A downdraft extractor is a very clever way of removing cooking smells and steam from your hob, without the need to have an overhead extractor, as seen in many homes.
The downdraft extractor sits behind your hob and rises out of your worktop when in use, as shown in the video below.
Because the downdraft extractor sits behind your hob, this does change the amount of space needed (depth) on one of your kitchen runs, which we’ll cover in more detail in a moment below.
Downdraft extractor examples
Here are some downdraft extractors that have been installed into some of our customers’ kitchens.
How do I create space for the downdraft extractor?
This is a common question asked by many people and it is one that needs a fair bit of consideration.
When installing a downdraft extractor, you need to leave enough space behind the unit that the hob will sit over. The amount of space required by the downdraft extractor does differ, depending on the one you choose but if you leave 300mm of space behind the unit that the hob sits above then that will be enough space to cover any sized downdraft extractor.
Now, because you have 300mm of space behind your hob, all the units in that kitchen run will need the same amount of space behind them too. So, the depth needed on that kitchen run would be 300mm (extractor space), 560mm base unit & a 20mm door. This equals 880mm. The worktop will also need a 20mm overhanging, giving you a required worktop depth of 900mm.
