We like approx 32"-34" above cooking surface. Personally i like as high as possible, however i'm 6'1" tall, keep in mind you need to reach the control panel easily.

I am 5'2", and was hoping to find a hood to be installed 27"-30" over my new electric range. I really like the Elica Glide hood, but its install manual states that over a gas range, it can be placed as low as 24", but over an electric range, it must be placed no lower than 32". That sound backwards from other general installation recommendations I've read - any thoughts?

@prohoods, can you tell me what you think the heights of the vent and shelf are in this photo? https://www.instagram.com/p/0F4DdZnpyp/?taken-by=prolinerangehoods

@Lana Illiano we are not 100% on the exact height, that was an image sent to us by a past customer. However, we believe their hood is at about a 36" height from the top of their range. That shelving appears to be about 10" lower at a height of 26" from the top of the range.

Our hood is 6" wider than our range and we installed it higher. My husband didn't want it too low, and I prefer the way they look higher, rather than lower.

Humm...I think when they say hood should be 6" wider than range....I think they are meaning the custom finished product not the vent hood(insert). Recommendations on my range is 6" clearance on either side of range bf cabinets.

Example

Leslie: we got it 6 inches wider to make up for some of the lloss we get from placing it higher.

@Manda7708, you are correct; cooktop surface is just that, not countertop height. Almost all gas range cooktop surfaces (top of grate) will be a couple inches above countertop.

Where's the tape measure to tell us exactly how high that might be?

I'm guessing that's about 36" off of cooking surface -- that's kind of pushing the upper boundaries, but it all depends on the CFM of the hood, mfr recommendation for the stove, and a little bit of personal preference. But general rule of thumb is 30-36".

You read wrong.

Are there any hoods where the manufacturers recommend up to 37"-38" above gas ranges? Most I've seen are 36"

Note that required distances are MINIMUM distances. There is no maximum, however, to be effective, you should always go with the manufacturer's installation instructions for the best ventilation results.

My hood is the same model of Whirlpool and it looks like it was installed at the same height as yours (against my instructions) and I think it is too high. The LED lights are very bright and not adjustable. I think it would have looked better lower and the lights are blinding when I cook.

Searching for answers and new range hood as the 25 year old Nutone hasn't quite cut it for years (no exterior vent due to R2000 home construction concerns. Very tight house house construction and replacement air haddn't been figured out yet and as far as I'm concerned hasn't been yet as anyone in the retail business selling range hoods etc looks at you like your wearing horns when you ask about replacement air. I enjoy going to home shows and discussing replacement air systems with guys who should know but don't (heating and air specialists) I love to see a guy some guys get excited when you suggest you will run the range hood into the air exchanger, they get wound up about that and then when they discuss exchange air they have no explanation for heat exchange and suggest that I should use replacement air with and electric heating element. I then ask how is that efficient? Does he recommend an energy star unit? They just seem to vanish or disappear, take name etc to get back to me and they are never heard of again.

Living in rural southern Ontario has it's draw backs when it comes to new technology and home heat and air flow.

To get back to the range hood, Our new Samsung 30" gas range manual says "Cabinet storage above the surface of the range should be avoided. If cabinet storage above the range is necessary; allow a minimum clearance of 40 inches (102cm) between the cook surface and the bottom of the cabinets; or install a range hood that projects horizontally a minimum of 5 inches (12.75cm) beyond the bottom of the cabinets". The old Nutone protrudes to the front 7 inches.

Does anyone know of ambient, heat recovery makeup air unit for range hood? or am I just being obsessed with conservation of my energy use?

Here's a problem - I'm 6'4". A range height of 36" plus a hood height of 36" = 6' - I'm bumping my forehead, likely on a sharp corner.

Another pet peeve - I rarely use a fan when I'm cooking. About the only time I use the fan is when I've messed up and burned something. Then the smoke is all on the ceiling - far above the range hood. It seems to make much more sense to put the fan on the ceiling.

Can somebody tell me what's wrong with that?

I recommend you check the NKBA guidelines under Kitchen Planning Guideline 18. I hope this helps you.

