I would love to hear an update/report from rogerc on the result of going ventless. We have a similar situation, electric cooktop in an island, we boil but do not fry, most of our cooking is done outside on the grill. We would love to remove a large old vent/hood along with a wall partition that obstructs our view. The ceiling is vaulted so any drop down hood would be extra long and in the way. Also, the house is on a slab so there is no way to run a vent underneath to the outside from the island. We're stuck and would appreciate hearing from you. Thanks!

Amber - We have not had any problems at all using our cooktop without ventilation and have no regrets about installing it without a hood.

Keep in mind, we don't do a lot of frying or heavy cooking. Our kitchen is large, with a vaulted ceiling that starts at 10' high along the sink wall and tapers up to 14' foot where it is completely open to the large family room. My point is, there's a lot of open air to circulate.

If time allows, I'd suggest you work in your kitchen for a good while without using the existing hood... just to see if you notice any difference.

Although we like the open feeling of the space, you could always install a hood over the island later if you found you really needed one. Done well (not too wide and obtrusive), I could picture a tall hanging hood as adding a bit of a nice dramatic design element.

Good luck with your remodel!

These lights are located a little behind the cooktop but evenly spaced on the island. Having lights right over the cooktop may be problematic for cleaning, etc.

We have a window about 3 feet directly above our cooktop and want to go unvented. From comments this looks like this would be ok. Thoughts?

We appreciated all of the advice above (particularly from rogerc), 9 months ago, removed the hood, gained a great view and haven't looked back! As with rogerc, I would caution that we do not do a lot of frying, we use our grill or the oven for the majority of our meals. We use the cooktop mainly for boiling pasta and making soups. We also have a very high ceiling and a rather large room. We are extremely happy with our decision and have had no problems at all since removing the hood. Best wishes on your remodel!

janegandrews - Having been in our home for almost two years now, we also have no regrets with going ventless. We do occasionally cook fish and meats on the cooktop, which we thought would be our most risky meals in terms of smoke and odor, but have had no issues at all. (Again, keeping in mind the large kitchen with a tall ceiling).

We installed recessed lighting throughout the house, including directly over the island. The light cans have glossy black on the interior of their baffle trims. The ones over the island don't need any more cleaning than any of the others throughout the house.

I would say a window just above the cooktop is even more reassurance. Let us know what you decide.

I have a question about going ventless. We are running into a problem after already having appliances on order. Having a downdraft will cause the existing kitchen island to affect drawers and a pull out under counter trash bin because of the new cut out. Drawers would have to be cut narrower etc. The previous downdraft in our kitchen broke years ago and so we've been cooking without ventilation for a while. The reason I wanted to get a downdraft is because I was told cooking residues floating in the air have to go somewhere and would we want that to go on our new furniture? That is my question, do you really think furniture or anything else is affected going ventless? It didn't concern me with the existing furniture but we have gotten rid of the old stuff and upgrading the furniture to good stuff so that is my concern if there is any.

This is the kitchen design of our log cabin. We had to do downdraft ventilation for the cooktop as there was no easy way to install a vent over the kitchen island. The downdraft does not take up much space under the island and we have 6 large drawers in addition to storage space under the cooktop.

Although not as effective as an overhead vent, it does effectively remove steam and cooking odours, particularly from low profile cookware (saucepans, fry pans, etc).

We are very, very pleased with this kitchen design.

Hi pebshouse -

Was the person who told you that an appliance salesperson? ;)

Honestly, even if your furniture was in the kitchen, I don't think you'd have a 'cooking residue' problem with typical three meals a day type cooking. Might be another story if you're cooking like a restaurant - many hours a day.

Our closest-to-kitchen furniture is the three counter stools right at the island, just four feet from the cooktop. The seats and backs are leather and have not shown any 'residue' on them in the 2.5 years we've been ventless.

