Your rangehood does an important job. It removes smoke and cooking vapors from your commercial kitchen, helping to keep oily residue off surfaces and protecting the quality of air for your workers.  Unfortunately, in some cases, rangehood fans don't work to their full capacity. Want to ensure you get the most of your rangehood? Then, keep these tips in mind whilst selecting, installing and owning your rangehood.

1. Maximise duct size and minimise turns.

The ducts you use with your rangehood have a huge impact on its functioning. Ideally, you want the shortest, widest ducts you can find. However, it isn't always possible to place rangehoods near external walls, and in some cases, your ducts have to be relatively long. Try to give the exhaust a straight shot out of your home, rather than winding it through twists and turns.

2. Pay attention to CMH.

CMH or cubic metres per hour refers to the number of cubic metres of smoke your rangehood can move per hour, and capacities vary drastically from small rangehoods designed for kitchens in flats to extra large hoods designed for commercial spaces.

To determine how much CMH you need, measure the width of your stove. For every metre in width, you want approximately 500 CMH. Also, factor in your duct work and for every metre of ductwork, add roughly 5 CMH and an an additional 40-45 CMF for every turn in the ductwork.

3. Minimise cross breezes.

Once you've narrowed in on the size of your rangehood, look at how the air currents in the kitchen are going to affect the hood's functioning. If there is an open window, a dining room door or anything else that lets in air, you don't want the air to hit the smoke underneath the rangehood.

If air currents hit that smoke, they will blow it around your kitchen rather than allowing the rangehood to extract it. If you have to put in a range hood in a spot where you are worried it will be affected by cross currents, hang a metal panel or curtain to block the air currents.

4. Clean the filter regularly.

Once the rangehood is installed, you don't have to do a lot of upkeep. However, if you want it to work as designed and remove as much cooking smoke and vapors as possible, you need to keep the filter clean. Remove and clean or replace the filter as instructed by the manufacturer of your rangehood.

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