How to Install an Exhaust Hood Fan

An exhaust hood fan isn’t a luxury, it’s an essential component of the kitchen. It screens out not only smoke and odor but also oil and grease that may stain the kitchen walls. An exhaust hood fan is a vented exhaust hood that pulls smoke and odor from the hood’s bottom and allows it to exit to the outside of the home. For instructions on how to install an exhaust hood fan, read on.

Step 1 - Prepare

First of all, an exhaust hood fan requires the installation of an exhaust hood duct. The duct allows the screened air to exit the interior of a home. Although there are exhaust hoods that do not require a duct, these products do not really work well. Determine whether the duct will exit to the outside of a wall or through the roof. Check out instructions on installing the duct through a wall or through the roof for more details.

The other preparatory step will require the installation of the wiring. Since the fan is an electrical device, it has to be connected to a power supply. Determine how the wires will be connected from the circuit breaker to the location where the hood will be installed. Before working on the wiring and the installation of the hood, turn off the power supply first. Install the necessary wiring. Drill holes on the wall where necessary and run the wire from the circuit breaker to the hole on the wall where the hood will be installed.

Step 2 - Trace the Location for the Device

Take the exhaust hood fan and position it against the wall above the stove to check how it fits. If it fits flush against the surface of the wall or under a pre-installed cabinet, then trace that spot for future guidance. There are pre-drilled holes on the hood that need to be screwed to the wall. Make sure to mark these holes on the wall as well.

Step 3 - Secure the Device onto the Wall

Drill holes on the marked spots on the wall first then fit the device onto the wall surface. Add a screw to every pre-drilled hole and tighten each one of them.

Step 4 - Connect the Wiring

Open the electrical cover on the hood exhaust to reveal the fan motor, the light switch, and the fan switch. This will require the use of screwdrivers and a nut driver. Open the electrical knockout as well with a screwdriver to expose the wires. Connect the white wire on the hood fan to the white wire on the wall. Do the same with the black wires. Afterwards, hook the bare wire on the wall to the ground screw on the fan. Follow the same wiring connection for the light. Reinstall the cover.