The kitchen is entirely open-concept to our family room we furnished with two large new sofas and a couple of chairs when we first moved in. The nearest furniture item being about 12 feet from the cooktop. No problems with residue or odor affecting the family room furniture whatsoever.

When we're in the family room we're more likely to smell an odor coming from the oven before do anything cooking on the cooktop. In fact, unless it's a really strong-odor food, we don't smell what's cooking on the cooktop from the family room.

You could also think about it this way - you've not been using a vent for years... that's a great test. Were there any residue/odor problems with the old furniture? An even better process check would be to consider the hard surfaces in the direct vicinity of your cooking area, as residues would sit on top of nonporous surfaces. Have nearby countertops shown any evidence of cooking residue?

Indeed, it was salesperson. You're right about the residue test as the ceiling above cooking didn't show signs of build up. Regardless, we decided against a downdraft to keep the island as is. Thanks rogerc!

pebshouse... is your cook top also an electric one? I was wanting gas but perhaps electric would be less problematic as far as venting.
mavischisholm our home is also a log cabin and not easy to vent to the outside. Is your stove electric, with downdraft built in? Which model, if I may ask.
I had never really thought about a gas stove needing more venting than electric... is that the case or am I just reading more into the post about not legal to have gas stove n no vent?

Maine uses NFPA Standard #54 , also known as ANSI Z223.1 , and the National Fuel Gas Code

12.3.2 Appliances Not Required to Be Vented

The other codes generally used are the International Residential Code, and (International Fuel Gas Code)

G2425.8 (501.8) Appliances not required to be vented

The following appliances shall not be required to be vented:

1. Ranges.

2. Built-in domestic cooking units listed and marked for optional venting.

3. Hot plates and laundry stoves.......

All the codes say the same thing because they all come from the same results of extensive testing.

Unless you have an abnormally large gas range, and/or an abnormally small, and isolated, kitchen with doors blocking every entrance to the kitchen, then ventilation is not required for the range. IF the conditions exist requiring ventilation, JUST a range hood will not pass code, make-up air would also be required. An actual hood is NOT required for such ventilation.

Wonderful, thanks Fred S ! I am sure I will find out once I get a permit but nice to know ahead of time. The permit thing is kinda scary though we are having the work done by certified contractors NOT ourselves. It is also nice to know 'they' think conditions are likely they need NOT be vented, or could be fine w/o.
I suppose as soon as I have a (hopefully) set plan finished I should request permitting and will find out... RU in Maine or just knowledgeable?

Maine Susan it is KitchenAid and is electric. The model is Cooktop KECD807XBL. We vented it down through the floor under the island to the basement then outside. I believe you can also buy a charcoal kit for under the counter if you don't want to vent it outside. Of course the charcoal filter kit takes up more space under the counter.

@ Maine Susan, just knowledgable. I looked up Maine's codes on their government website.

All codes in the US and Canada are very close to the same except for those based on geographic location. (ie earthquake, hurricane, or cold northern climates, etc have specific differences for those conditions). All codes come from the same rigorous testing of products, regardless of the name on the outside of the code book. You can tell that by reading the two different codes that I linked to in my other post, as they say the same thing almost word for word, just in a different order. These tests and standards have been around and constantly improved and revised since 1898. Most of them originate from ASTM International or ANSI. A "standard", which is what codes are based on, is a consensus by knowledgeable people of what is safe and the norm for a particular situation or product. By definition, it pretty much has to be accepted by the entire country. If every area made up their own rules by a whim, it couldn't be a "standard". Since standards are based on extensive testing and factual data, not to mention court cases, it becomes fairly clear how every state ends up arriving at the same conclusion, thus forming a consensus, leading to a standard, which in turn leads to international codes.

