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Which cooker hood do I need?

A chimney cooker hood over an island in an open modern kitchen.

Our cooker hood buying guide.

Which cooker hood to buy? What should you consider when choosing a new cooker hood? There are multiple aspects to consider – our buying guide summarises them all in one place.

Which cooker hood is best?

Generally speaking, the best cooker hood for you is the one that fits your kitchen layout, hob size and design preferences.

Depending on where your hob is located – on an island or against a wall – you have different cooker hood designs to choose from. Some common options: canopy cooker hoods, ceiling cooker hoods, integrated cooker hoods, glass cooker hoods. The size is primarily dictated by the width of your hob. Of course, small cooker hoods are available to suit smaller spaces.

In addition to design and size, the noise level of a cooker hood is crucial. While a completely silent cooker hood has yet to be invented, there are many low-noise models to choose from.

This is just a small taste of what to consider. Browse our cooker hood buying guide below for complete answers to your questions.

1. Which type of cooker hood fits my kitchen?

Which cooker hood to buy depends on its placement in your kitchen. More precisely, if your hob is on an island or peninsula, you have different options to choose from than if your hob is against a wall.

Cooker hoods for island hobs.

Ceiling cooker hood

Can be installed either directly in or mounted on the ceiling.

Glass Draft cooker hood

Rises from the worktop for use, hides out of sight for storage.

Venting hob

A hob with a built-in extractor fan is quiet and discreet.

Cooker hoods for hobs against a wall.

Wall-mounted cooker hood

Available in traditional chimney as well as flat or angled models.

Integrated cooker hood

Built into the kitchen cupboard for maximised storage space.

Telescopic cooker hood

Pull out the flat section below the cupboard to operate.

Canopy cooker hood

Compact and fully integrated into the cupboard above the hob.

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2. What size of cooker hood do I need?

To determine which width of cooker hood to choose, look to your hob. The rule of thumb: to properly remove cooking odours from the kitchen, a cooker hood must be at least as wide as your hob.

52cm & 53cm cooker hoods: Available as canopy models.

60cm cooker hoods: Available as wall-mounted, integrated models, and venting cooktops.

70cm cooker hoods: Available as canopy models and venting cooktops.

75cm cooker hoods: Available as wall-mounted models.

80cm cooker hoods: Available as wall models, retractable downdraft models, and venting cooktops.

90cm cooker hoods: Available as wall-mounted models, integrated models, retractable downdraft models, island chimney models, and ceiling models.

100cm cooker hoods: Available as ceiling models.

120cm cooker hoods: Available as ceiling models.

Visit our products page and use the filters to find the perfect cooker hood for your kitchen in the width you need.

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So practical: cook and extract steam with one appliance.

3. Would a venting hob work instead?

If you're also buying a new hob, redesigning your kitchen or simply yearning for a sleek aesthetic, a venting hob is worthy of a closer look, especially if your hob is on an island. A venting hob is an induction hob with an integrated hood fan – essentially two appliances in one.

The advantages: No need to buy a separate cooker hood, no obtrusive hood fan blocking your view.

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A high-quality motor comes standard on our low noise cooker hoods.

4. Cooker hood noise levels: how quiet should my appliance be?

Because a cooker hood typically runs while you cook next to it, a low-noise model is highly recommendable. Anything above 70 decibels is disturbing and can lead to buyer's regret.

A low-noise cooker hood

With PerfectAir sensor in our Bosch hoods, the air is monitored while you cook. It will automatically select the correct power level to capture steam and odours, while keeping noise to a minimum. And our Clean Air recirculation filters can reduce noise up to 5 decibels compared to standard systems. Cooking should be a time for winding down and relaxing, and our hoods make sure of that. Some of our hoods have been certified by Quiet Mark, so look out for their logo on our products page.

Even our most powerful cooker hoods are designed to keep noise to a minimum thanks to their aerodynamic design, stable construction and high-quality Eco Silence Drive TM motor.

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Access and control your cooker hood on your smartphone.

