Is a cooker hood really necessary?

[Pannacotta]

Am in the final stages of a new kitchen and am dithering about a new cooker hood.

I need one which sits above the cooker in the chimney breast and it would be recirculating only as we cannot duct outside.
But I only have 14cm height and can only find one model which may fit and it gets awful reviews on Which (Whirlpool AKR769).

I am wondering if its worth shelling out £100 on something which is questionable and if I should just get a couple of lights wired in the space instead.
Any thoughts/suggestions?

TIA

No not necessary if your kitchen is well ventilated e.g with a fan/vent on an outside wall.

1. yes

2. it must extract outside. If the cooker is not on an outside wall you can run the duct on top of or inside the wall units. You can use rectangular rigid duct and paint it to match the wall or ceiling if necessary. It is very easy to make a neat round hole in a brick wall using a Core Drill from a tool hire shop.

I have one because the kitchen designer insisted it was necessary.

I've probably used it about 5 times in 9 years and then mostly for the light. If the kitchen gets steamy I open a window. Disclaimer: I rarely fry anything, maybe that would make a difference?

I don't use mine as its too noisy and gives me a headache, I prefer the window open and back door if necessary, then I can listen to the radio.

I don't have one, can't see the point, I have a small cupboard there instead, far better use of space.

Don't have one, use lids on pans and open window to vent any heat.... they are noisy and you usually have to buy change filters etc... another thing we never needed 20 years ago that has been "designed" to make us spend money...

Thanks all.
Piglet we would have had to drill through the chimney breast and an external wall to vent it and the boxing in would have looked awful (cutting across a pitched roof) so have given up on that idea.
I have decided to bin the idea and just put lights in the space to light up the hob.
I do fry things but am more than happy to open windows/door when needed...

I thought it was to comply with building regs?
I use mine when cooking smelly things, probably about twice a week.
I'd have one again, plus there are some lovely ones about that make a real feature in a kitchen.

recirculating only is pointless. If you can't fit one that vents outside, open a window and be prepared for some steam and smells.

I hate cooker hoods as they are always built for gnomes and make so much noise.

You should have one for building regs - but if it's not possible to have it over the hob then somewhere else on an outside wall a wall extractor (like expelair) with a decent extraction rate should be enough to comply .

NB most people don't use their hoods until they can see steam from their cooking - but the way hoods are designed - you should really switch on the hood as soon as you turn on the heat - to start the process as soon as possible . ( I'm guilty of forgetting too by the way ! Lol )

New builds/extensions have to have extraction vented/ducted outside.
if updating an existing space that does not need signing off then you don't need one, but if you speak to building control they do highly recommend you have a wall extractor.
That's what they told me but this will vary on location

A wall or window extractor fan has to be more powerful, because it is not whisking the stream and smells away at source. There are some metres-per-hour extraction rates in the BRs somewhere. Big fans are generally quieter than little fans, as well as more powerful.

there is no need to have a midget's hood, I always have them slightly above head height so you can only bump them if you deliberately stand on something to do it.

If they are turned on before you start cooking, and left running until you take away the pans to wash, they only need to be on a low and quiet setting. If you are frying curry paste or chips they may need to be turned high.

Because an extractor causes suction, it prevents cooking smells and steam diffusing throughout the house. Instead there is an airflow towards the kitchen and out through the duct (unless you open a window at the same time, which prevents extraction working so well).

true, they should be fitted at a decent height, but everywhere that I have lived with one, they weren't!

rip.... :-)

be careful if you are thinking of ever putting a standard height cabinet over the hob as there are rules about the distance allowed between hob and flammable surface above it . 750mm gap for gas . 650mm gap for electric . 450mm gap for induction . but if it's over an aga then there's even more to consider the depth of the wall units too ... it's complex stuff you know !