Then, after the codes and standards are established, the Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL) take over to ensure that the appliances meet those standards. For instance, installation instructions govern the clearances of appliances, such as cooking equipment, in such a way as to make all that are listed for household use meet the standards for safety, regardless of the total BTU output of the stove top. Now, the biggest problem is getting contractors to read and understand the codes and standards, as too many of them think that putting tile directly on a wall amounts to some kind of heat shield just because they can't see the combustible wall anymore. (And it does NOT)

Definitely reading something and really understanding can be two different things... for some of us! BUT we keep trying and finally it starts to sink in... ;D

To Vent or Not to Vent? That is the question. The client's requested to go without a vent. As a kitchen design firm we recommend ventilation to all of our clients, however in the end it is their home. The homes that you refer to in our portfolio are homes in Hawaii and windows left open year round.

We'd still like to hear from anyone currently using a cooktop without ventilation.

It has been well over a year for us and still no regrets! (comment above)

I am keeping my cooktop on a wall instead of moving to the island. Have decided to try a convertible hood using the ventless/charcoal option first and if that does not work will convert n vent it through the logs which I am trying to avoid. Also venting outside brings it's own set of probs here in this wildlife, cold Maine climate. I have been using a charcoal filtered hood now with nothing bad and no big cleanups needed. The newer hood is more powerful and new so am quite confident it will be effective.

I also considered pop-up but seemed kinda silly when cooktop is on outside wall now? Though I do hate to lose the wall space. What would be the thoughts on that scenario?????

We've been using our remodeled kitchen without any cooktop ventilation for over two years now and have no regrets at all. It hasn't been a problem.

@ Maine Susan: even though we're not huge fans (pun intended) of ductless ventilation, given your circumstances, it makes sense. In extremely cold climates, ducting a range hood to the outside brings a whole new set of problems that more temperate locations wouldn't experience.

The cold air backflow can be solved with a damper (a.k.a. "backdraft" - a flap that opens when the hood is operating, and closes when it's off, preventing the outside air from entering the duct), but the condensation issues are a whole different story.

In addition, a ducted hood extracts air to the outside, which lowers the air pressure in the house and forces cold air to drift in (there's no such thing as an airtight house) - which increases your heating bills in the long run.

Even though a ductless range hood is not as effective as a ducted one - in cold climates, losing some performance is acceptable for the sake of avoiding these problems.

Futuro Futuro Kitchen Range Hoods thanks so much for the insight particularly from your professional (knowledge) standpoint. I am not familiar with condensation concerns??? DH wants it vented out but neither are thrilled w/another large hole thru our logs. I still am waiting on our cabinets to be built so have not actually done anything yet but trying a converted unit and then unconverted, if need be sounds most logical to me.
Love the pun... good to keep a sense of humor!!!

We have had an island cooktop electric for 21 years without ventilation installed. Our ceiling is a high vaulted and the kitchen island is part of the large great room . No residue or difficult cleaning. No deep frying is done. No problems noted with ventless..

I am in the middle of a kitchen remodel. I currently have a small kitchen with a drop-in Jenn-Air downdraft range on a short peninsula. I will not be changing its location. There are oak cabinets 26" above the range. I have used it this way for 25 years, have rarely turned on the downdraft vent, and just removed the overhead cabinets and cleaned them. There was hardly anything to clean. I have been in a dilemma about what new range to purchase, since I figured I would need a vent and didn't want one overhead. However, after reading comments above, and noting that my own overheads are not greasy or coated after 25 years, I am feeling safe to go without a vent.

The only options I have come up with are these three:

1. Replace with another Jenn-Air. However, they don't make drop-ins anymore so my cabinets underneath would have to be removed. That's not a big problem. The fact that Jenn-Air's current downdraft slide in model does not overlap the adjacent countertop IS a problem. I don't like having that groove or crack between the cooktop and counter. I recently looked at the trim kit Jenn-Air is offering to fix that. The dealer says it doesn't fit well and it did look like a cobbled mess to me. Has anyone installed this trim kit and liked the look? Also, the new Jenn-air is deeper than the old drop in and our 24" cabinets would have to be bumped out in back (where the bar stools will be. (Kithenaid has one that's almost identical)

2. I have only been able to find one other range/downdraft combo and that's the Dacor brand slide in induction (or their electric) range with their slim popup vent behind. Again, the back of the cabinets would have to be bumped out. This is a rather expensive option, but at least the top of it overlaps the countertop. Also, the induction cooker looks like it has some shortcomings Requiring a pan size of at least 7" at the base.

