An under-cabinet hood suits a kitchen where a wall cabinet stays above the cooktop. A wall-mounted chimney hood suits one where you’ll give up that cabinet. A built-in insert suits one where a custom cabinet or an enclosure will hold it. The types of range hoods ask different things of the cabinets around the cooktop, so settle the type while the elevations are still open.
A hood can get shopped as an appliance late, after the cabinets are already drawn. That’s the hard part. A type that doesn’t match what sits above the cooktop changes the cabinet order, the wall or the duct route at the point where change is hardest.
Order helps. Settle the airflow first and the type second, then confirm both with your designer and your installer before the cabinets are ordered.
Types of Range Hoods Side by Side
| What changes. | Under-cabinet hood. | Wall-mounted chimney hood. | Built-in insert in a custom enclosure. |
|---|---|---|---|
| What sits above the cooktop. | A wall cabinet stays, and the hood hangs from its underside. | No cabinet sits there. The hood and its chimney take that wall. | A custom cabinet or decorative enclosure surrounds the insert. |
| Storage on that wall. | The cabinet above keeps its shelf space. | The wall space a cabinet would use goes to the hood. | The enclosure gives some of its space to the insert. |
| Mounting range above the cooktop, per one maker’s guide. | That maker lists 20 to 24 inches. | That maker lists 24 to 30 inches. | Follow the insert’s own instructions, and build the enclosure to allow for them. |
| Look. | It can read as part of the cabinet run. | It can stand out as a focal point on the wall. | It can disappear into the cabinetry. |
| What to settle first. | The height of the cabinet’s bottom edge. | How the chimney meets the ceiling and the cabinets beside it. | The enclosure’s inside dimensions, before it is built. |
This table compares how each type fits the cabinet plan, not what any maker sells. The figures come from one maker’s guide and show a pattern rather than a rule, and your room decides which row matters most.
What Sits Above the Cooktop Sets Your Starting Point
An under-cabinet hood wins while a wall cabinet stays above the cooktop. A chimney hood wins when you’ll free that wall. An insert wins when a custom cabinet is already in the plan. The kitchen exhaust fan can go in the range hood, in the cabinet above the stove or on the wall above the stove, according to the Department of Energy’s Building America Solution Center, which adds that you should follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
The same guide says the fan should be ducted to exhaust outside the home. Not into the attic. Not into a crawlspace or another area inside the building. The type you pick is a separate question from that. It can change which cabinets and which wall the duct has to pass, so confirm the duct route before the type is final.
Mounting Height Ties the Hood to the Cabinets Around It
An under-cabinet hood wins on simplicity. The cabinet’s bottom edge sets where it sits. A chimney hood hangs from the wall instead, so the cabinets beside it have to work around it. On height, one hood maker’s specification guide lists a mounting range of 20 to 24 inches above the cooktop for an under-cabinet hood and 24 to 30 inches for a wall-mount chimney hood, and says to follow the installation instructions provided with your specific model.
Other makers may list different ranges. The model’s instructions and your local building department decide, so treat those figures as a pattern and not a rule.
Width matters too. That maker says a hood should in most cases be at least as wide as the cooktop or range, and that when a hood is too narrow, smoke, steam, grease and cooking fumes can escape around the sides and enter the kitchen. A hood that has to fit under a cabinet can have less room to grow.
That maker also treats the style as the final step, after the ventilation requirements and the kitchen layout are settled. So airflow comes first and the type comes second. The Kitchen Design Partners post on how much range hood airflow your kitchen needs covers that first step.
A Chimney Trades Wall Storage for Presence
An under-cabinet hood wins on storage, because the cabinet above it keeps its shelf. A chimney hood wins on presence. That maker calls a chimney hood a focal point, and a focal point needs the wall. The chimney takes space a cabinet would otherwise use, so the cabinets beside it have to be drawn around it.
Picture a cooktop wall with a cabinet above it and a cabinet on each side. Pull the middle one out and the run changes shape. The cabinets left on either side can need different widths or different finished ends.
How a chimney meets the ceiling is its own decision, and it depends on how the cabinets beside it end. The Kitchen Design Partners post on whether your wall cabinets should run to the ceiling covers that cabinet-height question.
