Range Hood Size Definitive Guide
One of the most important things to consider before buying your range hood is range hood size.
If you've been doing some research, you've likely come across a lot of different suggestions about sizing your range hood. We're here to help you decipher right from wrong.
Range hoods typically found in popular big box stores are usually 30 to 36 inches in width and generally lack in power, ranging between only 100 CFM and 400 CFM. This leaves homeowners lacking the power to properly capture and clear their cooking exhaust.
Proline's professional quality hoods, on the other hand, operate at a higher CFMs and have the ability to capture all of your unwanted air and keep your home from smelling like last night’s dinner.
We recommend, if you are purchasing a range hood for indoor use, that it is six inches wider than that of your range, or three inches on each side.
A range hood provides great coverage of your cooktop and a larger hood will allow you to vent more grease, dirt, and smoke outside your home.
If you're wondering "What size range hood do I need?", you've come to the right place.
What size range hood do I need for a 24" range?
A 30" range hood is ideal for a 24" range, but a range this small is not common in today's kitchens.
What size range hood do I need for a 30" range?
The most popular range among our customers is the 30" range. A 36" range hood offers the best coverage for a 30" range. 36" range hoods are by far our most popular size at Proline Range Hoods.
What size range hood do I need for a 36" range?
A 42" range hood is the best option for a 36" range.
What size range hood do I need for a 42" range?
A 48" hood provides exceptional coverage of a 42" cooktop. But, with a range as large as 42", you may also consider a 54" range hood depending on your cooking style. If you frequently use high heat, grilling, canning, woks or other types of cooking that give off a lot of steak grease or smoke, size up your hood.
What size range hood do I need for a 48" range?
With 48" kitchen ranges, we also recommend either a 54" or a 60" range hood, just so you get the coverage you need and you don't have any regrets about your range hood purchase down the line.
If you don’t cook a lot, 54 inches will work great for your vent hood. If you cook a lot, or cook with a lot of heat or exhaust, let us assure you, you will take full advantage of the 60 inches.
What size range hood do I need for a 54" range?
With 54" kitchen ranges, we recommend either a 54" or a 60" range hood.
Our 54 and 60” hoods pull up to 2000 CFM of air, which is a ton! Remember when I talked about the small 100 CFM hoods that you can purchase at Home Depot and other big-box stores? Our 60" hoods have up to 20 times that power!
You should make sure you have enough power (CFM) for any sized range hood, but this is especially important when it comes to the larger hoods. You can read about it here in our CFM ultimate guide. It is one of our most helpful articles.
What size hood do I need for a 32” grill?
For a 32” grill, install a 42” fume hood. A grill produces intense heat and smoke, so you need the extra coverage to vent it out of your home.
Outdoor Range Hood Sizes
We published an article about mounting height here, and in it, we discussed that the mounting height differs between indoor and outdoor range hoods. It's the same with the size of your range hood.
Outdoor grills produce intense heat and most foods on the grill have strong odors and produce a heavy amount of smoke.
Your outdoor range hood should extend six inches beyond your range on each side. This extra coverage will ensure that you keep your outdoor space clean.
How many CFM should my range hood be?
Range hood CFM depends largely on your cooking habits. Range hoods under 900 CFM are typically ideal for people who cook occasionally and don't do a lot of intense Asian or greasy cooking.
Range hoods over 900 CFM are the way to go for those who do a lot of wok-style cooking, frying, or those who cook foods that produce strong odors. Consider a ducted hood that pulls all the cooking exhaust outside your home, keeping your kitchen air fresh and clean.
How deep should a range hood be?
A range hood should, at minimum, extend from the back of your range to the middle of your front burners. For optimal coverage, the hood should extend to the edge of your cooktop.
We want our customers to have a great user experience and a sleek hood that doesn’t get in your way while cooking is one thing we love about a Proline range hood.
Typically, a range hood does not extend beyond the edge of your cooktop.
The depth of your hood will vary on the model. Depth remains constant as the width of your hood increases.
On average, Proline’s under cabinet range hoods are between one and two feet deep while our wall and island models are between two and three feet deep.
Our range hood inserts come in 15”, 18”, and 21” depths which accommodate most custom hoods and custom cabinetry. You’ll want an insert that matches the depth of your custom hood.
