What to look for in a kitchen chimney?

December 15, 2021

To increase efficiency and maintain the functionality of a modern Indian kitchen, the selection of the right chimney becomes crucial.

Chimneys are nowadays the most basic and integral part of kitchen designs. Over the years the electronic chimney has evolved from something of a luxury item to an essential appliance in modern kitchen designs. The chimney helps in eliminating the soot along with the foul smell of oil and grease from the kitchen. With advancements in technology, a wide variety of chimneys are available in the market. The choice of the chimney is now made not only based on functionality but also based on aesthetics as well. With new innovations in the field of kitchen appliances, there is a large array of different types of chimneys to choose from.

Types of Chimney available

Wall-mounted Chimney

The wall-mounted chimney is the most common type of chimney available in the market. These types of chimneys usually have their platforms built adjacent to the walls. Hence, the wall-mounted chimney is very popular in India.

The wall-mounted chimneys usually require ducts to release the smoke to the exterior. However, some manufacturers also make a ductless variety. Then the chimneys filter and purify the air and release it back into the kitchen. Normally, there are no cabinets to go along with such chimneys.

There is another variant of the wall-mounted chimneys known as the Island chimneys. These types of chimneys create the illusion that they are hanging out of nowhere. This variant is best suited for kitchen platforms that are located away from the walls. In India Island chimneys are mostly used in restaurants and hotels.

Straight-line Chimneys

Space is a major constraint in many Indian kitchens. Under such circumstances, instead of the more traditional wall-mounted chimneys, straight-line chimneys can be an option. Unlike wall-mounted chimneys, these extend only halfway over the cooking range and hence provides additional overhead space to store kitchen items. Apart from sucking up smoke directly from the cooktop, straight-line chimneys also suck the smoke from the other parts of the kitchen as well. This is possible because of the powerful suction ends.

Auto Clean Chimneys

Chimneys require regular cleaning especially in Indian kitchens where mostly spicy food is cooked in lots of oil. The oily soot particles and the grime stick to the filters and can affect the functioning of the chimney if not cleaned at regular intervals. To do this in a normal chimney would require manually dismantling the filters and cleaning them thoroughly. However, a new variant of chimneys comes equipped with an auto cleaning feature. These chimneys have a reservoir that can be filled with water. The way the auto-clean feature works is that the water from the reservoir is sprayed over the baffle filters to remove all the oil and soot particles.

The efficiency with which a chimney works depends on the technology and filters used in them. The different types of filters affect the performance as well as the maintenance of the chimneys.