Like the original poster of the other thread, we have a situation where we aren't able to incorporate a regular vent hood. Essentially, our kitchen is completely wrapped in above counter windows that run almost to the (low) ceiling. It's a defining architectural feature of our midcentury home, and we've had dozens of planners, architects, historians, kitchen planners, etc come through and everyone has agreed that we just can't do a vent that blocks the window. Fwiw, we've been living here for 7 years without any ventilation at all - and we cook on the stove breakfast, lunch and dinner. But we aren't searing steaks or kicking up grease, and have never noticed any smells bothering us. Nor do we notice any grease accumulating in the kitchen.

All that said, we plan to incorporate venting into our kitchen renovation. Based on the above, I understand that our options are downdraft vent or one of the units that are flush mounted in the ceiling. We will have a 36 inch induction cooktop and our kitchen ceiling is very low - around 75".

I know people hate downdraft vents. Would a ceiling vent in low ceilings be a better option? What's the lesser of two evils?