Standard Range Hood Dimensions
What is the standard size of a range hood? Let’s look at the most popular ranges in today's kitchens. The most popular cooktop is 30", according to Consumer Reports.
Remember our rule from above about the size of your range hood? It should be six inches larger than your cooktop, for indoor hoods. So, the popular 30" range requires a 36" range hood.
Here are the dimensions of some of our most popular 36-inch range hoods that will provide great coverage for your 30" range.
PLJW 185.36 Under Cabinet Range Hood
- Width: 36"
- Depth: 19"
- Height (distance from the bottom of the range hood to the base of the chimney): 5"
- Duct Size: 3.12" (H) 9.91" (W) Rectangular Duct (3x10 will suffice)
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PLFW 520.36 Wall Range Hood
- Width: 36"
- Depth: 19.5"
- Height: 9"
- Duct Size: 6"
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ProSI.36 Island Range Hood
- Width: 36"
- Depth: 29.5"
- Height: 16"
- Duct Size: 10"
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Kitchen Hood Exhaust Duct Size
Duct size depends on cubic feet per minute of your range hood and the length of duct you are running; the more CFM your range hood has, and the longer you need to run it, the larger duct size it requires to vent the unwanted air out of your kitchen.
For more details on duct sizing, we have a much more in depth article written here.
Should my range hood be wider than my cooktop?
The short answer is yes. A kitchen range hood wider than your cooktop gives you the best coverage of your range, ensuring that all the cooking exhaust in your kitchen is vented outside efficiently.
This video explains the concept.
We want you to find a range hood that will provide you with great coverage while cooking. Purchase your new range hood here!
What size range hood insert do I need?
Range hoods aren't the only way you can improve ventilation in the kitchen. You can also try an insert to fit into your custom cabinetry or custom hood. Range hood inserts are sized a little differently than wall, island, and under cabinet hoods. They still mount over your range but are a little smaller.
In order for an insert to fit comfortably inside your custom hood, it needs a couple of inches of space so it is not cramped. For that reason, inserts come in sizes 2" less than other types of range hoods.
Check out our table below to find an insert that will fit inside your custom hood and provide optimal coverage of your kitchen range.
Range Hood Chimney Size
The chimney size you need in your kitchen depends on your ceiling height. Proline's wall and island range hoods come with two 15" and two 19" chimney pieces respectively. These are telescoping, so you can adjust them to fit most 8' to 9' ceilings.
To measure out the height you need for your chimney, use a tape measure and mark down the distance between the top of your range hood and your ceiling.
If your ceiling is taller, you may require a chimney extension.
Range Hood Chimney Extension Size
If you have a ceiling height over 9', you may require chimney extensions. These are simply additions to your current chimney so that your ductwork is covered entirely in your cooking space.
If you order a single extension from Proline with a new hood, it will come with a one extension and one standard piece. If you order a double extension, you’ll receive two extension pieces and no standard pieces.
Several of our range hoods come with versatile options for chimney extensions. For a complete list and more information on chimney extensions, check out this article.
Another reason you may need a range hood with chimney extensions is if you want a chimney with your under cabinet hood. Our under cabinet hoods (as well as inserts) do not come with chimneys, but you can purchase chimney extensions if you'd like.
You'll only need a chimney extension for your under cabinet hood if your ductwork is visible.
Most under cabinet hoods vent out the top, while some people flip them to vent horizontally out the wall. Many of our under cabinet hoods come with holes in the top that allow for vertical ducting.
Talk with your contractor to finalize how you want your under cabinet hood to be installed.
At Proline, we offer 6", 12", 24", and 36" extensions that accommodate up to 12' ceilings.
For 12' ceilings, you'll need two 36" extensions. If your ceiling is larger than 12', you'll need to find a custom steel shop to manufacture an extension for your kitchen.
Apartment Sized Range Hood
If you live in an apartment or have a small kitchen, you may not have a lot of space for your range hood. Luckily, Proline has several options for you:
One of the things we pride ourselves on at Proline is professional quality. If you look for a small apartment size range hood at a big box store, you won't have trouble finding one that fits. But, it won't be able to vent much smoke out of your kitchen. Most smaller range hoods from the large stores are 400 CFM or less.
