Induction Hob with Integrated Ventilation (For Home not Camping!)

[JunglieD]

I’m currently researching which ~80cm induction hob with integrated ventilation to buy. This is to be used within a new kitchen island our fitter will install - I’m fortunate to have option for either vented (exhausting the fumes externally) or recirculating (via filter and kickplate). However, the amount of information online is varied to say the least given these are perhaps not widely adopted in the market. If anyone has one, I’d love to hear your feedback, recommendation, warnings etc from the trusted Cali Community. Few areas I’m interested in:

- which uses less space beneath the unit; vented or recirculating type?
- any standout brands to choose or avoid. Currently keep returning to Neff or Elica NT ranges?
- anything you wish you’d known before taking the plunge?

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Our friends have one that has a down draft pop up extractor. They ran the extractor vent under the floor to external wall as was part of a newbuild.

Obviously being a good friend I told my mate that it was the worst idea and was very likely to go wrong...fumes go vertically so couldn't see the horizontal extraction being that efficient...but i was wrong and works very well and they have never had an issue with it.

Wouldn't get too torn up on the brand as most decent brands share the same components. Go for the most powerfull extractor capacity + longest warranty.

 

[Mehdime]

We’re about to have ours fitted (a Bora) so can’t talk from experience. All the people we’ve talked to who have one love them and find them very effective (despite the unintuitive design of a downdraft extraction). From the research I did beforehand:

If you can go vented, then go vented. Recirculating means that you’ll have to regularly clean and replace the carbon filter, which is hassle and costs. It also means that the humid cooking air gets thrown back into your room (smells and grease get removed but not moisture). I don’t believe that there’s a difference in space used under the unit between vented and recirculating but don’t quote me on that.

You could get a subscription to Which magazine to check their tests (and then immediately cancel it). But their findings were:

- Bosh, Siemens, Neff and Miele are all equally good with little to set them apart. It’s really down to which one you like more. Go try them in a showroom to see how you get on with the controls and check out how easy it is to empty the water tank (where spillage gets collected)

- IKEA and Smeg are rubbish at extracting.

- All Elicas were a Don’t Buy because they failed fire safety requirements. Elica claims to have replaced the faulty parts since Which ran those tests but Which hasn’t tested the new models. If you buy an Elica, make sure to buy a model manufactured after the 21 Feb 2022, which is when Elica claims to have fixed the safety issue.

Also consider models with pop-up extractors that pop-up behind the induction plate rather than being in the middle of it. The advantage here is that the area underneath the hob will be free, allowing you to fit a drawer. We didn’t go with this because it looked like something that was going to break far too easily.

 

[JunglieD]

Thank you so much for this excellent feedback. Not sure my budget will extend to a Bora due to the scale of my home reno away from the kitchen - but it’s great to hear the advice about venting externally if that’s possible and the apparent equity across Bosch/Neff/Siemens/Miele.

On this basis I think I’m going to narrow my search for a Bosch or Neff as I can get a decent rate using my employer’s discount service. Sounds like either will be a solid middle-of-the-road option. Thanks for sharing your own research

 

[RockinNRollin]

Perhaps I'm missing the obvious, but if it's an island how would you ventilate to the outside? I would always recommend externally venting extractor air though if it's possible (for reasons given above).

 

[JunglieD]

You’re not missing something obvious - my home is unconventionally topsy turvy so the kitchen is actually upstairs with the external wall some ~2m from the island’s intended position. Coincidentally I also have scaffolding up on the external wall currently as the rear glazing is changed. Literally the perfect time to run dedicated ventilation pipe from the floor underneath where the island will be, between the rafters and outside via grill to fresh air

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Perhaps I'm missing the obvious, but if it's an island how would you ventilate to the outside? I would always recommend externally venting extractor air though if it's possible (for reasons given above).