5. What are the benefits of smart cooker hoods with Home Connect?

  • More flexibility: Control the fan speed, lighting and duration via the Home Connect app.
  • Maintenance alerts: Prolong the life of your hood while keeping it working as efficiently as possible, with notification when the filters need changing.
  • Voice control: Activate or change the settings on your hood without having to stop what you're doing via Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
  • Automatic Hood Control: By linking your hob to your hood, it will automatically switch on when you start cooking so you can say goodbye to lingering smells in your kitchen.
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6. Which additional features are useful?

Innovative features on some of our models help provide a more convenient and comfortable experience with your cooker hood.

Self-regulating fan speed:

The PerfectAir sensor constantly detects the level of odour in the air and adjusts the fan speed automatically. This ensures your kitchen air is always clean and fresh.

Hob-hood control

Turn on the hob, and your hood turns on automatically – brilliant! Simply synch them via the Home Connect app to control the cooker hood on the hob interface.

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7. Do I need to switch to a different cooker hood filter?

Cooker hoods are fitted with two types of filters, a grease filter and an odour filter. A metal grease and particle filter comes as standard on all our models. To reduce unpleasant cooking odours in ductless hoods, our cooker hoods come fitted with an active charcoal filter, our CleanAir standard odour filter.

Does your kitchen often smell unpleasant after cooking strong-smelling foods? Our Clean Air Plus odour filter is especially effective at reducing odours. For greater convenience, our Long Life odour filter is especially long lasting. You can upgrade to either anytime.

Which cooker hood should I buy?

Ready to choose a new hood? Our Hood Finder makes it easy. After answering a few questions about your kitchen space and personal tastes, we'll tell you which model ticks all the boxes.

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What are the best cooker hoods?

Which cooker hood is best? The answer depends on your kitchen layout and personal preferences. The best cooker hood brand is also a matter of personal choice. One thing we are certain of: our cooker hoods are German-engineered to please the senses. They look good, effectively reduce odours and come in low-noise models to keep the peace.

How high should a cooker hood be?

It depends on the type of hob you have. For electric hobs, the cooker hood should be installed around 45 to 64cm above the cooktop. A gas hob requires a slightly higher clearance of at least 65cm.

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Ductless or extraction hood: what's the difference? 

Ductless hoods, also known as recirculating hoods or non-vented hoods, draw in air and clean it using a grease filter and active carbon filter. The cleaned air is released back into the ambient air of the kitchen.

Similarly, extraction hoods draw in air and clean it via a grease filter. Then it's piped straight to an extraction point on the outside of your home.

Pro tip: Most of our cooker hoods can be installed as a ductless hood or an extraction hood, though you might need an adaptation kit.

Cooker hood reviews: what do others say?

Fan for new kitchen

It looks good,the extractor is very quiet & powerful. The light works well.

A brilliant product

The light is exactly what you need to cook and fan is super quiet and effective.

Very good.

Alright but had to be changed and the person who installed the new one did not seem to know what he was doing, now there is a gap between the fan part and extractor.

Canopy Cooker Hood Installation

I was given to understand that someone like me with DIY skills could install it. However the user manual/installation instructions left a lot to be desired and even made no mention of connecting the exhaust to a flexible vent hose

powerful hood

effectively extracts cooking smoke and steam, touch panel is handy, LED light is bright. An excellent hood. if there are things to improve, it would be the instruction to put up the chimney part.

Which cooker hood to choose? These criteria might help you decide.

Need help? Hood Finder.

Our Hood Finder helps you choose the right model in a few clicks.

Compare our series.

How does a Series 8 hood differ from a Series 6 hood? Find out now.

Shop cooker hoods.

View our full range of products. Filter according to your wants and needs. Buy online.

Smart hoods.

Control your smart cooker hood – anytime, anywhere. Just pair with the app.

Find a cooker hood near me.

Use our dealer finder to find a Bosch stockist nearby. Contact them to see products first-hand.

Contact Us

Do you need further help and support? Our customer service team will be able to provide the help you need.

Repair Service

Need to book a repair? Not a problem. We can arrange for an engineer to repair your appliance, both in and out of warranty.

User Manuals

If you need any help and support that is specific to your Bosch appliance model, your user manual is the best place to find this information.

Bosch Store

Search for original spare parts and buy tested and approved accessories and cleaning and care products for your Bosch appliances in the Bosch store.