A Built-In Insert Starts With Measuring the Enclosure
A built-in insert wins on a seamless look, but only when the enclosure around it is built to the insert’s real size. That maker points to a built-in insert, also called a power pack, when a custom cabinet or decorative enclosure sits above the range, and says to measure the cabinet’s interior dimensions carefully before selecting one. In some custom applications, that maker notes, the insert may need to be slightly narrower than the cooking surface to fit within the enclosure.
The inside of the enclosure and the size of the insert have to agree, so settle them together. Ask the cabinetmaker and the installer to check the insert’s dimensions, its duct opening and its power location against the enclosure’s inside dimensions before the enclosure is built. And swapping the hood later can mean finding one that fits the same opening.
Design planning is where that check belongs. Kitchen Design Partners’ kitchen and bath design services cover consultation, design planning and custom cabinetry selection, so kitchen remodeling and cabinetry planning is a natural place to raise the insert’s dimensions before anything gets built.
Choose by What Your Cooktop Wall Looks Like
Start with the wall, not the hood.
- A wall cabinet will stay above the cooktop. An under-cabinet hood fits. Ask how far below the cabinet the hood hangs and what the model’s instructions require.
- You’d give up the cabinet over the cooktop for a hood that stands on the wall. A wall-mounted chimney hood fits. Ask how the chimney meets the ceiling, how the cabinets beside it get drawn and where the duct goes.
- A custom cabinet or a decorative hood is already in the plan. A built-in insert fits. Ask for the insert’s dimensions before the enclosure is built.
- The cooktop sits in an island. None of the three wall types applies as it stands, because an island has no wall behind the cooktop. Bring that one as its own question to the consultation.
Where Each Type Gives Something Up
An under-cabinet hood can give up width and presence. A hood that has to fit under a wall cabinet is limited to what that cabinet allows, and a hood held to a narrower size can leave more to escape around its edges.
A chimney hood gives up the wall cabinet and the shelf space that came with it. It also needs a plan for how it meets the ceiling, and that plan has to exist before the cabinets are ordered.
An insert gives up simplicity. The enclosure is custom work, and it has to be right before the insert goes in. A later hood swap can mean finding one that fits the same opening.
None of that makes one type better. The right type is the one your cabinet plan, your cooking and the look of that wall can all live with.
Frequently Asked Questions About Range Hood Types
What are the main types of range hoods?
Three types mount on the wall around a cooktop. An under-cabinet hood hangs beneath a wall cabinet. A wall-mounted chimney hood takes that wall space for itself. A built-in insert sits inside custom cabinetry or a decorative enclosure. One maker’s list also names island hoods, which are made for island cooktops, and downdraft systems, which rise from the counter. This article compares the first three.
How wide should a range hood be?
One maker’s guide says a hood should in most cases be at least as wide as the cooktop or range. That maker also says that when a hood is too narrow, smoke, steam, grease and cooking fumes can escape around the sides and enter the kitchen. The installation instructions for your exact model settle the final number.
Can a wall cabinet sit above a chimney hood?
A chimney hood takes that wall space, so a cabinet can sit beside it but not in its place. The chimney runs from the hood up toward the ceiling, which means the cabinets on either side have to be drawn around it. Ask your designer how the chimney meets the ceiling before the uppers are ordered, because that detail changes the cabinets next to it.
Should I choose the hood before or after the cabinets?
Before the cabinets are ordered. Airflow comes first, the hood type comes second, and the cabinet drawings follow both. One maker treats the style as the final step, after the ventilation requirements and the kitchen layout are settled. A hood picked after the elevations are final can force a change at the point where changing is hardest.
How high should a range hood hang above the cooktop?
Follow the installation instructions for your exact model. One maker’s guide lists a mounting range of 20 to 24 inches above the cooktop for an under-cabinet hood and 24 to 30 inches for a wall-mount chimney hood. Other makers may list different ranges, and your local building department has the final say on what the rules allow.
Settle the Hood Type While the Plan Is Still Open
Kitchen Design Partners specializes in kitchen and bath design, remodeling, custom and semi-custom cabinetry, countertops and tile, and guides each choice in the right order.
These choices lean on each other. The hood type depends on the cabinet heights, and both depend on where the duct can run. So it helps to settle them together while the elevations are still open. Choosing among the types of range hoods is one of those choices that depends on the room around it.
Guiding each choice in the right order is how Kitchen Design Partners’ design process describes the journey.
Bring your cooktop and range plan, photos of the wall above the cooktop and any hood you’ve been eyeing, then schedule a design consultation. The Northbrook showroom lets visitors explore different kitchen layouts, styles and materials.