3. Purchase the range I would most like to cook with (right now I really like the Samsung induction slide in with the flex duo (double) oven). Then if I later decide I really should have a vent, I can find an overhead option. I have no other place for an oven in my kitchen so a range is necessary. The double oven capability of the Samsung looks ideal. If it would work with a pop-up downdraft I would definitely do it, just to have peace of mind that I wouldnt have to add an overhead vent later. Is anyone familiar with this type of configuration? I have not been able to get any information about whether it could be installed with any popup downdraft vents I contacted Dacor and their replay was that their pop up has never been tested for compatibility with any other brand of range except their own.

Right now I'm leaning toward no vent, and getting the range I like the most. I feel pretty safe since I have pretty much been cooking like that for 25 years, only turning on the vent when I get a skillet too hot and it smokes (but that doesn't happen very often and probably doesnt justify the expense of a popup, or the inconvenience of an overhead vent.) My ceiling is only 8' and is solid pine car siding. It is not greasy either.

I'm so surprised that the option I most need doesn't really exist: a slide-in, downdraft, double oven, induction top, overlapping the adjacent countertop, fitting into a standard 24" cabinet. (Prob will be available right after I buy something!)

Thanks for the comments above regarding venting!

Given your history, I would not let the lack of venting stop you from getting the range you want. Now that we're going into a third year with our cooktop, we still have no regrets with going ventless. Our white ceiling over the cooktop remains spotless and we've had no issues with odors.

I wish I could say we've had no regrets with our choice of appliances, but that would be far from the truth. As long as you're appliance shopping, I'll provide a 'buyer beware' - we completely regret having purchased all Viking appliances.

In a nutshell, our experience with them has been 'terrible quality met with unimaginably poor service'. Of our four appliances, three have had operational problems. We actually went without a working refrigerator for 5 months - calling Viking at least once a week during that entire period begging for a service call. Escalating our complaint through multiple offices time after time, inevitably only resulted in being directed back to the same non-responsive Viking support organization we started with. It took them 5 months to send a service representative who then fixed the failed refrigerator in about an hour.

Good luck with your project!

I had a vented hood and changed to a charcoal updraft vent in combination with a microwave. I cook healthy every night. I am not frying anything. The grease that accumulates on my cupboard doors, soffit and ceiling about my stove is disgusting. It needs to be cleaned quarterly. As a person that cooks at home all the time, I would NEVER go without a substantial hood again The more updraft the better at getting everything out. I'm on here looking for a special hood that can get the steam and whatever is in that steam from cooking out of the house without venting outside since I have a condo now. I change the charcoal filters. I clean the vent filters in my dishwasher. Still the grime will accumulate. Never go without a vent unless you seldom cook.

@ riarogers: Unfortunately, all ductless hoods will perform worse than ducted ones. The issue isn't just the loss of airflow, because now the air has to be dragged through another 1" or so of charcoal granules. The biggest problem is that the air is returned to the room - so all of the excess heat, moisture, noise, solid smoke particles (which don't really stick to charcoal, they're too big for the pores), carbon monoxide/dioxide, and some other components, will be returned to the kitchen.

To make things worse, there are no good hoods that are built into a microwave. There's just no room for a sizeable blower, nor a well-designed airflow, so as a result, you have something that makes more noise than any type of ventilation.

In combination, a microhood that's also ductless to boot, is barely scrubbing some of the grease.

