 60cm one. Same width is the minimum.
How often should I clean the filters?
Wash aluminium grease filters every one to two months — most are dishwasher safe. Carbon filters on recirculating hoods can't be cleaned and need replacing every three to six months.
Do I need an electrician to fit a cooker hood?
Many hoods run from a standard 13amp plug or a fused spur, which a competent DIYer can manage. The ducting and the wall or ceiling penetration are the harder part, and anything hardwired should be done by a qualified electrician.
Are venting hobs and downdrafts as good as chimney hoods?
They're capable, but they extract from beside the pan rather than above it, so they work against the natural rise of steam. Choose one for the design freedom it gives you, not because it will outperform a well-ducted chimney hood.
Why is my extractor so loud?
Usually ducting rather than the motor: a reduced duct diameter, flexible hose, or too many sharp bends. Blocked grease filters make it worse. Fix the ducting and most hoods get noticeably quieter.
