What are the pros and cons of these appliances? Can OTR perform as well as a traditional range hood? Which should you choose: a range hood or a microwave vent? Here’s everything you need to know about OTR microwaves before you buy.
Range hoods whisk away fumes and keep your kitchen clean from grease. Microwaves help to thaw and warm up food. Over the range (OTR) microwaves with exhaust fans try to bring these two functions together into one appliance.
The main reason most people select an over-the-range (OTR) microwave is space. First, these microwaves free up counter space. With an OTR microwave, you can combine space, ventilation, and task lighting into one space. If you have a smaller kitchen, you might like the idea of seemingly getting a microwave and range hood in one.
How about the cons? An OTR microwave is not a range hood. It’s a microwave with ventilation and lighting. Those are two very different things. They typically don’t ventilate as well as a range hood. That means you’ll have to deal with the effects of poor air quality. This is one of the main reasons people choose to replace their microwave with a range hood. Poor air quality can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat and trigger asthma as well as other respiratory issues. It will also set off your smoke alarm, only adding insult to injury!
OTR microwaves with exhaust fans also don’t provide the same level of surface coverage for your range. This might be okay if you never use your range or very rarely. If you have a gas range and/or cook regularly, they’re probably not a good choice.
You also need to know your cabinetry. Many OTR microwaves are taller than your average range hood. So, they may take up more space than you realize. You have to make sure your cabinets provide enough clearance between the bottom of the microwave and your range. If you don’t have enough range hood clearance above a gas stove, you run the risk of fire.
A range hood is a purpose-built appliance. By that we mean, it’s crafted to suck up fumes, neutralize odors and grab grease. It’s also made to provide full coverage of your stovetop. That means they’ll be able to whisk away more odors, smoke, and fumes.
You can also find a range hood to fit your needs. Instead of having to settle for whatever your OTR microwave can provide in terms of performance, you can select options that work for you. You might consider the performance level, style, and size to narrow down your options.
If you cook often and/or have a gas cooktop, you need your own range hood. The only true con to a range hood is that it isn't a microwave. You won’t get two functions from one appliance. Then again, if your microwave needs repairs, you’ll still have access to your range hood!
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to replacing your microwave with a range hood. Range hoods are more effective at clearing the air and come in a wide range of styles, sizes, and performance levels to fit every homeowner’s needs.
With OTR microwaves, you’ll find two kinds: vented and recirculated. When it comes down to the details, the winner of the microwave recirculating vs. convertible vent showdown goes to OTR microwaves with convertible vents. They do a better job of extracting toxins and smoke (although not at the same level as a range hood). A vented option will remove these fumes and vent them to the exterior of your home. A recirculating OTR microwave uses charcoal filters to neutralize air before it is pumped back into your kitchen.
Ducted range hoods connect to ductwork to pump air outside your home. Compared to ductless range hoods, they are more efficient and effective at neutralizing air. Ductless range hoods use charcoal filters to clean the air and recirculate it. If you can’t install ductwork for whatever reason, you can make your kitchen smell and look fresher with a ductless range hood.
For the majority of home chefs out there (of any skill level), a traditional range hood is the best option. Though OTR microwaves have their perks, replacing your microwave with a range hood comes with even greater advantages. For more insights into how to improve your cooking experience with the right type of range hood, check out our range hood buyer’s guide.
Is a range hood better than a microwave for kitchen ventilation? We’ll break down the pros and cons of each, plus show our kitchen transformation photos! Sponsored by Proline Range Hoods.
A few months after we moved into our new home, our above the range microwave went ka-poot! We spent a few weeks debating whether to fix the microwave, replace with a new microwave, or switch to a range hood.
When it became apparent that repairing was not an option and that another microwave would likely run into the same issue, we narrowed our search to finding the right range hood.
It was at this time that the folks at Proline Range Hoods reached out to me and asked if we’d like to review one of their professional range hood models. Talk about perfect timing!
Appliance purchases are a big decision, so it’s important to know all the pros and cons of a range hood vs microwave. Keep reading to see our process for picking the right range hood, as well as why we chose NOT to install another over the range microwave.
A microwave may be a useful option to free up counter space in small kitchens or if you don’t cook a lot. However, I’m assuming you probably DO cook often if you’re reading this post!
Here are key points to consider when deciding between a range hood and an over the range microwave:
Most over the range microwaves are flush with the bottom of your cabinets, providing limited space. Range hoods can accommodate taller pots and give you room to observe what you’re cooking. This made a big difference in our kitchen!
Microwaves are designed to tuck right into the space between your cabinets. This means that the front burners of your stove are not usually covered by the vent. A significant amount of smoke or fumes may escape.