I only have 8 foot ceilings. My hood/mantle is 30 inches from range cooktop. It's not horrible for me but, my husband is 5'11" and the mantle is down to the middle of his forehead. Seems odd. We are just having the cabinets installed and I thought maybe I should wait and actually start using the the stove with my husband to see if it becomes an issue. On the other hand, It would probably be easier to figure it out before the construction is finished.. I'm guessing I would have to order a whole new piece as it was custom built around the cabinets. Anyone with a 30 " height have a problem with this ?

If you get any answers, I am facing the same situation.

I’m 6’. You only hit your head once. If you hit it repeatedly, there’s some sort of learning issue as a factor.

If you want it lower, in your field of vision, you need a metal hood, period. No wood lower than 30”. If you want it higher, so it misses your head when you bend over, then you need greater capture area and higher CFM. You can’t just raise the ventveithout engineering the system to overcome the negatives that raising it create. Such as, if you are borderline for MUA, that needed increase in CFM will you over the line into needing Make Up Air.

I posted here a while ago.. but this is what we did (as per the recommendations of Bluestar) when we wanted to install higher.

36" hood for our 30" range, and I think our CFM is 1200.

Everything works beautifully together- we haven't had any issues.

I am in the cabinet stage of a new build and we are looking at hood heights. We will have a Thermador 36" range, and are going with a 42" steel hood. There will be cabinets above the hood all the way to the ceiling to cover the ductwork. We have 12 foot ceilings and I am 6'-4". We are thinking about going 40" from the cooking surface to the bottom of the hood. That will be 76" from the finished floor. It is a little high, but between the extra width and CFM of the hood it shouldn't take away from the efficiency too much. I think the additional height will look fine with the high ceilings. Thoughts?

Check code- 30"- 31" usually meets the criteria. Also check Manufacturer recommended height as well.

@John - regarding you not using the fan while cooking: when you sauté, you are creating an aerosol cloud of grease droplets. Without a fan, they are going to rise and disperse throughout your kitchen. It will be heaviest over your range, but it will go all over your kitchen. I always turn on the fan whenever there is any kind of oil or grease in the pan. Otherwise, all your surfaces in the kitchen will get coated with grease over time. If I am cooking bacon or using a high flame with meat and it is spattering, I turn it up to 11.

We have an island range and the contractor recommended a ZLine 400 CFM hood. They installed it 33" above the burner grates. I'm 6'0" and cook every day. For my taste, it's too damn low. The bottom of the hood is right in my forehead, and I've definitely hit the corners a few times. The recommendation from ZLINE is no higher than 36". I'm having a contractor come by to see about raising it.

Any concerns about a 400CFM island range hood being that high above the cooktop? Sadly, even at 33", it's not the most effective hood. As others have said, things don't always rise straight up, especially with an island cooktop. But at least it vents through the roof! Before, we had a microwave above an electric range, and all it did was suck stuff in and pump it back out into the kitchen.

Also, anyone here know if you can upgrade the motor in a hood to increase CFM? ZLINE has the exact same hood available in 760 CFM (our contractor said it would be overkill, and noisy). Wondering if I ever wanted to, I could just buy the 760 motor and slap it in there.

You could probably swap out the motor to the 760. For noise control you could also try to go with an in-line blower in the attic. This is what we went with and our 1000cfm hood is whisper quiet even on high speed.

We wound up putting the bottom of our hood 40” off the stove grates, 76” off the floor. we have 12’ ceilings so it fits in with the overall height of the room.

To me, 400 CFM seems like it should be the bare minimum for a hood, like when you're sautéing something. I'd definitely look into swapping out the motor as Scott suggested, and raising it up to 36".

Ok, I'm an idiot. I came home to re-measure for the contractor and it's actually 29" above the top of the grate. No idea why I always thought it was 33".

With that said, I can easily go to 34" and have plenty of clearance. I also turned the hood on to various speeds and it actually is pretty loud even for a 400 CFM. I think Scott's recommendation for an attic blower is the way to go, vs. putting a louder 760 CFM directly in the hood.

