Gorgeous Columbus Kitchen Remodel with the Faber Tender

Photo Credit: J.S Brown and Company

Photo Credit: J.S Brown and Company

Many thanks to J.S Brown and Company, a custom remodeling company in Columbus, Ohio for sharing this transitional setting kitchen featuring our Tender by Faber. According to J.S Brown's marketing director Amber Durant, "This Kitchen remodel was part of a larger interior renovation to update a 1980's era contemporary-style home."

The stainless appliances matched in this kitchen with dark woods, neutral counter tops and flooring allows for the appliances to jump out and create a design statement. The subtle curves of the Tender make the hood a focal point in the kitchen and lend to the modern feel of the kitchen while still lending traditional elements. 

The Tender hood with 600 cfm, 3 speed electronic blue LED backlit controls, halogen lights, auto shut off and intensive speed offers the power you need and the silence you seek. Affordable, attractive and you can buy with confidence knowing a 60 year old ventilation pioneer is behind the product. For more information visit faberonline.com  

Over the Range Microwaves vs. Rangehoods

OTR Microwave Versus Canopy Rangehood

So you are faced with a dilemma in your kitchen design of a smaller kitchen: find a spot for microwave and a rangehood or save space and money and use an OTR (Over the Range Microwave) with ventilation and microwave together above the cooking surface. This posting is meant to show reasons why a dedicated rangehood over the cooking surface would be much better than buying a OTR combination.

Safety - This is the number one, top of the list item, the safety of putting an OTR microwave over the cooking surface. The number one user of microwaves in most homes is children. The little one wants to heat up their mac and cheese in the microwave for example. The problem with an OTR microwave, how does a child get to the microwave? Perhaps they prop a chair against the stove and climb on top of the chair to get to the microwave door. This is truly a recipe for disaster. Not to mention the safety of an adult is compromised when trying to lift a hot casserole dish out of their OTR microwave over a hot cooking surface. The potential for hazards involved with the microwave so high off the ground is quite possible.

Ergonomics - Let's say a 5 foot tall person is trying to lift a heavy dish out of the OTR microwave which is about 56-60" from the ground (36" high counter + 20-24" from the stove). This could be quite challenging & awkward to lift a dish from the microwave with arms out stretched and above his or her head. A simple yet important consideration to think about is how tall are the household users of the microwave? Also think about trying to cook with a large, tall stock pot on the back burner and maneuvering a spoon while trying not to hit the OTR which is not very high off the cooking surface.

Design - A rangehood in a kitchen can instantly add flair and make a dramatic statement about the kitchen (see canopy hood photo below). An OTR microwave doesn't really make a statement. The microwaves look a lot nicer these days due to Stainless steel accents, but does anyone ever hear a customer say, "Wow that OTR microwave looks so awesome over the cooktop!" A designer rangehood can add so much more to a kitchen design by becoming a focal point in the kitchen and a real conversation piece.












Effectiveness - The OTR (rangehood / microwave combination) is really making compromises and concessions on both appliances. You could always find a more powerful, larger, more functional stand alone microwave that could fit on a counter, under a counter, under a side cabinet, integrated, or microwave drawer, etc. As for the ventilation portion of the OTR, there is a definite compromise. The coverage over the stove front to back in terms of the OTR depth will be lacking versus a rangehood. A typical canopy hood will be about 19" deep, an OTR will be about 12" deep. This 12" depth will cover the back burners basically as opposed to having better coverage with the rangehood. A dedicated rangehood will cover the back burners and at least half of the front burners.

Most OTR microwaves use a 300 cfm fan (cubic feet per minute of air movement) for venting over the stove. A typical canopy rangehood would be at least 500 or 600 cfm instead, almost double the fan strength. The quality of the grease filters, motor and fan blades / impellers in the OTR would be a major difference also. The motor spins the impellers which draws the air and contaminants off the stove, pulled through the grease filters and then pushed outside. A rangehood will have better, high quality fan blades, more powerful motors (see the motor & impeller photo below) and higher quality grease filters (see photo) that will absorb more grease. All of this equals a cleaner kitchen at the end of a day since the rangehood ventilation is much more effective.



