to vent or not to vent: kitchen extraction decisions

[project54]

Hello, my first post :)
I really hope you all might have the wisdom I need.
We are building a new kitchen, and all venting options are unsatisfactory in some way. Is anyone living in a kitchen with no vent at all? We're tempted to scrap it entirely. The only style that works with our layout is a worktop domino extractor, which you install next to the hob. They appear to be excellent, in promotional videos and brochures, etc, and according to the spec, but I can find no reviews at all online, I've only seen it in one showroom, and its expensive. We also lose valuable cabinet space to install it below the worktop. We're this tempted to just go without, but is that daft?

illegal to not vent where i live.
i can't imagine the moisture buildup, the reality is opening up a window in the winter is unrealistic (plus the moisture wont travel to a window without a fan). the greasy moisture will be all over your cupboards in no time, you will have to use a strong product on your cabinets to wipe of the grime and they will be ruined in 24 months.

An unvented cooker hood can be an attractive kitchen ornament, but serves no other function.

Vent.

1. Grease everywhere
2. Moisture build up.

Mould problems.

Change your layout.

Thanks all.
What do you mean by illegal where you live, @budgetneeded? Is it a condition of a lease, or the building purchase?

We've lived with no vent for 5 years now, funnily enough (the previous owner didnt put one into this falling apart kitchen). They had // we still use their Aga range, so cooking is verrry slow. I'm guessing a modern induction hob will be a different experience for me, with more cooking smells and moisture. We are moving the kitchen to a very large open plan space, an old reception room in this Victorian building, which has two doors, two openings (walls partially removed) and the original french doors to the garden. Draughts and cold are an issue in this place, so my thinking is that moisture will find plenty of escape routes. We are vegetarian, so there'd be no meat grease, at least while we're here.

Cleaning grease from cupboard fronts would get tiresome very quickly. I don't want to get this wrong. We already have the optimal layout, given all other considerations.

Our old Victorian semi never had an extractor in the kitchen and we never had any issues.

No vent here and no issues but our cooker is only 4/5 feet from the window (and I like a window open if I'm cooking).

We lived with a broken extractor for a couple of years and I hated it. Every time I cooked pasta I needed to open a window or the room got steamy. We've just installed an underpowered, v cheap vented one (budget constraints) and it is so much better.

The moisture may find escape routes but they will mainly be into the rest of your house, which is not ideal. Though granted, it won't bother you as much as the steam bothered us in our much smaller kitchen.

Have you thought about just having a stand alone extractor fan on an external wall? Not a special hob one, but just one you've buy for a bathroom? It could be discreet and smart but not the £££ of the latest hob extractors.

I don’t understand why all the other venting options are unsatisfactory? Why can’t you install an extractor in the ceiling above the cooker?

If you're moving the kitchen to a new room, you need building regs approval and you will need a vent. However it doesn't have to be above/by the hob. If you fit a wall mounted extract discreetly in the corner that will suffice. They have to be twice as powerful as one directly above the hob though. Might be a good compromise. We have a non-vented cooker hood which I don't believe does anything (especially as we've changed the charcoal filters once in 4 years, not the recommended every 6 months, oops.) DH thinks it works. I prefer to open the 2 external doors on opposite sides of the room and let fresh air do the job.

Interesting about buildings regs approval, we are working with them and they've not mentioned it yet.

I like the idea of an extractor elsewhere, that might work. I'm guessing noise might be an issue though, if they're more powerful.

If could have a simple over cooker vent either in the wall or ceiling above, we would. The nature and the features of the room mean that this simply isn't a real option. The ceiling is very very high, and decorative, and we've placed the hob where we have for optimal family safety.

I have a new kitchen with a high glass ceiling. We have opening vents in the glass panels above the hob. However it’s a big kitchen and we only have them open in summer. We could not have a ceiling or standard extractor due to the building.

I did look at counter top options and, yes, building regs did require venting. We never installed it though! I have no grease, no condensation (with two glass walls) and I would not change it. I too thought the work top extractors would not be ok for us as it would block the space between the seating area and the hob so would create a barrier.

If you have a modern constitution (not single brick and single glazing) , you can get away without extraction. I had expensive vented extraction before, and I don’t see the difference! Except less noise.

Solution would be flush ceiling extractor vented to outside - either mounted in a ceiling box over the hob area - or fit it jnto a false ceiling 150mm below original ceiling with some nice inset lightjng - you can have the motor part fitted outside if worried about noise - as above buildjng regs say must have vented extraction in a kitchen in a new room. you can also have expelair fitted in a window or wall.

Just put a wall extractor with a humidity sensor somewhere unobtrusive and also meke sure there is some sort of trickle vent in the high ceiling /roof. The room may very well have a natural airflow of its own but building inspector will want to see an extractor fan. The wall ones do have a higher minimum airflow than cooker hoods but they are often less noisy as no big metal box to amplify the noise.

Yes as previous posters fit a recirculating model near the hob to collect some of the grease and an external wall mounted extractor elsewhere.
Our old kitchen everything was completely thick with grease as it had no working extractor, the new one has a custom recirculating grease extractor above the hob and takes out 99%. The nearest cupboard does indeed need an occasional wipe though.

If you're having an induction hob, you can get ones with integrated ventilation. They're pricey £1,500-3,000, but may be the solution. I think Gutmann, Brora & Miele all do them, but our builder has has bad experience with the Miele ones.