So for now, going to raise the hood. Hopefully the contractor doesn't come back with a $500 estimate to raise it 5". If CFM becomes an issue, sometime down the road, we'll explore the attic blower option. Thanks for your input!

Question for any pros out there... as you can see in the pic below, there's vents on the sides of the chimney (upper/inner sleeve). I had a contractor come out today to see about raising the hood. He said that since the hood vents through the attic/out the roof, those vents on the sides of the chimney can be covered. Is that true? He wants to cut the mounting brackets shorter and move the entire unit further up, with the outer sleeve covering the inner sleeve's vents. I can't find any info on whether these vents are for internal venting, or if they're needed by the motor for proper operation.

Also, is it ok to have a hood chimney be only be 13" in length? Right now, it's 18" (distance from ceiling to beginning of diagonal portion of hood. The motor housing will have enough room in there. Just wondering if it's not supposed to be that cramped. After moving it up, I'm guessing there will be about 4" of space between the top of the motor housing where the vent pipe hooks up to the top of the ceiling. And of course the vent pipe continues on through the attic out the roof.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm guessing that venting is just for the motor as you suspected. Doesn't really make sense that it would be for anything else. I'd think you should be able to find out something if you're able to talk to the manufacturer directly. Length of your hood chimney shouldn't really matter; some hoods vent directly outside immediately after the top of the hood; but of course, double-check for your individual unit. Lastly, is there a reason that your contractor can't maybe move the whole unit up, rather than just the outer sleeve, so that the vent fins would be in the ceiling joists (and presumably getting a little air), rather than being choked off completely by the outer sleeve?

Tommco, thanks for the reply. And good suggestion. I called ZLine and the rep told me that the upper sleeve vents are just for when you can't vent through the attic/roof and can be covered, so sounds like I'm good to go. And he confirmed that the chimney length isn't an issue.

The whole unit can't be moved up into the attic because the hood is mounted by a square bracket on the ceiling. By design, the only thing going up through the ceiling is the vent tube.

Our contractor . .

Is this acceptable?

I've installed them in yachts at 28 and it works perfect

@Jimmy Flim i am wondering if 34” high ended up working out for you, as a 6 foot tall

person? My husband is 6’1” and we are looking at positioning the bottom of the vent 34” above the cooktop. We have a wall mount (as opposed to an island) so I am thinking the hood might not jut out away from the wall as much as an island hood?

we are also trying to figure out which depth of a vent insert to get and it seems the 21” option is the closest we have to covering the entire cooktop... do most people here get the 21” depth for a wall mount? (As opposed to 15” or 18”?)

Hi @Runnermom, yes, 34" (above the counter top) worked perfectly for me. If it was an inch lower, I'd probably be going nuts. But with our hood being an island hood, it's directly/entirely over the cook top, meaning it's not recessed back at all. So I'd be hitting my head if it was lower. Regarding depth, hopefully someone else can provide input. I honestly have no idea.

The front of the hood is flush with the front of the cooktop. At 34" above countertop, no hitting of head

I bought a Café 30" gas range. Manufacture specifies 42" to unprotected wood or metal cabinets. I wanted insert in cabinet but I guess it won't be possible. Ceiling height is 8'.

If I go all stainless steel hood, do I follow area code which is 30" or vent hood specs?

We ended up positioning our hood 36” above the range which was the maximum distance specified by the vent insert manufacturer (went with Zephyr Monsoon II). That’s the important requirement to follow or your vent will be useless. The distance from the cabinetry is important to ensure the wood is not damaged but I was told 36” is sufficient to protect the cabinetry. We are so pleased with how it turned out. No issues with my tall husband bumping his head and no damage to cabinetry. Love the aesthetics, too.

I’d like to know how mobile homes with 7’ ceilings get away with vent opening at 23” — my current 6” vent hood ends up with the front of it at 19” over the stove.

Not sure proper venting is possible? I want to put in a new kitchen with a gas stove and I’m stumped as to how to do it!

7’ ceiling height at wall with ceiling slope to 8’ in center.