A final point on the effectiveness of OTR's, the charcoal filters used in combo microwave/ventilation units are fairly ineffective. When you cannot vent to the outside of the house because you live in an apartment or condo, or it would take 100 feet of ducting to get outside, then recircualting the hood back into the kitchen is the only option. Typically an OTR will have grease filters for absorbing grease, and a small, thin carbon / charcoal filter to absorb odor before reintroducing air into the kitchen. These charcoal filters are perhaps 1/4" - 1/2" thick, and not very effective at absorbing odors.



Conversely, Here are 2 photos above of two types of rangehood charcoal filters which are and have a much wider area of coverage. Recirculating your hood may not be the best option, but if left with no other choice, the rangehood will reintroduce cleaner air back into the kitchen better than an OTR.

Just some points to remember when you design your next kitchen: safety, ergonomics, design and effectiveness will all be enhanced when using a dedicated rangehood versus a combination microwave / hood.

For more information on ventilation topics, please visit our website faberonline.com

Kitchen Ventilation 101 - Ductwork, Taking the Mystery Out

Ventilation is a tough category in kitchen appliances. We always include general ventilation training in our training presentation because it is a tough category. Which brings us to today’s topic: ductwork.

Ducting is a complex topic for many since there are so many details and points to remember: how long is the duct run in your kitchen vent pipe, what is the cfm (cubic feet per minute of air movement) of the hood, how many elbows do you have in the duct, what is the duct made of, or should I just forget the whole thing and recirculate my hood? Wow that’s a lot to keep track of. We will try to simplify the process and give some pointers from the standpoint of a ventilation company. First off, we‘re not an HVAC company or engineering firm, it is a good idea to have a licensed HVAC contractor or a general contractor with ducting experience to analyze your ducting needs & handle install. This blog entry is simply offering some food for thought on duct work, not an instruction manual.

Short and straight is the phrase to repeat when it comes to ducting rangehoods properly. The shorter and straighter the run, the more effective your hood

will be in the end. Every extra foot of ducting, or every elbow you add to your duct creates more pressure inside of the duct. In our case every Faber rangehood uses a dual centrifugal blower (Picture left) wheel system (or impellers, or fan blades). The motor spins two impeller wheels on either side extracting air from the kitchen and pushing that air thru the ductwork to the outside of the house. The more pressure in the duct run because of extra elbows, longer duct runs and ribbed/ridged ductwork (always use smooth metal ducting - (Picture below - source - theductshop.com) the more the motor / impellers have to work to push that air down the duct run, and the less powerful the hood becomes in the end.

Discussing ductwork types further, typical dryer vent ductwork (ridged,

folds up like an accordion, 4” round - (See Picture - source: www.tlc-direct.co.uk)

should never be used with a rangehood.

The static pressure that dryer ducting builds is enormous. There is no smooth area inside the ducting and the diameter is very small compared to most rangehood ductwork. Most hoods will use 6 inch round ducting, not 4 inch ducting like a dryer uses.

Some general guidelines to help avoid ducting problems:

• Always terminate the ducting outside of the house, using an approved wall / roof cap on the outside of the house. (See Pictures Below Source: Grainger.com)

• Never have a duct end inside of an enclosed area (attic, crawl space, garage, etc). This is a potential fire hazard, and would certainly never stand up to local building codes. If your home is located in an extremely windy environment, like next to water, then venting thru the roof is a better idea. If the ductwork exits the home on the side facing the water, the potential for cold/windy air re-entering the ducting is possible.

• Make the first elbow (Picture left metal elbow - source theductshop.com) as far away from the hood exit as possible (at least 2 feet away). More resistance will be created in the ducting when the elbow is closer to the hood. Think of blowing air thru a bent straw, or pushing water thru a bent garden hose, the flow is reduced.

• Never put two elbows back to back in the run, it is like building a brick wall for the air flow. Have at least 2 feet between elbows, and only use a maximum of 3 elbows total

• Try not to exceed 35 equivalent feet for a 6 inch round ducted rangehood. For every elbow you are adding the equivalent of 5 extra feet. For example a duct run with 20 feet of straight duct and 2 elbows in different parts of the run would equal 30 equivalent feet.

