It is not clear what the 44" measurement refers to. Can you elaborate? Is this the height of the hood, the height above the range, the width, or something else?

The 44" refers to the space between the stove top to the bottom cabinet where the range hood will be installed. We're installing a Zephyr Pisa 30", low profile range hood. I'm concerned that the range hood will be too far above the cooking area and will not be as effective.

For that you will need to refer to your hood's specifications which should tell you precisely what you need to know. There is a range of acceptable heights. If this is a recirculating hood, it is never going to be as effective as a ducted hood would.

The manual says, "bottom of hood should be no less than 24” and no more than 32." As it stands, it will be 12" too high. Is there a way to lower the hood without changing the cabinetry?

So this is a recirculating hood I assume? Because a ducted hood would involve more than just a decorative panel to lower it. If it is a recirculating hood then you are DEFINITELY going to want to do your smoky, messy cooking outdoors on a grill (check out my personal favorite, the SNS Kamado 2-zone cooker). Your indoor setup is just not robust enough for the heaviest of range top searing and smoke-producing frying. I know a lot of hoods want you to max out at around 30", and yes, this supposedly increases the effectiveness, but you have a low-profile hood that isn't supposed to be conspicuous anyway, and it lacks several features that would make it a really effective working hood like an under-hood capture and containment area in addition to ducting. So, I wouldn't backtrack on your cabinetry design now. We are only talking 12", not that much difference, and moving it down would destroy the streamlined look you are going for and return very little in the way of performance. The cabinets were probably designed with the standard recirculating hood thickness in mind. If it is a ducted location, I would switch hoods to a BlueStar, Wolf, or Jenn-Air that would work harder for you.

Then you answered your question . Is there a reason you do not have a proper hood? What you have is close to useless in that position for recirculating hood.

This is not a recirculating hood. There is a duct that is shooting straight outside. I think it’s more than a proper hood (500 cfm) just a mistake on the design of the cabinetry. I just don’t want to go back to have the cabinets redone...that would put us back another month.

In order to offer suggestions on a fix we need to see the cabinet and kitchen layout.

I need to see a picture of this and 500CFM is pretty low and not adequate for an install that high above the range. If you are not willing to do it right then why ask here .

This is the range hood. https://www.abt.com/product/122095/Zephyr-Pisa-30-Stainless-Steel-Under-Cabinet-Hood-ZPIE30AG.html

Here's the picture.

The correct distance between the cooktop and the bottom of the hood is between 30-36". The distance for your hood is way too high. It will render the hood ineffective, since the smoke and grease will have too much opportunity to escape before reaching the hood. Also, it will look odd and out of proportion and look like a mistake.

There are two solutions. The difficult one would be to switch out the cabinet that the hood is hung from to a taller cabinet to make up the difference. The easier, and also better, solution is to get a different hood. There are many hoods that are 9" tall. Install one of those, and instead of 44" from cooktop to bottom of hood, it will be the correct distance of ~35".

The hood you chose will be pretty ineffective in any case, even if were hung at the right height. Not worth it to spend money on something that won't work well. Look at Broan, you can also go on Costco and see what they have there in the way of undercabinet hoods that are 9" high.

Edited to add: Just saw your photo. Is the cabinet that the hood is to be hung from out of level, or is that just the photo? Take a level to it and find out.

IMO you need to decide what battles to pick , new hood or change the cabinet or live with it .

It's just the photo of one of the shelves that is crooked. Thanks. That's what I'm thinking.

Add a cabinet drawer and secure it shut to fill the gap.

That hood will be most ineffective, no matter what hight you hang it. Hopefully, you don’t cook much. Ventilation is not where you scrimp.

Ok. The current hood is 500cfm, but we also have an open concept living area that flows from the front to the back of the house with the kitchen right in the middle (about 1000sqft on this floor). I thought that 500cfm would be more than sufficient, no?

What type of stove top do you have? Gas or electric? That also matters. We have electric (induction) in our current house and 300cfm we have is fine. Some depends on what you cook too.

here is a link that has a short description of how to calculate the size based on BTUs if you have gas.

https://www.hgtv.com/design/remodel/kitchen-remodel/how-to-choose-a-ventilation-hood

500cfm is not sufficient, especially in an open concept environment. You need to up your budget, and get a proper hood.

Also, the hood should be 6” wider than your cooking surface in order to effectively capture all effluents.

"Also, the hood should be 6” wider than your cooking surface in order to effectively capture all effluents."

It is clearly too late to get a hood 6" wider than the cooking surface.

The cabinets on either side of the hood will help corral the effluent, so the benefit of the extra 6" width is debatable. It is more important to get a hood with the appropriate depth front to back. A hood that is too shallow will not cover the front burners. So you will have spent money on a hood that won't exhaust what is cooking on the front burners very well. Try to find a hood that is no less than 22"; even better to be 24" deep front to back, but 24"-deep hoods get expensive.

Is your stove gas, electric or induction?

They will be installing a flush panel above the cabinets to the ceiling so that it will look like one piece. Our family loves cooking, and I would like to sear steaks (our current apartment gets filled with smoke). We have a gas stove that will be installed.

“Our family loves cooking, and I would like to sear steaks (our current apartment gets filled with smoke). We have a gas stove that will be installed.”

Then you definitely need a more powerful hood.

Notice that tsmjh, who “loves” that hood, says, “We do not cook that much.” And, says it performs “adequately“ when they do. What exactly does adequate mean, in this instance? And, since you cook and sear meat, your needs would appear to be greater for a more powerful hood, than hers.

