Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

Funny. We cook every day in our rented apartment and never turn on the recirculation hood. So far, there is nothing that would make me turn it on...

O_O Sorry, but how does that work? Do you only cook stews in covered pots, never fry, or mostly make soups? A single steak seared sharply triggers the smoke detector if I don’t have most of the fumes extracted. Not to mention the smell development with standards like fried potatoes, meatballs, and fish. And unless you cook fat-free, the burnt fat settles on the surroundings... Therefore, the completely serious question: HOW do you cook??

we have been using the hood for 4 years now, everything is fine. Don't demonize things you don't have, this is not a religion lesson

How often do you change/regenerate the filter? We, as frequent cooks, do it every 6 months. I would say someone who doesn't cook daily or rather only on weekends can go over a year. What is your experience with that?

O_O Sorry, but how does that work? Do you only cook stews in a closed pot, never fry, or mainly make soups? A single steak seared sharply sets off the smoke detector if I don't have most of the fumes extracted. Not to mention the smell development with staples like fried potatoes, meatballs, and fish. And unless you cook fat-free, the condensed fat deposits on the surroundings... Therefore, the completely serious question: HOW do you cook??

So in the pan there is actually little. Hardly any steaks or meat, rather a lot of ground meat that is pre-stewed in the pot. Otherwise casseroles and lots with vegetables, pasta, potatoes, rice. But even when we fry meat, what really bothers me is only the fat splattering, but there is a splatter guard for that. The smell in the apartment doesn't bother me at all; we have an open living-kitchen area. Humidity is not really present; we ventilate anyway for 2-3 minutes after 3 hours because of the underfloor heating. And otherwise, fat in the air or elsewhere has not really caught my attention yet. As I said, there is really no reason for me to turn on the fan because nothing bothers me.

How often do you change/regenerate the filter?

We, as frequent cooks, do it every 6 months. I would say someone who doesn't cook daily or maybe only on weekends can also make it over 1 year. What is your experience?

You have to distinguish which filter it is at all. Fat ends up in grease filters, which are cleaned and not changed. This is no different with exhaust hoods. What you can change in recirculation hoods is the activated carbon filter, if there is one at all. They are supposed to last 6-12 months and remove odors. Whether you need that is up to everyone themselves.

We have one with an activated carbon filter and have never actually changed it. I don't miss anything. If it smells, I ventilate. That would be no different with an exhaust hood, which also needs supply air in a tightly sealed new building.

I am very satisfied with the grease separation of the Berbel hood.

One has to distinguish which filter is actually being talked about. Grease ends up in grease filters, which are cleaned and not replaced. This is no different with exhaust hoods. What can be replaced in recirculating hoods is the activated carbon filter, if there is one at all. They are supposed to last 6-12 months and remove odors. Whether you need that is up to each person to decide.

We have one with an activated carbon filter and have never actually replaced it. I don’t miss anything. If it smells, I ventilate. That would be no different with an exhaust hood, which also needs supply air in a tightly sealed new building.

I am very satisfied with the grease separation of the Berbel hood.

I was referring to the odor filters, sorry for the lack of clarity. We simply put the grease filters in the dishwasher as needed.

I cannot understand anything else. Of course the odor load noticeably increases when the activated carbon filter is eventually used up. If that doesn’t bother someone or they always ventilate everything anyway, okay. Then you can also do without it.

That it would be no different with an exhaust hood is factually incorrect. Even cheap exhaust hoods push odor outside and the supply air does not smell of the frying food. For the same effect with recirculation, you have to spend quite a bit and regularly maintain the odor filters – adapted to cooking habits, of course.

I don’t mind the odor in the apartment at all

That’s okay, but it also depends on your cooking habits. That’s why I asked. You hardly produce many odors, nor “flying grease.” We fry steaks with an iron pan. Fried potatoes. For braised dishes like roulades, you sear them sharply beforehand for the roasted aromas. We do that often, also for guests on a larger scale. Or in short: We often fry openly and with color. Unthinkable without a hood. In the newly purchased house we then have an exhaust with a 15 cm core drill hole out. Since it is my parents’ former house, I know from my own experience that you can fry green herrings there without scenting the living space. Fry green herrings for 8 people in an apartment and say: The smell doesn’t bother me and I don’t need a hood ;-) .

just out of interest (and because our kitchen planning will be intensified soon...) what kind of hood do you have?

In the rental apartment, we've been managing quite well with a recirculation hood and a lot of ventilation when cooking "critical food." Therefore, an exhaust hood is not exactly at the top of the wish list right now. But you can always gather options ;)