• You can always oversize the duct work to the hood, but never under size. If a hood uses 6 inch ducting, and 5 inch round ducting is attached on the hood, instantly the cfm level is reduced on the hood. On the other hand, over sizing the duct by 1 or 2 inches will maximize the cfm’s of the hood.

Finally, if ducting is impossible or impractical, then the last resort is to install a recirculating hood. This kind of hood will filter the grease and odor before sending air back into the room. For example, If you need 70 feet of ducting to get outside, maybe a recirculating hood is for you. Recirculating hoods, and Over the range microwaves will be saved for another blog entry. Visit the faber website for mote tips and photos.

Stilo rangehood with sleek lines and a thin profile

The Stilo rangehood by Faber with sleek lines, nice curves and a thin profile make this hood the ultimate focal point in your modern kitchen designs. As seen here in a photo provided by the folks at Aeg Canada and Euro-line Appliance, is a great example of a modern kitchen and the effect a beautiful hood can have on the rooms atmosphere. The Stilo comes in 4 widths, 24,30,36 and 48" wide to accommodate many sizes of cooking surfaces. Remember in order to keep the right lines in your kitchen, matching up the same width stove with the same width rangehood is important. You should never undersize the hood to the stove (24" hood to 30" stove). Over sizing the hood to the stove isn't wrong, sometimes it will throw off a design.

With 600 cfm of air movement, heavy duty baffle style grease filters and halogen lighting; the Stilo will provide excellent ventilation to fit the customers needs. One more deisgn element in this kitchen, notice how the sleekness of the cooktop matches the hoods sleekness? Even the tone of kitchen colors, is custom made for a stainless rangehood like the Stilo. To learn more about this hood and others visit our website.

Kitchen Ventilation 101, CFM - what is it?

CFM or Cubic Feet per Minute of air movement is a commonly misunderstood topic in kitchen appliances. There is a belief out there, that like most everything else in appliances, bigger is better, right? Well not necessarily. Using a hood with higher cfm (above what you need for your stove) means more air is being pulled out of your kitchen and your home than needed (like in the ducting diagram to the left). Therefore a lot of cooled or heated air is being pulled out your home, which would lead to higher heating / cooling bills.

Also, a situation of negative pressure could also occur when too much air is pulled out of the home and it is not replaced by air from the outside. In today's construction the homes are becoming more and more air tight and when too much air is pulled out of a home, you need to sometimes "make up" for that lost air by pumping outside air into the home. In colder climates this is a huge issue, in most parts of Canada there are laws in place about maximum cfm's before a make up air system has to be installed (typically 300 cfm is the threshold).

When choosing a hood for your cooking surface, if the hood has too much cfm you're not being energy efficient. A higher cfm hood will consume more energy to operate. The noise level or sone level (the noise measurement standard in rangehoods), is also a consideration. More cfm's = more air being pulled through the grease filters, which in turn creates turbulence and extra noise. If you've ever worked in a restaurant kitchen under the pro hoods they use, you understand the noise level.

The bottom line is buy a hood that properly takes care of the contaminants that are produced by your cooking (steam, grease, odor & smoke). The diagram seen below offers a good way to estimate how many cfm's are advised for your kitchen. Take a kitchen that is 10' high (Z) by 10' wide (X) by 10' long (Y) = equals 1,000 cubic feet. If you have a 500 cfm rangehood in this kitchen, in 2 minutes you will have completely exchanged all the air out of the kitchen (or 30 exchanges in an hour). The National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA), recommends 8-15 air exchanges in an hour for proper ventilation, so by this example, we're double the recommended level.

Another good rule of thumb is that 600 cfm is a good round number for use with a gas, all burners (no grill/griddle) cooking surface. Anything more substantial (like a 48" pro gas stove with 6 burners and a grill), then higher cfm's are advised, say 1,000 or above). Anything less than a gas all burner stove, requires less cfm's. An induction, ceran, coil electric cooktop would only need maybe 300 cfm's above it. So there you have it, an introduction to cfm's, and hopefully you can feel comfortable like the person below that your home is being vented properly!