The only thing we could recommend in this situation (other than going back to a full-size, stand-alone hood), is to be religious about cleaning the grease filters, and changing the carbon filter on a regular basis.

We put a GE Profile white glass electric cooktop in our island, and it comes with a built in downdraft. We love it. The downdraft works beautifully for us, though we don't fry or ever cook meat (we are vegan) so most of our gases are steam related.

We are doing a small remodel of our kitchen. Our range is in a peninsula, which originally had cabinets with an under-cabinet vent over it. We removed the cabinets to open up the space, but now we have a decision to make. To vent or not to vent". Since our house has less than 8' ceilings, it's limiting our options (we're on a budget). I've been reading all of the comments above (which have been helpful!) but I have not seen any clear response as to if I am required to put one in. Does anyone know if we are required by NYS to vent if we have a gas range?

NY is no different than anywhere else. It has never been required to vent a gas range unless your cooktop will have a BBQ grill.

http://premiumaccess.iccsafe.org/document/code/446/8036941

I do not know how to make it any clearer.

Remodeling - replacing the electric 20 year old cook top with an induction cook top. There is a downdraft vent and we have decided to go vent less. Thanks Roger and Fred for the information.

Doing some remodeling and changing out stove top. I have a vent now but NEVER use it. This is why I'm going ventless. It's a mess under the cabinet and really takes away from storage space. Hope this helps with the age ole question 'to vent or not to vent'.

As a followup to a comment previously, in our remodel we ended up installing an overhead vent. It came with the appliance package anyway so it went in. It gave our kitchen a more modern look that it needed and we are happy with it. I use the vent more than I thought I would too. I think it might be that the brighter lighting in the vent illuminates the cooking vapors more than our previous lighting, which was poor, so that makes me want to turn it on and ventilate that. Before having a vent, our island had this light over it.

I am trying to replace an electric down draft stovetop. Trying to find a new one with a small motor that won't take up the entire cabinet. My current stovetop allows me two pullout drawers for storage. Any ideas?

Plenty of options here

http://www.bestrangehoods.com/cattura

Thanks guys I know this is a prerty old thread, but it helped me make my mind about adding a downdraft to our elctric cooktop. I am not going to do it.

Four years later, we're still glad we did not install a downdraft. It wasn't needed. But again, our circumstances are a large open kitchen with very tall ceiling and we do very little frying.

my ceilings are not really high 9feet, but my cooktop is ans kitchen is a part of a open area, plus it will be near a window. and I dont fry. cooktop is ordered
thanks again.

Hope someone is still responding on this site. We are doing an entire "gut" of our kitchen, except for my very special custom made island. I currently use a gas cook top that is in the island. I have not used ventilation for 15 years and have had no problem. I am purchasing a Wolf cook top and have been planing to buy the pop up vent also Wolf. The problem is I will lose quite a bit of drawer space in the island. At first my only concern was keeping the same outside appearance of my island with no worry about the drawer space. I was wanting to use the ventilation system because I love doing gourmet cooking and thought I would feel more secure with ventilation. As I get closer to my remodel I am having serious trouble justifying the expense and lost space just to have ventilation that I have not missed nor has it caused me a problem for 15 years. I would save close to $3,000 if I loose the ventilation. That's one heck of an incentive when considering the cost of an entire kitchen. Please comment. I really need opinions and guidance. Work is scheduled to begin in 2 weeks. Thanks for any help at all.

I am in a similar situation, in the midst of a major remodel, and planning an island with a gas cooktop, leaning toward Wolf. I have never used ventilation and never considered it a problem. I will have vaulted ceilings, lots of windows, never deep fry. An overhead hood is out of the question, and the more I investigate, the less motivated I am to spend money on a downdraft or pop up venting system. Comments?.

