ᐅ Solution for Ventilation Above a Kitchen Island (Downdraft Extractor vs. Ceiling-Mounted Hood)

Hello everyone,

As a beginner, I now have to bring up an issue that’s been troubling me.

We want to integrate the cooktop into a kind of kitchen island (marked in red in the picture). So far, I have planned to use a Bora (or similar) system with recirculation mode. Now I’m reconsidering this (partly because it seems Bora systems should only be installed by professionals, etc.). How can I find topics and posts about extraction hoods, for example from Bora or similar brands?

Alternatively, I’m now thinking about a ceiling extractor. An exhaust version would probably be better here. That’s certainly more comfortable. On the other hand, it pains me to cut a hole in the wall of the new house right away. Energetically, it’s not optimal, but this way you save yourself from having to change filters and remove humidity from the room.

I don’t like hanging recirculation solutions. Nor the ones that are built in a more classic way and connected to the ceiling by a “tower.” So I quickly ended up with a fully integrated ceiling extractor. For this, you would need to build some kind of box. It could extend from the wall to the end of the cooktop and also include lighting.

A few questions about this:

- Has anyone built something like this?
- If I do it myself, I was thinking of a wooden construction made from OSB boards or similar. Is it possible to plaster over that? Alternatively, I could use cover panels from Ikea. But that doesn’t look great at the corners because you get gaps.
- If I ultimately don’t dare to do it myself – who would do something like this (carpenter, joiner, kitchen installer)? My sister’s brother is a trained joiner. I still have to talk to him. Maybe he can help with the construction...

Best regards, Marco

PS: Since the worktop is about 83cm (33 inches) high, and the ceiling is 2.46m (8 ft 1 in) high, the extractor would be at about 2.10m (6 ft 11 in) — so roughly 127cm (50 inches) above the stove. Does that work well? Since the expensive Bora is off the table, I would be willing to buy a good and expensive hood (any recommended manufacturers? Miele costs around $1800, for example – a good 80cm (32 inches) stove costs about $1500, so the price is similar).

Have you ever checked out berbel.de and gutmann-exklusiv.de?

No – but now.

Berbel offers exactly the things I don’t want.

Gutmann offers both range hoods and ceiling-mounted hoods. They basically look like all the others. Are they any good?
Gutmann also offers a kind of recessed hood. Something like that would be easy to install. However, I’m not too keen on recirculation hoods mounted on the ceiling. I would prefer a downdraft extractor in that case. (and that thing costs over 4000 €)
The ceiling-mounted hoods (e.g., Claro) would still be affordable at 1500 €.

Berbel writes:
Like range hoods, ceiling-mounted exhaust fans above the cooking area (usually kitchen islands) are installed flush with the ceiling and are designed to blend discreetly into the room with their slim appearance. However, it is important to note that fats and oils produced during frying do not rise to the required height of 1.50 m (5 feet) above the cooktop (2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) ceiling height and 90 cm (35 inches) worktop height). This is because these particles cool down and settle out before reaching that level. With conventional ceiling exhaust fans, design clearly takes priority over functionality. The berbel ceiling lift hoods provide the optimal distance for perfect grease extraction and, when not in use, retract into the ceiling to keep the view unobstructed.

I’m afraid the Berbel range hoods are also beyond my budget.
Overall, it shouldn’t cost much more than 3000 € (possibly a bit more for a ducted system, which saves money in the long run).

So I’ll probably have to consider: a ceiling-mounted hood—meaning more grease on the countertop/stove—or a cooktop with an integrated downdraft extractor (the new Miele one also looks very good).

It is often recommended to move the cooktop away from the island. There are many good reasons for this, not just the simpler ventilation solution. I would simply plan the cooktop on the left side and save yourself the extra money and hassle. Especially if you have induction, you actually spend much less time directly at the cooktop than you might think.

Just a note about range hoods with ducted or recirculating ventilation. While you don’t need to replace the charcoal filter for ducted systems, the grease filters should still be cleaned regularly to prevent them from hardening.