Chic and shine: TOP 5 premium island hoods

VENTOLUX Isola Italia 1200 IT stainless steel

The VENTOLUX company is relatively young, it has been on the market for 10 years, but it has already managed to make itself known and present a wide range of built-in kitchen appliances. Hoods of this brand are loved in our country, as the experience of sales on the Internet shows. In our TOP 5, we included a model with wide functions, excellent assembly and high quality work. In addition, the control is presented in the form of a touch panel.

This hood is made in the spirit of Italian design — strict clear straight lines, a little roughness and grotesqueness. Stainless steel with a beautiful characteristic shade is taken as the main material. The air duct has a vertical design, the funnel is flat. The width of the structure is 90 cm and this is enough to completely cover the cooking area. The model has a halogen backlight that will perfectly illuminate this place.

The hood works in exhaust and recirculation modes — it drives the polluted air through the filters, and then can remove it from the room through a special hole or release it back. The advantage of the second option is that you do not need to make any holes in the walls in order for the air to come out.

There is only one filter installed — a grease filter, which purifies the air of grease, combustion products and other particles. In this model, it is metal and will serve exactly as long as your hood will work. From time to time it needs to be cleaned or even washed in the dishwasher (strictly in an upright position). But the contamination indicator is not provided, which means that you yourself will need to check the filter from time to time. There is also space for a charcoal filter, which is not supplied. This type of purification is more "fine" — it purifies the air of the smallest particles, dirt, dust, and also partially eliminates odour. This filter can be called disposable, it needs to be changed depending on pollution.

When choosing a hood by the power parameter, you should not focus on the size of your kitchen, because it is not entirely correct to believe that a small kitchen hood needs a hood with low power. Because just in small rooms, odour absorption occurs faster, and the more air the hood has time to process, the less likely it is that your walls will subsequently “smell”. For our hood, the capacity is 1000 m3/h, and this is one of the highest capacity figures on the hood market. VENTOLUX Isola Italia 90 has five speed levels, but even at the maximum — the noise level, being noticeable, remains unobtrusive — the model does not buzz like an approaching steam locomotive.

Hansa OWC 4778 IH stainless steel

Hansa is a German company known throughout the world for its home appliances. Engineers are not afraid of experiments, so the devices of this brand are usually modern and even innovative. Hansa OWC4778 IH is a futuristic stainless steel cylinder hood with four halogen lamps for illumination. This "tube" is 38 cm in diameter, but it proves its effectiveness in work. You can also adjust the height of the model — closer or further from the cooking surface. Control is exercised by means of the touch panel SoftTouch with the display. Moreover, you can activate the diode backlight for the buttons to easily find the right one among them.

This hood, like the previous one, can operate in recirculation mode, taking in polluted air and giving back already cleaned air. But if this approach is not to your liking, it can also be installed on the outlet, for which you need a hole in the wall to vent air to the street. As for the filters, an aluminium grease filter is also used for long-term operation. The only thing is that caring for it is a little different than for metal. You will need a solution of warm water and a mild detergent. You can also wash the filter in the dishwasher, but be sure to position it vertically so that food debris does not get stuck in the holes. A carbon filter is also provided. The corresponding indicator on the control panel will help you monitor the degree of contamination of the filters.

The extraction capacity is 900 m3/h in extraction mode and 870 m3/h in recirculation mode — excellent performance. The hood has four speed levels. Here, by the way, it is worth mentioning the odour recognition function — the hood automatically selects the power level using a special sensor. If the vapor concentration rises, it will correspondingly increase the power level. The reduction in odour leads to a reduction in power up to shutdown. It is important that this model is the quietest of those presented in our TOP-5. The noise it makes will not distract you from the cooking process.

Hansa OWC4778 IH is equipped with a turn-off timer that will please housewives. After cooking, you can safely go or relax, or go about your business, instead of waiting for the air to clear completely. It is enough to specify the shutdown time after which it will stop working. It can be programmed for 10-90 minutes.

Zirtal KD-IS Cube IX stainless steel

Zirtal is based in Switzerland and specializes in cooker hoods. And the production facilities are located in Italy, and, accordingly, all models are produced there. Zirtal is characterized by the high quality of their products and the use of the best materials. The KD-IS CUBE 70 hood we have chosen is one of the best representatives of this brand.

