Cooker Hoods: The Ultimate Guide

Cooker hood in black finish
(Image credit: Hotpoint)

Cooker hoods play an essential role in our kitchens — getting the extraction right in your kitchen is integral to creating a healthy and clean home. Not only does a cooker hood remove odours, it can also take away grease and steam, making your kitchen easier to maintain and more pleasant to spend time in. 

What's more, a cooker hood needs to complement your hob and your kitchen layout, too — as well as fit the aesthetic of the room. Some designer cooker hoods can even become a design feature in their own right.

Caple can be remotely operated. The ZAL48 island hood has a recirculation rate of 550m³/h and a maximum noise level of 63dB (Image credit: Caple)

You can trust Homebuilding & Renovating. Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and materials in order to help you choose the best for your home and garden. Find out more about how we test.

Hotpoint PHVP8.7FLTK vertical hood has a maximum extraction rate of 713m³/hr. It features an indicator to show when the grease filter needs cleaning and the charcoal filters need changing (Image credit: Hotpoint)
Siemens’ LD97DBM69B can recirculate or be combined with ducting, and has three power levels plus two intensive settings  (Image credit: Siemens)

Sarah is a freelance journalist and editor writing for websites, national newspapers, and magazines. She’s spent most of her journalistic career specialising in homes. 

She loves testing the latest home appliances and products, and investigating the benefits, costs and practicalities of home improvement. She is an experienced renovator and is currently remodelling the ground floor of her new home.

She was Executive Editor of Ideal Home and has worked for Your Home and Homes & Ideas. Her work has published by numerous titles, including The Guardian, channel4.com, Houzz, Grand Designs, Homes & Gardens, House Beautiful, Homes & Antiques, Real Homes, The English Home, Period Living, Beautiful Kitchens, Good Homes and Country Homes & Interiors.