{"id":15516,"date":"2021-10-12T08:55:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T06:55:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/?p=15516"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:14:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T13:14:01","slug":"greater-efficiency-and-flexibility-under-the-hood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/industries\/household-appliances\/greater-efficiency-and-flexibility-under-the-hood_15516\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater effi\u00adciency and flex\u00adi\u00adbility under the hood"},"content":{"rendered":"

Juicy meat fries in the pan, the pasta water is boiling and vegeta\u00adbles are stewing in the pot, but no matter how tasty the food may be, nobody likes cooking smells that stick around. Luckily, there are range hoods for this. They remove rising steam, sepa\u00adrate grease and elim\u00adi\u00adnate trou\u00adble\u00adsome odors.<\/p>\n

Although the oper\u00adating times of a hood are usually not partic\u00adu\u00adlarly high, they still consume energy, and house\u00adhold appli\u00adances are gener\u00adally supposed to be consuming much less in future. This is what the new EU energy effi\u00adciency label wants to achieve, and this will also affect range hoods. To reach a high effi\u00adciency class, manu\u00adfac\u00adturers will then have to make sure that the devices meet much stricter require\u00adments than is currently the case.<\/p>\n

The blowers installed are a key element in increasing energy effi\u00adciency. They create the neces\u00adsary induced draft to convey the kitchen fumes outwards or, if it is a recir\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adtion unit, back into the room after the filtering process. Tradi\u00adtional hood manu\u00adfac\u00adturers often rely on blowers with AC motors. However, this tech\u00adnology is quickly reaches its limits in bringing further effi\u00adciency improve\u00adments. This is not the case for blowers oper\u00adated with EC motors. Their high elec\u00adtrical effi\u00adciency means that higher powers are even possible with lower current consump\u00adtion.<\/p>\n

Fig. 1: The Radi\u00adFlex is compact and, thanks to EC tech\u00adnology, offers a high suction power. (Photo | ebm-papst)<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

With extrac\u00adtion hoods, EC tech\u00adnology is nothing new. It is already estab\u00adlished as stan\u00addard in the upper mid and premium segments in partic\u00adular, because these usually require higher suction power. With the more strin\u00adgent spec\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions from the new energy label combined with increasing comfort require\u00adments, EC tech\u00adnology is ideal for broad use. For example, better filter systems tend to require higher suction power on the blower side. In partic\u00adular, industry requires blowers that can be used flex\u00adibly in a wide range of hood designs and instal\u00adla\u00adtion situ\u00ada\u00adtions. With Radi\u00adFlex, the engi\u00adneers at ebm-papst have devel\u00adoped this type of EC blower, offering the industry the right stan\u00addard.<\/p>\n

The pioneer for range hoods<\/h2>\n

ebm-papst built the first motor for a range hood blower back in 1963. Right up to today, this has resulted in a wide range of AC and EC centrifugal blowers for range hoods. The devel\u00adop\u00adment of a stan\u00addard blower, with its char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adistic propor\u00adtions and a defined instal\u00adla\u00adtion geom\u00adetry, was an impor\u00adtant mile\u00adstone around the turn of the millen\u00adnium, and also turned out to be ground-breaking for the industry as a whole. The shape, dimen\u00adsions, outlet diam\u00adeter and connec\u00adtion flange of these dual flow blowers are still the preferred option on the global market to this day.<\/p>\n

And the fan specialist is now setting the pace once again with the Radi\u00adFlex: the dual-intake centrifugal fan is not only of interest to manu\u00adfac\u00adturers due to its energy effi\u00adciency but also its universal appli\u00adca\u00adtion options in a wide range of hood types.<\/p>\n

A ques\u00adtion of design<\/h2>\n

Just like with food, people have different tastes when it comes to kitchen designs: almost all vari\u00ada\u00adtions are possible, from simple built-in kitchens to large kitchens with island cook\u00adtops. And the kitchen equip\u00adment is as diverse as the range hoods (see box text 1): a variety of types are now being used, from the simple built-in hood, T hoods, angled and vertical hoods, and extend\u00adable table extrac\u00adtors to down\u00addraft extrac\u00adtors and island range hoods. In terms of energy effi\u00adciency, it is impor\u00adtant to consider numerous inter\u00adac\u00adtions between design, func\u00adtion and suction power.<\/p>\n

\n

A small hood customer<\/h3>\n

In prin\u00adciple, there are two different oper\u00adating modes: in circu\u00adlated air mode, filtered air is returned to the room, while, in exhaust air mode, the kitchen aromas escape outside. For both modes, the number of different types of range hoods is as large as the number of different kitchen designs. Because of their angle of incli\u00adna\u00adtion, angled hoods (1) leave space above the cooktop, reducing the risk of someone hitting their head. Built-in hoods (2) are hidden in over\u00adhead struc\u00adtures and are partic\u00adu\u00adlarly suit\u00adable for small kitchens. Chimney range hoods (3) are also suit\u00adable for larger cook\u00adtops. Island hoods (4) are intended for kitchen islands and are attached to the ceiling. Down\u00addraft hoods (5) are also an option. They dissi\u00adpate the kitchen fumes down\u00adward.<\/p>\n