The design of this model is quite bulky and massive, it is suitable for kitchens in a classic style or for a restaurant, etc. The rectangular box is made of stainless steel and has a width of 70 centimeters. KD-IS CUBE 70 is height adjustable. The minimum length is 73 cm, and the maximum length is 109 cm. We also add that two halogen lamps are provided to illuminate the hob, and the control is touch-sensitive (with a display).

The hood can operate both in exhaust air mode and in recirculation mode. The filter is aluminium, it is also possible to install coal. As for the functions, there is everything you need — a shutdown timer, an indication of dirty filters, as well as a perimeter suction function, which consists in the fact that air is sucked in through the holes around the perimeter of the model, thereby allowing for more efficient air intake.

Separately, it is worth talking about the power of this model — of all those presented in our TOP-5, it is the most powerful. Its indicator is 1400 m3 / h in the withdrawal mode. In recirculation mode, the volume drops slightly, but this does not change the essence — it's just a machine for processing air. Zirtal KD-IS CUBE 70 has four speeds. The noise level will delight lovers of silence, as it is slightly louder than the previous model, but at the same time, you can even do yoga with the hood turned on. It may seem impossible to you — it processes such a volume of air and at the same time is barely audible? But this is true, because we are talking about a premium model.

Bosch DIA 098E50 stainless steel

Our next hood is from a well-known German manufacturer specializing in household appliances, which has proven the quality of its products more than once. Outwardly, it differs from other models of our TOP-5 by the presence of tempered glass, which makes it visually “more expensive”, and at the same time favorably affects the overall interior design of your kitchen. The manufacturer called this design Glas-Design.

The hood has a width of 90 cm, and four low-power LED lamps are located around the perimeter of the funnel, creating a pleasant softLight diffused illumination. The operation of the device is controlled using a touch-screen display and an electronic control system.

Like the previous models on our list, this hood can operate in any of the modes — air extraction and recirculation. To work in the latter mode, you need special equipment — the CleanAir module, which completely replaces the carbon filter, and also makes the operation of the hood equivalent to exhausting air to the outside. The filter in the model uses metal and it is possible to install a carbon filter, which is not included in the delivery.

The hood is equipped with three power levels, and there are also two intensive ones that automatically turn off (go to normal level) after six minutes. The extraction capacity is 800 m3/h with the maximum intensity turned on, at the third level it processes 450 m3/h. At the maximum power level, the operation of the hood is noticeably noisy.

There is no off timer in the model, but instead there is a function of the residual operation of the fan, which automatically turns it off 10 minutes after the hood is turned off.

Siemens LF 91BB552 stainless steel

Siemens also needs no introduction. This German concern has been producing equipment for several decades. The developers have a lot of experience, so many buyers trust the brand. Hoods deserve special attention and among them there are models with a good combination of "price-quality".

The LF 91 BB 552 is a modern Box-Design model made of the finest stainless steel combined with black inserts that make it a pleasing to the eye and versatile to any interior.

Electronic and push-button control, the presence of a display simplifies the task. Four LED lamps for lighting are installed around the perimeter. By the way, all Siemens units have the latest lighting system that allows you to adjust the light intensity while preparing a regular dinner after work or culinary delights for a holiday.

The hood operates in both exhaust and recirculation modes. The latter requires special equipment. Five speed levels are available to the user: three normal and two intensive, which automatically turn off after 6 minutes. The capacity of the intensive level is 730 m3/h, at the third level this figure corresponds to 590 m3/h. The grease filter is made of metal in the form of a cascade, which improves air purification. It is possible to install coal, which is purchased separately. The filter contamination indicator, as expected from an expensive model, is present.

In operation, the hood is not very noisy, even at intense power levels. It takes air along the perimeter, that is, it has the function of perimeter suction. The functionality also includes the function of contour ventilation, which, together with the previous one, purifies the air much more efficiently. There is no timer function, but instead there is a similar one: the function of the residual fan operation for 10 minutes (like the Bosch DIA 098E50).