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Kitchen exhaust fans aren't just for when you accidentally burn the liver and onions. They're vital tools for improving indoor air quality, and by extension, protecting human health. But to see the benefits of these fans, you must actually use them, and regularly, even if your local building codes, like most, don't require them.
Yes, exhaust fans help remove moisture, odors and oils that originate with cooking. But they do far more than that.
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You've undoubtedly seen ominous smog that hangs over heavily polluted metropolitan areas. Now, imagine that your kitchen stovetop might create more pollution than some places that have famously filthy air &#; for example, in one study more than half of California homes featuring gas stoves had pollutant levels exceeding limits for outdoor pollution. That's because cooking over high heat produces carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, fine particulate matter and other potentially dangerous byproducts. (Electric stoves don&#;t produce carbon monoxide and only small amounts of nitrogen dioxide, though they do produce fine particulate matter.)
Ducted hoods are the best solution to this problem, as they suck in contaminated air and then vent it to the building's exterior. For people with health issues or allergies, ducted versions by far the best option.
But in many millions of homes (like crowded apartment buildings), kitchen ductwork is structurally difficult or impossible. So instead, these spaces rely on simple fans, which capture grease and some particulates in a filter but otherwise do very little to remove pollutants. In fact, they simply recirculate the air in the room.
So, what are the best ways to combat kitchen smog?
Be sure the hood is installed between 24 and 30 inches (61 and 76 centimeters) from the stovetop. If you're tall, you may have to make it higher to avoid head-bumping, but don't go above 36 inches (91 centimeters). Many hoods are simply installed too high and this drastically reduces their effectiveness.
Turn on your exhaust fan every time you cook. If you use a recirculating fan, replace or clean the filter regularly. And realize that although these filters are good for capturing grease, they really aren't accomplishing much in terms of air pollution. In those situations, opening a kitchen window is your best bet.
Use the high-speed fan settings to maximize air flow. The downside of high fan speeds is, of course, that they tend to drown out conversation, but realize that the health benefits are worth the hiccups in chitchat.
Now That's Interesting
Wondering why that exhaust fan is so noisy? "The process of moving air makes noise," said Jennifer Gilmer of Jennifer Gilmer Kitchen and Bath in Chevy Chase, Maryland in the Chicago Tribune in .
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Bathroom and kitchen fans are two well-known examples of exhaust ventilation systems; they move air out of the house&#; Supply ventilation systems, on the contrary, move air into the house.
Exhaust ventilation work by depressurizing the building; fans create negative pressures into the living space, which brings outside air into the house through dedicated vents or, in many cases, through leaks in the building envelope.
Supply ventilation, on the contrary, work by pressurization; it sucks outside air into the house, creating positive pressures and causing inside air to leak out through holes, cracks and openings, or through ducts and vents, if any exist, or through open windows and outlets.
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Exhaust ventilation systems can be very simple, as shown by common bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans.
Most homes have them.
Just make sure that the exhaust fans are properly ducted to the outdoors; otherwise the system may be just moving moisture and stale air to elsewhere in the house.
But besides simple exhaust fans there are also central exhaust systems, with a fan or a multi-port ventilation unit installed at the basement or attic or other place outside the home&#;s shell, pulling air &#; through ducts - from the rooms, and exhausting it to the outdoors.
These systems are critical in airtight homes, and can work in conjunction with spot ventilation; they can run full-time at an adjustable rate, or be scheduled to run according to your needs.
As mentioned above, supply ventilation systems work by pressurization; they bring outside air into the house, causing an equal amount of inside air to exit the building.
Most supply ventilation systems use the existing ductwork of the central heating and cooling systems, and their blowers. They only require a small supply duct (and a small motorized damper) connecting the air handler to the outdoors, to bring in the outside air.
Though inexpensive and easy to install this solution doesn't provide ventilation when the heating/cooling system isn't running (though there are now modern fan controls to allow it) and can be very inefficient: heating and cooling systems are designed to move many times more air than that needed for ventilation. The ducts of the heating and cooling systems are not optimized for ventilation purposes; they usually waste too much energy.
The best supply ventilation system is a small stand-alone system, with small dedicated ducts. Like central exhaust systems, these systems can run full-time at a certain rate, or be scheduled to run automatically, at certain times.
Supply ventilation systems may have some advantages over exhaust systems. They allow better control of the air that moves into the house; more exactly, they allow outdoor air to be filtered (to remove dust and pollutants) or dehumidified, which is very important in high-humidity climates or in high-humidity periods.
Exhaust ventilation fans, on the contrary, may cause the entry of radon and molds from crawlspaces, or dust (from attics), fumes (garages), flue gases, and so on. It can be a serious problem when there aren't dedicated vents, and the outdoor air moves into the house through holes and cracks.
But supply ventilation systems have also their own disadvantages, especially if they aren't properly designed.
Since they create positive pressures in the house, if the system isn't designed to filter and heat the air moving into the house, or if that air isn't previously dehumidified, that can cause moisture issues and higher energy costs.
On the other hand, indoor moist air will move across the building envelope, through cracks and holes in the walls and ceilings, causing mold, mildew and other damage.
The alternative is a well designed balanced heat recovery ventilation systems.
Images in this page: Energy.Gov Moisture Control
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