Make the kitchen the ventilation center of the home - Continuous operation Range Hoods

The kitchen is many times considered the heart of the home. It also provides an excellent ventilation opportunity. New codes have gone into effect across the country (known as ASHRAE 62.2) that require a centralized exhaust fan providing continuous ventilation. 

Builders have a few options for how to solve for this. Many are installing a separate exhaust fan in the main living areas. They are typically very quiet and can barely be heard when running. This is a good solution as it meets the requirements and is usually not even noticed by the occupants of the home. The negative is that it is an additional item that needs to be installed and maintained within the home.

A second option is a dual speed fan installed in the bathroom. This is the “two birds with one stone” theory. These fans have a very quiet low speed that runs continuously to meet the requirements of ASHRAE 62.2 but also have a high speed – sometimes called boost speed that kicks in when the room is in use. They can be controlled by humidity sensors, motion sensors or just by a standard switch. While these work, the challenge is that typically bathrooms are not located in a “central location”. Basically the minute you shut the bathroom door, you have cut off the airflow from the rest of the home. The purpose of ASHRAE 62.2 is to provide air exchanges within your home, brining fresh air in and exhausting stale air out.

There is another solution however – a multiple speed range hood. Much like the two speed exhaust fan, these range hoods have an almost silent continuous speed that meets the ASHRAE 62.2 requirements. When the range is in use, the hood can be turned to an appropriate speed to provide the additional ventilation needed during cooking. As with two speed exhaust fans, using a range hood has the two for one benefit, there is no need to install a separate fan. The added benefit of using a range hood is that in many homes the kitchen is located in a centralized location or at least in a location that is not cut off from the rest of the home.

Air King was one of the first companies to offer a true ASHRAE 62.2 range hood solution and has multiple sizes, colors and shapes to choose from. To learn more about range hood solutions from Air King visit www.airkinglimited.com