By contrast, a range hood extends so that it creates a canopy over your entire stovetop and are able to capture far more exhaust.
The fans in most over the range microwaves are between 300-400 cubic feet per minute (CFM) venting power. This may or may not be adequate for your stove and kitchen space.
To find out how many CFMs you need, there are a couple easy calculations, depending on which type of stove you have:
Though the above figures show the minimum ventilation requirements, for best results, Proline Range Hoods recommends at least 600 CFM no matter what type of range you own. Most microwaves don’t meet this criteria.
If you frequently deep fry or cook Asian cuisines (which often require high heat), you’ll want to add 200-300 CFM to your minimum requirements.
Once I ran these calculations, I quickly realized that the microwave that came with our home did not meet the needs of our stove (which at 43,350 BTU requires at least 435 CFM). We also fry and stir-fry often in our kitchen. No wonder our microwave failed!
Which brings us to the next problem with an over the range microwave…
Why did our microwave fail? We originally thought it was an electrical wiring problem with our house that shorted out the appliance.
However, when we called a technician in to check it out, he explained that it is often unavoidable with over the range microwaves, due to their design.
When venting smoke, grease, etc. with a microwave fan, those contaminants essentially junk up the inner workings of your microwave. Over time, the buildup may cause the appliance to fail irreparably. And that means you’ve lost not only a microwave, but your kitchen vent as well!
A range hood is designed specifically for the task of venting cooking fumes out of your kitchen. Nothing else. And in this case, specialization makes all the difference!
Remember how I said that dirty exhaust fumes and cooking grease make their way into your microwave? Well, it’s not very easy to clean all that. Scratch that…it’s impossible!
A quality range hood is designed for ease of cleaning. Our particular model features two removable, dishwasher-safe baffle filters.
My husband specifically looked for this type of filter versus a mesh filter (found on many microwaves and bargain range hoods sold at big box stores) because it is what he used on his food truck. With a baffle filter, grease condenses onto the filter so it can be wiped away with degreaser, instead of clogging up your ducts.
As mentioned above, frying and stir-frying creates more heat, steam, smoke and grease than most typical foods. If you regularly cook these type of high heat and/or high grease foods, more CPM power is needed than what a typical microwave vent can handle.
I’m actually going to show you two “before” pictures of our kitchen. The first is what our kitchen looked like when we moved in to our home a couple years ago:
If you look at the ceiling, you can see staining above the stove area. That’s from years of inadequate ventilation — so much grease and smoke ended up outside the vent that it discolored our ceiling!
Painting the cabinets made a huge difference in brightening up the space. However, we noticed that those white cabinets were quickly getting dirty from cooking grease (my husband likes to fry foods often).
That’s why it was more crucial than ever that we get a proper range hood installed immediately!
We ended up choosing a 30″ wall range hood in stainless steel from Proline Range Hoods. With a 1000 CFM blower, it is more than enough venting power for our range. The extra power is perfect for us because my husband likes to fry a lot!
Not only does it give us the functionality we needed, it just LOOKS so much better! We haven’t even had a chance to replace the backsplash yet, but swapping in a new range hood makes it appear that we did a major kitchen renovation (even when we didn’t!)
The range hood installation for this model is pretty simple; if you have a helper and basic tools you can probably DIY it.
For us it was slightly more complicated because we had some wiring issues to fix before installation (unrelated to the range hood…the previous homeowner fancied himself an amateur electrician). We also hired our local cabinet maker to make room for our range hood so we had plenty of clearance over the stovetop.
However, if your over-the-stove space is open and ready to go, the installation is as simple as following the directions to bolt the range hood to the wall and plugging into your outlet. This was an easier installation process than the range hoods we researched at local home stores!
If you’re looking for a range hood vent for your kitchen, I highly recommend Proline Range Hoods. That’s because range hoods are their specialty — it’s all they do!
Instead of going to your local home goods store where you might have a handful of options, at Proline there are hundreds of styles of range hoods to fit any kitchen layout.
If you’re not sure what type of range hood to choose, their professionals can guide you to the perfect model for your needs and budget. The process was easy and our range hood arrived quickly and in perfect condition! It was exactly what we wanted!
For peace of mind, your purchase comes with a 3 year warranty and 100% satisfaction guarantee. Though we’ve been totally happy with our range hood so far!
Out of all the updates we’ve made to our kitchen so far, a Proline Range Hood has been the most practical and beautiful! It gets so many compliments from friends and family!
Transform your kitchen today! Click here to shop Proline Range Hoods!
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