You can run a vent pipe under the floor to an external wall. Or with a traditional ceiling extactor, if there is enough space you can run the vent pipe in the ceiling running alongside the joists, if your joists run the wrong way, you can mount the pipework on the ceiling and box it in

 

[andyinluton]

You’re not missing something obvious - my home is unconventionally topsy turvy so the kitchen is actually upstairs with the external wall some ~2m from the island’s intended position. Coincidentally I also have scaffolding up on the external wall currently as the rear glazing is changed. Literally the perfect time to run dedicated ventilation pipe from the floor underneath where the island will be, between the rafters and outside via grill to fresh air

In this situation I would go external vent then. Just check that the joists do go the right way. You mention external glazing, if that is below the kitchen just check you don't have a lintel in the way of your exit point.

 

[RockinNRollin]

I'd definitely go for external ventilation then. The only drawback is if you like cooking (like me) then it means people start peering over the fence because they can smell your food . . .

 

[Mehdime]

Not the same situation as the OP but here is what ducting to the outside looks like in our house for an island-mounted downdraft extractor installed in the former front reception of a Victorian house.

 

[larrylamb]

Personally would avoid Neff, knowing too many people with failed, not very old,appliances.
I have been very happy with my powerful ducted FRANKE extract, excellent build quality.
You will need ventilation etc to replace the extracted air otherwise it will pull it from floorboards, loft hatches etc.

 

[RockinNRollin]

You will need ventilation etc to replace the extracted air otherwise it will pull it from floorboards, loft hatches etc.

Depending on the age of the house, that's not necessarily a bad thing (anything old-ish is likely to be "leaky") as it's effectively encouraging air movement throughout the house, although in reality I'm not sure in a domestic setting it's that significant as the likely patterns of use aren't going to be anything like a commercial setting, nor is the extraction rate.

 

[larrylamb]

Depending on the age of the house, that's not necessarily a bad thing (anything old-ish is likely to be "leaky") as it's effectively encouraging air movement throughout the house, although in reality I'm not sure in a domestic setting it's that significant as the likely patterns of use aren't going to be anything like a commercial setting, nor is the extraction rate.

Yes, really noticeable in my old house so always open the kitchen window. My extractor whilst not commercial is pretty powerful at up to 820 cubic metres/hr.

 

[JunglieD]

Not the same situation as the OP but here is what ducting to the outside looks like in our house for an island-mounted downdraft extractor installed in the former front reception of a Victorian house.

View attachment 108872

Thanks for showing this - really interesting because all I’d seen to now is technical drawings which show only the area in the immediacy of the cabinet.

I can see now it’s rectangular tubing throughout. May I ask (or even see) what the vent looks like on the external wall?

 

[Mehdime]

Thanks for showing this - really interesting because all I’d seen to now is technical drawings which show only the area in the immediacy of the cabinet.

I can see now it’s rectangular tubing throughout. May I ask (or even see) what the vent looks like on the external wall?

The ducting we used is the one at the top of this page: https://www.howtoinstallbora.com/ecotube-list/

More common would be the round ducting similar to those used for bathroom extractors (4’’ or ideally 6’’ to allow for a good flow of air since those fans are quite a bit more powerful than your typical bathroom fan).

Outside, we were going to install one of those godawful-looking vents that you see at the bottom of the page. But thankfully, the ducting ended up lining up perfectly with the existing original cast-iron vent used to ventilate the suspended floor. So we didn’t have to bore a hole through our front facade to install one of those abominations. We just re-used the existing vent (half of it is still used to ventilate the suspended floor. The other half is for the extractor fan).

 

[andyinluton]

Yes, really noticeable in my old house so always open the kitchen window. My extractor whilst not commercial is pretty powerful at up to 820 cubic metres/hr.

A quick fag packet calculation works out at a 25mph draft to get that volume of air through a typical 100x200 duct !

 

[Kevthegas]

We have an AEG which has the central fan inlet ( recirculation model) works really even when my 2 boys are grilling their massive steaks ect so they achieve the required Protein intake !!!