While I usually agree with @mmiller, the fact that you have cabinets on either side of the hood, will not be as effective at containing effluents, as having cabs AND a hood 6” wider.

That being said, your cabs are already installed, so you go with what you have. The cfms should be boosted considerably, to make up for that...especially in an open concept environment. And, remember to install a hood of the proper depth, as mmiller suggested, and hang it at the proper, lower hight.

I love the looks of the hood and the lighting feature. I'm very much in the minority here when I say I do not at all like "look at me" range hoods and I loathe stainless. "Adequate" didn't mean "so-so"; it meant "does just fine" when we do cook which, admittedly, is rare in the days of no children here anymore/just the two of us. I also added the disclaimer that we don't cook that much because mine is a recirculating hood, not a vented one. I know that makes a difference.

I do sear meat for certain meals demanded by people on holidays and birthdays; have never noticed an issue of smoke, grease or smells in our open concept first floor. And I have a glass tile backsplash. If someone wants grilled food, that happens outside.

"I do not at all like "look at me" range hoods"

Just to be clear, the 9" tall, 30" wide hood that I suggested above is not a "look at me" range hood. A "look at me hood" would cost 5x-10x what the Zephyr Pisa costs, and need the ductwork and make-up air that go with it, another multiple thousands in cost.

In any case, if I am a cook who regularly sears steaks, it is important that the hood have good capture area--so, that means not a flat hood like the OP's first choice of Zephyr Pisa, it should be more of a canopy shape, and not a shallow-depth hood (the Zephyr Pisa is 18" front to back), and in the best of worlds, the hood should have baffle filters, not mesh filters. I think 600 cfm will be more than sufficient if the hood is properly made. More than 600 cfm will be too much for the OP's ductwork which looks to be 6" diameter, and be very noisy.

The dislike of any hood that is taller than 2" should not supplant what the hood's intrinsic purpose is in the first place, if the homeowner is one who likes to cook.

I have a confession, M Miller - I didn't actually read what you recommended so I don't know how it ranks in my "look at me" category. I, mvho, do not like large range hoods and have never had one. I was so excited when I found the Zephyr Pisa - exactly what I wanted.

Knowing that I'm in the minority here, wanting the teeniest profile possible in a range hood, I simply wanted to let OP know that someone else has what she selected and likes it.

Thank you all. Would this suffice? https://www.abt.com/product/95574/Zephyr-Essentials-Collection-Hurricane-Stainless-Steel-Wall-Hood-AK2500BS.html

This was recommended to me. It's the range hood style that I first envisioned in our kitchen, but the Pisa looked really slick in the plans. But now that the cabinets don't look like the plans anymore, we can go with a more traditional look.

I am not liking that hood’s two circle fans. That means a whole lot of surface under the hood not dedicated to pulling air, and just wasting all that space under the hood. And all that surface will be more surface for grease to stick to that you’ll have to wipe down. That surface underneath should be all dedicated to pulling effluent. Also, how do you clean those two fans? By contrast, baffle filters you just put in the dishwasher.

Looking at that same website (Abt really reputable by the way), here’s a Broan that looks good. baffle filters, 22” deep, 600 cfm, Broan a reputable long-standing manufacturer.

Broan 30" E64000

I think we’re going to go with this one https://www.abt.com/product/94593/Zephyr-Typhoon-30-Stainless-Steel-Quiet-Under-Cabinet-Range-Wall-Hood-AK2100BS.html

Looks good.

looks like a good choice. note that maximum mounting height is 32", so you'll still want to drop the cabinet and continue with your original plan of a panel above. whoever specified the cabinets apparently didn't realize you weren't putting a microwave or large hood over the range, because that's the amount of space they left, and the best fix is to lower that cabinet (which will probably make it more useful anyway)...

That's a monster exhaust, 850cfm. A makeup air supply is a must if that were a new home. But, for safety, be sure to more than crack a window if the unit is on full.

Thank you all for your comments. We feel pretty good about the new exhaust.

Worthy,

Thanks for that thought. Our kitchen is within an open-concept design (about 1040 sqft in this area), so I don't believe we need to be worried about make up air, if I'm not mistaken. Is that correct?

tsjmjh and acm,

There will be flush paneling above all of the cabinets to give it a clean look. Also, with the new hood dropping down about 8 inches, we'll be at about 36 inches above the cooktop which I think will be fine at this point, though not ideal. I think the 350 more CFM from our original vent hood will more than make up for that difference.

Make-up air will still be a concern given your parameters. Plan to open a window when the hood is on for very long. Otherwise what is rated as a cfm extraction won't perform to that level, not to mention the contaminant draw from a fireplace or other fume-producing sources you may have elsewhere. Open concept in 1040 square feet of space isn't a substitute for makeup air, but how tight your house is also plays a role. Older homes with a lot of leakage are a little more forgiving without makeup air in the presence of a strong ducted vent, although an open window near the vent is still the best policy at a cfm rate higher than 400. With this being a new build, I am assuming it will be a tight airspace constructed to modern energy efficiency specifications.

I guess that's a reason why my dinky zephyr recirculating hood works so well; our 15-year-old house leaks live a sieve.

The new exhaust was just installed yesterday, and it measures about 31-32 inches above the countertop now. Also, the GC said that the initial ductwork is 6 inches, but the hood asks for 7" minimum. I asked them to change this. Is this a difficult change to make?

Here is the hood.