Rangehoods play a vital role in capturing, filtering, or venting out grease and steam above the cooking surface. Their noise levels are measured in sones. How loud or quiet a rangehood is determined by the blower CFM rating.
And as you might have guessed, the higher the CFM, the louder the rangehood. In other words, high CFM results into more noise.
Well, here’s a fact- if you’re looking for a rangehood that clears smoke, grease and cooking exhaust from the kitchen effectively, then you need a powerful unit. And you already know what that means? More noise.
If you have such a range hood, there’s no need for a replacement. You only need to implement these simple rangehood quieting techniques to help keep your family comfortable as you prepare dishes in the kitchen.
1. Run The Range Hood at Lower Speeds
The simplest way to make your rangehood quieter is to run it at lower speeds. All rangehoods feature variable speed blowers. Some have three, others four and a few models feature up to six.
You should try running the range hood at lower speed, which is usually no higher than 600 rpm’s (revolutions per minute).
If this does not help sufficiently reduce noise levels for you, it may be beneficial to install a “quality” grease filter.
The grease filter will help absorb some of those cooking odors and particles before they are expelled onto the ceiling or out into your kitchen space.
Running fans at lower speeds will reduce the spinning blades speeds subsequently reducing the noise levels produced by the range hood.
2. Keep the Grease Filters Clean
Grease Filters – A grease filter can capture up to 90% of cooking odors and particles before they are expelled into your kitchen space or out through the top vent of your range hood.
Cleaning these filters should only take a few seconds every couple week at most so it is not as laborious to maintain them as you may think.
3. Install A Duct Damper and Increase the Size of Your Ductwork
A duct damper is an extra gadget you can attach to the end of your vent pipe. It helps reduce noise caused by turbulent airflow. Some models require electricity, while others don’t.
Opt for flexible pipes over rigid ones. They’re less prone to vibrating, which means they transmit less sound compared to metal or concrete pipes.
If your ductwork is too small for the range hood, it might stretch. This leads to increased noise levels and higher energy consumption. Properly sized ductwork ensures efficient ventilation with minimal noise.
4. Get A Hood That Compatible with An Inline Blower
An inline blower is installed inside the ductwork in your home and not inside the range hood.
Therefore, the inline blower is located further from the range hood compared to a local blower that is installed inside the range hood.
5. Tighten Loose Parts
Blower screws can occasionally loosen, resulting in annoying rattling noises. To address this issue, start by inspecting the screws on the blower after removing the filters. If they’re indeed loose, make sure to tighten them securely.
Additionally, don’t forget to check and tighten the support screws located at the back or sides of your hood. While not everyone opts to install these support screws, they play a crucial role in providing extra stability and support to your hood, especially during heavy use or if the hood is mounted in a high-traffic area of the kitchen.
What Is the Quietest Range Hood?
As technology advances, and so do the manufacturers try to improve on the quality of their products to ensure that it meets their customers’ needs.
In my previous guide on quiet range hoods, we saw that the Cosmo 5MU30 30 in. Under Cabinet Range Hood is indeed one of the best and quietest range hoods on the market today.
You can visit the kitchen section on this blog and discover more ways on how to make your kitchen quieter DIY.
Meet Mike O’Connor, (a DIY enthusiast), living in Cincinnati, a city ranked as the noisiest in the USA.
As a work from home dad, I have a first hand experience of how noise can truly affect your well being.
Soundproofing isn’t something that should be taken as a hobby, it should be a skill that every homeowner should be equipped with.
Most of the work documented on this blog comes from purely first hand experience, and the products recommended work as indicated.