What's a recirculation range hood?

A recirculation hood extracts the air, filters it, and blows it back into the kitchen. The air is circulating. That's why it's called 'recirculation range hood'. There are carbon filters in the range hood. Carbon absorbs dirt by itself. When the range hood extracts the cooking fumes, the carbon filter absorbs dirt and odors from the air. The air is clean and the hood blows it back into the room.

With a recirculation range hood, you don't have a ventilation system to the outside. This is especially an advantage with newly built homes, because you don't have to make a hole in the outer wall. That way, the energy label of your home stays high. There's also no draft from the range hood. Via the ventilation system, some cold air might come in if the wind goes right past the ventilation tube.

Carbon filters don't last forever. When they're full, it's time to replace them. A filter lasts 6 months on average. In addition, a recirculation range hood filters about 85 to 90% of the odors from the cooking fumes. That's less than a ventilation system. The exhaust capacity is also less good if you use your range hood as a recirculating range hood. The exhaust capacity reduces with 20 to 30% when you don't use the range hood with a ventilation system.

You often buy a recirculation range hood as a ventilation range hood. You then have to make it suitable for recirculation with a filter. In some cases, you have to convert it with a recirculation set. The product page shows which of these 2 ways you can use to make the product suitable for recirculation.

You only have to convert your range hood once with a recirculation set. These differ per brand and they're product specific, so you should buy a set that's suitable for your product. The recirculation set is almost never included with the hood, so you have to order it separately. After you've installed the set, only the filters have to be replaced regularly.