While an exhaust fan is the cheapest solution, it does not vent out all the air our of the kitchen properly. It results in dirt and oil on the nearby walls. Whereas the kitchen chimney will be placed on the gas oven itself and will suck up all the air.
Thus, a chimney is a better solution for all Indian kitchens.
If you want to know more about the Kitchen Chimney Vs Exhaust Fan debate, read on below!
If you are confused about the functions and working of the Exhaust Fan and the Chimney, you need to understand them. Before you make a conclusion, you should compare the merit and demerits of the exhaust fan and chimney.
Indian style cooking can produce a lot of smoke and oily substances as cooking involves a lot of frying, soups, curry etc. If the kitchen does not vent the smoke out, the kitchen becomes dirty. I have also seen light bulbs go out because of the oily dirt.
We always have oil and smoke covering the walls near the gas, and it makes everything dirty!
Kitchen Chimney Vs Exhaust Fan in India- Which is Better?
The efficiency of Cleaning
The exhaust fan cleans the air alright but not as good as the chimney. The exhaust fan tries hard enough and can remove some dirty air from the kitchen but not all.
Thus, it will give you a partially clean environment in the kitchen.
The kitchen chimney however is placed directly on the gas oven. This sucks up all the air from all the Indian cooking you do and throws them outside. This is how a ducted kitchen chimney works. The smoke and air will not spread in the kitchen at all.
Air Filtration
An exhaust fan does only one job which is to take air from the kitchen and throw it out. They are placed above the wall so they can clean the rising hot air.
The kitchen chimney in Indian homes may clean and filter the air as well. These are ductless chimneys that will take the oily air in and purify/filter it and release it in your home.
This is more sophisticated than a ducted kitchen chimney and helps a tiny bit in not polluting the air.
The Kitchen
If your kitchen is big, has large windows, a high ceiling, and tiles on the walls then you might get away with exhaust fans. Exhaust fans might be able to throw the rising hot air which is not escaping through the windows.
But even still the smoke, oily air and smell will affect the surrounding walls and people.
In the case of Kitchen Chimney for Indian kitchen, you can use it in large or small kitchens alike.
For small kitchens in India, a chimney is the best solution. It sits directly over the gas oven and takes all the air outside or filters it.
Thus, it does not cause any damage to the wall or pollute the indoor air.
Expenses
We Indians are price sensitive. We always look for lower priced items.
An exhaust fan is the cheapest option if you want a price sensitive option. The cost of an exhaust fan is way less than a chimney. And as per the price, the performance is also not like a kitchen chimney at all.
The kitchen chimney is way costlier and works way better than an exhaust fan also.
Other Future Expenses
While exhaust fans are low in price, they do not pull all the dirty air outside. Thus, sooner or later your kitchen walls countertop, utensils will have some of that residue on top of it. This will incur in regular cleaning tasks. Thus, more expenses but expenses will be nominal if you clean up your kitchen regularly.
While buying and installing a kitchen chimney, the cost will be higher. But since this kitchen chimney will pull out all the polluted air outside of your kitchen or home you will not have any residue on the kitchen walls, utensils etc.
This, you will need to spend less time and effort on cleaning walls and other devices in the kitchen due to bad air.
So with kitchen chimneys your future expenses regarding cleaning might get lower.
Safety and Maintenance
Exhaust fans are safe and mostly a hassle-free electronic item. You install it at the wall high up and forget it.
But cleaning this might be an issue since you have got a ladder to reach the exhaust fan. The fan blades will get greasy, dirty from the kitchen air passing through it.
You should clean them at least a month.
You might need to use soapy water and a strong brush or clothes.
Kitchen chimneys in Indian homes are more troublesome when it comes to maintenance.
Almost 100% of the time you will require a trained mechanic, and they do not come in cheap.
Some chimneys do come with the auto clean feature, which makes the job of cleaning things up easier but still, they are not great.
Chimneys are safe as well if you keep it clean and do regular maintenance checks.
Which is Reliable?
The exhaust fan is way more reliable than an electric chimney. There are less sophisticated parts in the fan thus it requires less maintenance and care thus it will work continuously for years.
On the other hand, the electric chimney is best at removing kitchen air but does need timely maintenance. Without those chimneys, they may make noise, not work as expected, not filter air, and more.
Durability
Exhaust fans are durable. They are mostly made of metal and durable core. They do not get damaged or get beyond repair most of the time.
Kitchen chimneys are more sophisticated and have many parts to consider when contemplating their durability. When buying a kitchen chimney, you should look for a warranty period always.
Power Consumption & Electric bills
A single exhaust fan consumes around 60 watts of power per hour. Whereas a chimney might consume around 500 watts of power per hour.
Since the difference of power consumption is huge between the two.
Thus, the electric bills will be way higher when it comes to the kitchen chimneys.
Summing-up – Kitchen Chimney Vs Exhaust Fan
If you want a really low-cost option to push out your dirty, polluted kitchen air outside, then get an exhaust fan. They are easy to use, easy to maintain. But they fail to clean up all of the kitchen air.
If you want to clean all the air to get out and not spread in your apartment or house, then you should use a kitchen chimney. These are costlier and work way better than exhaust fans.
Disadvantages of chimney usages
Ref: Unique exhaust fans