Bought my Wolf gas cook top a few days ago. When I told the salesperson I had decided to go without ventilation. She had a knowing grin as in I understand and you are right in your decision. Like you, a hood is out of the question and that will not happen. My only option is downdraft. I do a lot of research before a major purchase and during the course of my research, talking to my contractor and talking to a very knowledgeable sales person decided a downdraft would be a waste of money. I'm just a tad nervous about it but really feel it's best. Good luck, Fran, on making your decision.

joanrich and Fran - We've been 4.5 years without ventilation and have had no problems whatsoever. There's no need to be even a tad worried.

On the other hand, we bought all new Viking appliances and have had nothing but continuous trouble met with the worst service you could possibly imagine ('lack of service' I should say). Having spent a fortune on them, we're now totally fed up and are once again looking for appliances.

We are wanting to install a gas downdraft cooktop in our new island. Do we need to install an overhead hood(which I don’t really want ) or a duct free kit underneath (which takes away storage space) or will the downdraft be enough?

Dana, I had a JennAir downdraft and hated it. It pulls the flame to the side toward the venting and it can't really capture steam well out of a pot and was just really loud. One of those instances where we "had" a vent and just didn't use it (properly). And what's the point of getting the downdraft if you have an alternate method of venting such as overhead? No, you don't need the overhead if you have the downdraft but like I said, I never purchased downdraft again three kitchens later. I wouldn't bother with anything duct free like a charcoal filter system.

I'm building an island with an electric coil cooktop (old school), but I live in a condo with only 8 ft. ceilings. I like to sautee a lot, making omelettes, and also have a small electric smokeless indoor grill. Anybody think I'll be okay without a vent if the ceilings are only 8ft high? thanks

Hello gotoran,

Ceiling height does not make any difference on this matter.

However, there is an easy and hustle-free solution which does not require to run a duct if it's impossible/hard to do.

Please take a look at the new generation of re-circulating (ductless) range hoods, which perform as efficient and quiet as any range hood ducted outside (these are just some examples of the rich variation of such models):

36" Tactio Island

https://futurofuturo.com/range-hood/36-tactio-island/

24" Arena Black Island

https://futurofuturo.com/range-hood/24-arena-black-island/

19" Natalie Island

https://futurofuturo.com/range-hood/19-natalie-island/

Best Regards,

Futuro Futuro Team

Looks like a great product, but not only is it way out of my price range, but since I have concrete ceiling, I'd have to also build a soffit to run electricity through which would also up the price. Cool concept though. Thanks

Hi, hoping this site is still active with questions and responses! I've had a Jenn Air downdraft electric range for over 20 years. Lately been giving me some issues with beeping and giving Error 7 code which is the membrane switch. We've replaced the computer board a few years back too. We are going to try and see about removing the faceplate and pressing the keypad and see if that clears the issue. Stovetop and oven both work but sometimes the oven shuts down. I haven't called a repair tech yet. Question is if it's really the time to buy another stove at this point? Question is due to already having a downdraft, do I absolutely need to go with another downdraft range? Reason we only got a downdraft range is because builder said only thing we could get. Our range is in an open island that faces our family room. Have 9 foot ceilings in kitchen and family room has vaulted ceilings and sliding door. I have a kitchen window a few feet away from range. I haven't used the vent on my stove past few weeks because of the beeping and resetting, etc., and then continues to do same thing after resetting. I've been researching online quite a bit and seems consensus is that going ventless is okay. I hardly fry anything. Only boil water for potatoes, corn, and the such. The thought of purchasing only a downdraft range is nauseating. They cost almost $3000 and I'm not in the budget frame of mind. I hate the idea of being limited of what I can buy. At the time our downdraft Jenn Air when we purchased it had a grill so of course having a vent was necessary but we haven't used the grill option for almost 10 years. I would prefer to have an ordinary electric slide in range at this point and that would save alot. I'm not in the market of getting an overhood vent either since I do not have cabinets over my range. Just drop down lighting. I'm so confused. I'm concerned if I go ventless it can be a fire hazard but if I don't fry much it shouldn't be right?? Please help!!!