Initially, hoods were intended for air purification. Today, they have also become an independent very important element of the interior, made in any style from country to hi-tech. Therefore, now they are looking not only for technical characteristics, but also for design, material, decoration. The most neutral in terms of matching the design of the kitchen are built-in hoods. They are preferred by owners of small kitchens, especially people with a limited budget for decorating a room in which it is customary not only to cook food, but also often receive guests.
Products of the company "Elika"
The Italian corporation Elica specializes in cooker hoods, which it has been producing since 1970. The products of this company embody the best Italian traditions, impeccable quality and an exclusive, sometimes sophisticated design. No wonder the Elika hoods are in constant demand among customers.
The product range is distinguished by its breadth, original design, innovative technologies and attractive prices. Exhausts with mechanical or electronic control can purify air in the outflow mode and in the circulation mode. These can be familiar models that have been successfully sold for decades and recently appeared on the market.
Kitchen hoods "Elika" can be classic, domed, built-in. The first are known for a long time and belong to the most budgetary version of air purifiers. Built-in hoods are made in a wide range of sizes, various designs, using innovative solutions, when inoperative, they look very compact and not always noticeable.
Dome hoods can be angled, island, fireplace, made of glass, metal, with decorative wood.
There are wall-mounted devices, and the language does not turn to call them banal kitchen appliances. A striking example is the hood “Elika Symphony 80”, made in the hi-tech style of an unusual shape with neon lights and a set of wonderful technical solutions, designed for a large kitchen or intensive cooking.
Built-in hoods "Elika"
Built-in hoods are compact and ideal for small kitchens, which is especially true for most Russian buyers.
The built-in hood “Elika” can be fully built-in or telescopic, with one or two reliable motors.
Fully built-in models are mounted above the hob in a cabinet so that they can only be seen from below.
Retractable models are somewhat more functional, as they cover a large area.
Hoods are usually equipped with lamps, conventional or halogen, and additionally illuminate the hob during cooking.
By the way, this feature is positively evaluated in the reviews of many customers.
If you choose a model with button control, and not touch (there are any preferences), then in the Elika hoods the panel is usually hidden and the buttons do not stick to grease.
But this is not all that can be said about the built-in hoods. They can be mounted not only in a wall cabinet, as is customary and familiar in most countries of the former USSR, but also in a countertop, and even in a ceiling.
Ceiling hoods
In domestic stores, there are practically no such hoods, except that they can be imported from catalogs by special order. The Elika hood, built into the ceiling, model CLOUD NINE WH / A / 120, operates in exhaust and circulation modes with perimeter suction on the external perimeter of the device at three speeds.
IntensiTime operation mode allows you to switch the hood to maximum power for a short period of time, to remove particularly intense vapors and soot.
As the lighting, a 21 W neon lamp is used, the device is electronically controlled, the maximum productivity is 1200 cubic meters / hour, the noise level is in the range of 49-65 dB, the height for installation is 150 mm.
This model is with very high performance, it is most effective to use it in large kitchens (with a ceiling height of 2.7 m, the room area should be about 28 m) or when cooking dishes with intense steam formation.
Countertop hoods
Such hoods with intensive cooking are moved out of the countertop. A big plus of such devices, in addition to a stylish and modern look, of course, is that soot, fat and steam are isolated before they have time to rise into the air.
A striking example is the built-in “Elika” range hood of the Adagio BL F 90 model. It rises to a height of 300 mm, taking up a 900 × 120 mm countertop section when folded. Moreover, its maximum productivity is 1200 cubic meters / hour. The hood control is touch-sensitive, while the work starts with a light touch of the hand (Touch control command), in three modes plus IntensiTime. You can also use the radio remote control.
A filter saturation indicator is installed on the hood. When it lights up you need to wash the grease and replace the charcoal filters.
Some models use a more efficient external motor that can be installed even outside the home.
Like the ceiling, this type of Adagio hood is designed to effectively clean the air in large kitchens.
Budget models
The cheapest and most common Elika hoods are the modular models Krea Lux GFA WH F / 60 and Gea Lux A / 60 GR / IX.
Elica Krea Lux GFA - a white hood with mechanical control and one grease filter built into the cabinet , purifying the air only in the exhaust mode, noise level up to 70 dB, power 460 cubic meters. m / h, with two 40 W incandescent lamps each, but with two engines and three speeds.
The Elica Gea Lux A / 60 GR / IX model is characterized by a silver color, with a greater capacity of 650 cubic meters. m / h, and the ability to purify the air in the modes and exhaust, and circulation.
The most expensive model
The most expensive hood with a standard installation method is perhaps the Elica Filo hood.
Its capacity is 900 cubic meters. m / h, it is equipped with a white tempered glass perimeter filter and stainless steel finish, it is available in three sizes: 600, 900 and 1200 mm wide. The Elika 90 hood (900 mm wide) is more popular, has an extended coverage area, and can be very conveniently used as a shelf in a wide cabinet. This device has a non-dazzling LED backlight of two 3 W lamps, a powerful motor, a rotating light electronic control, and an indicator of dirty filters. It can operate at four speeds, with a maximum noise level of up to 63 dB.
Most popular model
Hood "Elika Elite 14 Lux" 60 built-in - the most popular to date, according to customer reviews. This is one of the cheapest, but also the most functional models. A width of 600 mm allows you to clean the air over all common models of cooking surfaces and gas stoves in the exhaust and circulation mode, the maximum productivity is 750 cubic meters per hour, push-button type of control, three operating speeds, two halogen lamps with a power of 28 W each, carbon and aluminum grease filters.
Due to the extendable part, the drawing depth and the area of the working surface increases by one and a half times. At the same time, the front of the plate, which the hostesses use most often, is captured.
Reviews on hoods built into the cabinet
A range hood is such a device in the selection of which it is impossible to be guided only by its price. The main criterion should be power and whether it can effectively cope with air purification. Another important point is the ability to properly connect. If these two criteria are violated, the hood does not cope with its functions, which means that the money was wasted, and, more importantly, particles of fat and soot settle on furniture and kitchen utensils and fall into the lungs. Most likely, this explains sometimes conflicting reviews on the same models.
Regardless of the cost and design differences of “Elika” hoods built into the cabinet, their drawback is almost all users consider the noisy work, the main advantages, in addition to lighting, are compactness, ease of use, ease of cleaning, power. They note the reviews and reliability, verified by several years of uptime.
There are also positive reviews on the Filo model. The disadvantage is the “dead” cold color of irreplaceable diodes and the throughput of air ducts in apartment buildings (!), For which this hood was too powerful.
If the kitchen in the apartment is combined with the living room, the hostess prepares a lot for a large family, or it is just necessary that smells of food do not hover around the house, the problem can be solved by installing an extractor fan with any set of functions. And built-in devices will help to fit it into the interior of both a small kitchen in Khrushchev and a large space in a country house. Reliability, functionality and reasonable prices are the built-in hoods of "Elika".