Proline's smallest hoods pull 600 CFM of air, ensuring that you keep your apartment space clean. You wouldn't want to bug your neighbors with the smoke alarm or keep smelling that meal from last night for the next several days. Also, clean air will keep the surrounding surfaces clean, so your family or roommates won't be pressuring you to pull out the cleaning supplies nonstop.
A convenient feature of our smaller hoods is that several of them can be installed or converted to ductless. Ductless hoods do not require ductwork but they instead filter and recirculate air back into your kitchen.
If you live an apartment, and can’t install a ducted range hood because:
- You don't have room for ductwork
- Your landlord won't allow for the installation
- You live on a middle or upper floor in a multi-story complex
Then a recirculating range hood is the best option for you.
It's possible to have a hood that is too powerful.
If you live in an apartment or simply a small space with a small kitchen, you need to be aware of the cubic feet per minute of your kitchen range hood. The smaller your kitchen, the less air that it contains. So, if you have a range hood that pulls air out of your kitchen faster than it comes back in, you may experience issues with air pressure.
There are a couple of things you can do about this.
The simplest course of action to avoid this situation is to buy a range hood that has the appropriate amount of CFM for your cooking space. We recommend 600 - 900 CFM for those living in small apartments; avid cooks should consider staying between 800 - 900 CFM.
But if you go over 900 CFM, you may run into problems to maintain adequate ventilation in your kitchen in a small apartment.
If you just have to have a high-CFM hood in your small kitchen, don’t worry! There are a few things you can do:
Run the hood on its lower settings.
Just run your super powerful range hood on its lower settings because it packs enough CFM to vent air outside the home perfectly fine during normal cooking.
The highest setting can just be used for emergencies only when you need to vent a lot of smoke out of your home quickly. A lot of our customers do it that way.
Open windows and doors when cooking to improve kitchen ventilation.
This will improve your ventilation by replacing some of the air that is pulled outside your kitchen.
Purchase a makeup air kit to replace the air that is being displaced by your range hood
If you don't want to run the hood on a lower setting or open your windows, you can purchase a makeup air kit that will pull air into your home when the air pressure inside reaches a certain level.
Learn more about makeup air here. Also check out the video below to see make up air in action in a real kitchen.
The same team of builders conducted a colored smoke test to show the true effectiveness of makeup air kits. Take a look!
Range Hood Filters By Size
Stainless steel baffle filters and mesh filters are small enough to fit on the bottom rack of your dishwasher. The larger the hood, the larger the filters. Proline's hoods come with anywhere between two and eight filters. Take a look at the photos for reference below.
Charcoal filters are small filters that attach to your blower or recirculating kit filters. With charcoal filters, your hood can recirculate air back into your kitchen.
Hopefully now you know everything there is to know about the size of your kitchen range hood. Before you go, take a look at Proline's best range hoods, organized by size!
Some of Our Best 24" Range Hoods
Some of Our Best 42" Range Hoods
Some of Our Best 48" Range Hoods
Some of Our Best 54" Range Hoods
Some of Our Best 60" Range Hoods
If you liked any of the hoods above, call us at (877) 901-5530 to place an order! Or see our whole selection here.
If you’ve stuck around for this whole article, thank you!
And remember: your range hood should extend three inches beyond your range on each side for indoor hoods and six inches beyond your range for outdoor hoods!
Have fun shopping!
Related Articles
Range Hood Mounting Height Guide
Range Hood Chimney Extension Guide
What size range hood do I need for a 24" range?
What size range hood do I need for a 30" range?
What size range hood do I need for a 36" range?
What size range hood do I need for a 42" range?
What size range hood do I need for a 48" range?
What size range hood do I need for a 54" range?
Our 54 and 60” hoods pull up to 2000 CFM of air, which is a ton! Remember when I talked about the small 100 CFM hoods that you can purchase at Home Depot and other big-box stores? Our 60" hoods have up to 20 times that power!
You should make sure you have enough power (CFM) for any sized range hood, but this is especially important when it comes to the larger hoods. You can read about it here in our CFM ultimate guide. It is one of our most helpful articles.