Almost all vari\u00ada\u00adtions are possible, from simple built-in kitchens to large kitchens with island cook\u00adtops. And the kitchen equip\u00adment is as diverse as the range hoods. (Graphic | ebm-papst)<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To keep the oper\u00ada\u00adtion econom\u00adical, it would be best to keep the suction power as low as possible, because then the current consump\u00adtion is at its lowest. But it is not that simple. After all, an extrac\u00adtion hood not only has to dissi\u00adpate air, but also deals with ambient air quality. Filters, such as close-mesh metal filters and acti\u00advated carbon filters, are required for high-quality grease and odor sepa\u00adra\u00adtion. The latter can be found in air recir\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adtion units in partic\u00adular. However, the better the filter perfor\u00admance, the higher the asso\u00adci\u00adated pres\u00adsure loss. A greater suction power is required in this scenario, which could be achieved very easily using a larger blower.<\/p>\n

But this brings another issue: the space is limited. Despite having a higher power, the blower cannot take up any extra space. This is because some types of hood, such as vertical hoods, cannot be inte\u00adgrated into larger compo\u00adnents because of their design, and valu\u00adable storage space is also lost. This is an impor\u00adtant thing to consider for compact kitchens. In addi\u00adtion, the total weight of the hood cannot just be increased at will, for example an island hood may need to be securely mounted on the ceiling. Lastly, the entire process should also be quiet. To put it in a nutshell: more suction power is required in the same space and with low noise levels. EC tech\u00adnology can show off all of its strengths here.<\/p>\n

Universal use: the Radi\u00adFlex<\/h2>\n

The Radi\u00adFlex has been designed specif\u00adi\u00adcally for these require\u00adments (Fig. 1). It offers a lot of power despite its compact design and low energy consump\u00adtion. The dual flow blower can convey up to 930 cubic meters of air per hour (free air) (Fig. 2). Thanks to EC tech\u00adnology and a three-phase motor, it is possible to achieve high speeds without impairing the acoustics. Thanks to the high power density, the EC motor is more compact and weighs much less than a compa\u00adrable AC motor: The total weight of the Radi\u00adFlex is only 1.9 kilo\u00adgrams, making it up to 50 percent lighter.<\/p>\n

Fig. 2: Good perfor\u00admance: the Radi\u00adFlex can move up to 930 cubic meters of air per hour (free air). (Graphic | ebm-papst)<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

Another advan\u00adtage is that its stan\u00addard\u00adized connec\u00adtions make it easy to install. The housing of the Radi\u00adFlex is designed so that it can be used in almost any type of hood. Protec\u00adtion against contact is inte\u00adgrated on the intake side as stan\u00addard, meaning that the blower is also suit\u00adable for circu\u00adlating air mode. Acti\u00advated carbon filters for odor filtering can be attached at any time using the bayonet connec\u00adtors on the housing. For exhaust air mode, the blower is also avail\u00adable with an optional non-return valve. This prevents the exhaust air from flowing back or outside air from flowing in.<\/p>\n

EC tech\u00adnology offers a further advan\u00adtage for closed-loop control. Depending on what is going on the stove, the hood does not always have to be turned up to full. With EC blowers, the four usual speed levels on the market can be imple\u00admented precisely using a rele\u00advant speed signal. However, the poten\u00adtial here has not been fully exploited. In contrast to AC tech\u00adnology, EC tech\u00adnology enables infi\u00adnitely vari\u00adable closed-loop control and there\u00adfore fine tuning to the actual extrac\u00adtion require\u00adments.<\/p>\n

\n

The Radi\u00adFlex \u2013 all the advan\u00adtages at a glance<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Thanks to EC tech\u00adnology, the blower is energy effi\u00adcient and quiet<\/li>\n
  • High suction power at up to 930 m3<\/sup>\/h<\/li>\n
  • Compact design and, at 1.9 kg, an absolute light\u00adweight<\/li>\n
  • Inte\u00adgrated protec\u00adtion against contact and there\u00adfore also suit\u00adable for circu\u00adlated air mode<\/li>\n
  • Inte\u00adgrated bayonet connec\u00adtors enable acti\u00advated carbon filters to be attached quickly and easily<\/li>\n
  • There is an optional non-return valve for exhaust air mode<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    Ready for the future<\/h2>\n

    This infi\u00adnitely vari\u00adable closed-loop control also bene\u00adfits smart func\u00adtions that are increas\u00adingly in demand with range hoods. Sensors that can analyze the kitchen fumes already exist. This means that the speed of the blower can be auto\u00admat\u00adi\u00adcally adjusted to the actual suction require\u00adments, depending on whether steam is currently rising or some\u00adthing is burning. It is also possible to couple it with the cooktop. Are all ranges running at full speed? Or is only one in oper\u00ada\u00adtion? This infor\u00adma\u00adtion could be commu\u00adni\u00adcated directly to the blower with the right hood control. The blower then sets itself up according to this infor\u00adma\u00adtion. The Radi\u00adFlex provides hood manu\u00adfac\u00adturers with state-of-the-art and future-proof tech\u00adnology for broad use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Juicy meat fries in the pan, the pasta water is boiling and vegeta\u00adbles are stewing in the pot, but no matter how tasty the food may be, nobody likes cooking smells that stick around. Luckily, there are range hoods for this. They remove rising steam, sepa\u00adrate grease and elim\u00adi\u00adnate trou\u00adble\u00adsome odors. Although the oper\u00adating times [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blowers","category-household-appliances"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15516"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22595,"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15516\/revisions\/22595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}