Microwaves cannot be ducted into a common duct work. DO NOT vent into an attic or crawl space.
There is no requirement that your Over The Range (OTR) Microwave be vented to the outdoors. All OTR microwave ovens can be set up to either allow the fan to recirculate the air back into the kitchen or be vented to the outdoors.
The Code of Bathroom Exhaust Fans
– The air removed by every mechanical exhaust system shall be discharged to the outdoors. – Air shall not be exhausted into an attic (except whole house ventilation), soffit, ridge vent or crawl space.
Most modern microwaves use recirculatory venting and don't have to be vented. However, if you have either a microwave above the range or want to keep food smell to a minimum, you might want to vent your microwave. Venting microwaves on an interior wall normally means installing a ventilation pipe.
A recirculating venting microwave, or ductless range hood, is a built-in ventilation system that recycles air through the microwave vents. The recirculating ventilation pulls the air through charcoal filters or other types of filters.
Vented microwave hoods are much more efficient at removing contaminants from your kitchen air. A recirculating microwave hood recirculates the air through charcoal filters and back into your kitchen.
No, you should never vent your range hood into the attic. The excess buildup of grease and moisture in your attic will ruin it and over time may cause mold damage. Instead, vent your hood through an interior wall or through the ceiling all the way outside of your home.
To clear out any confusion, soffit is the underside area of the roof overhang or eave. It is possible to vent your bathroom fan through the soffit and avoid making a hole in the roof. Usually, a hole in the roof may lead to leaks and other problems.
While venting the bathroom into the attic isn't a good idea, there's nothing wrong with venting it through the attic. This means allowing the flexible duct from the bathroom to pass through the attic space, going to a vent in the gable end, soffit or roof.
It depends on the model or manufacturer. Nevertheless, a minimum of three inches of space on all sides of the oven will provide enough clearance. Leave three inches of space between the walls and the top, sides, and rear of the microwave oven.
If the microwave vents out of the house, this will be hooked up before the microwave is slid into the brackets. If a vent installation is required, you can expect to pay anywhere between $150 and $500, depending on the complexity of the project.
Range hoods do not have to be vented to the outside. You can purchase hoods without ductwork called ductless hoods. But, ducted range hoods are almost always preferred over ductless hoods.
Although the international CFM code for range hoods is 100CFM, some local authorities allow for range hoods with slightly lower or higher CFM than this, depending on the type of your cooking, and the square footage of your cooktop.
Microwaves that are designed to fit beneath or between cabinets or over a wall oven don't have vents built into the bottom. A vent is absolutely necessary if you're going to install your microwave over your stove top, so read the specifications on a new microwave carefully before purchasing it.
Typically, the external exhaust vent of your OTR microwave is located on top of it. It vents out to the roof. It also appears to come out of the top at the front of the device if you're venting back into the room via the recirculating ventilation system.
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.
While a recirculating filter isn't as effective as other types of microwave venting, it still clears your kitchen of the most pungent cooking odors. In addition, countertop models usually have a recirculating vent, but some built-in microwaves share the same filtration.
Many microwave ovens are not vented to the outside. If you are willing to give up the outside venting feature, you can have a service person from the appliance dealer turn the fan around to vent inside. Remove the wall jack and insulate and seal the wall opening.
Unlike countertop models, OTR microwaves are not portable, and they boast a higher price tag: However, they also have built in exhaust fans, which serve as a stove-top ventilation system to eliminate smoke, steam, and cooking odors.
While over-the-range microwaves have been stylish for years, the trend is on the way out in 2018.
Aim for a location that's convenient to the countertop, stove top and fridge. It's really common to pop something straight from the fridge into the microwave, so you want the two to be close together – while ensuring there's bench space nearby.