Range Hoods in Airtight Homes
Kitchen ventilation that works with your building envelope — not against it. Design coordination, make-up air systems, and MVHR integration from specialists.
Why standard range hoods don’t work in airtight homes
A ducted range hood extracts a large volume of air from your kitchen and exhausts it outside. In a conventional home, replacement air leaks in through gaps in the building fabric. In an airtight or Passive House home, those gaps don’t exist — and the hood can depressurise the entire building within minutes of being switched on.
The consequences go beyond reduced hood performance. A depressurised building draws replacement air through whatever leakage paths it can find — bypassing your MVHR filters, your thermal envelope, and the carefully sealed penetrations your airtightness contractor installed. In homes with gas appliances, wood heaters or unflued dryers, there is also a risk of backdraught.
Getting kitchen ventilation right in an airtight home requires design coordination that doesn’t happen automatically. It needs to be considered at the right stage, with the right people involved.
400–900 m³/h
Typical range hood extraction rate
More air than most homes can naturally replace in an airtight building
≤0.6 ACH50
Passive House airtightness target
At this level, there are virtually no leakage paths for make-up air
−5 to −10 Pa
Building depressurisation without make-up air
Enough to impair MVHR performance and create backdraft risk
Ducted extraction with make-up air
The preferred solution for high-performance homes is a conventional ducted range hood paired with a dedicated make-up air supply. When the hood runs, a controlled volume of fresh air enters the building through an automated damper — replacing exactly what’s being extracted, keeping the building at neutral pressure.
This approach gives you full extraction performance without compromising your building envelope, your MVHR system, or your airtightness result. The make-up air damper is interlocked with the range hood: when the hood stops, the damper closes and the building returns to its normal sealed state.
What this requires — and why it needs early coordination
A dedicated make-up air duct penetration
Through the airtightness layer, correctly sealed and dampered — separate from the MVHR system.
An interlocked control damper
Sized to match the range hood's extraction volume and wired to open only when the hood is active.
A backdraft damper on the extraction duct
Prevents outside air from re-entering the building through the hood duct when it's not running.
Duct routing resolved at design stage
Duct runs through the roof or wall structure must be planned before framing — not retrofitted.
What about recirculating hoods?
A recirculating range hood filters air through charcoal and returns it to the kitchen — no duct penetration required. This avoids the pressure problem, but doesn’t remove moisture, and is less effective on fine particulates. It may be appropriate where cooking is light and the MVHR provides good kitchen extraction. For most family homes with regular cooking, ducted extraction with make-up air is the better long-term solution.
What we provide
Kitchen ventilation design as part of a whole-building approach — coordinated with your MVHR system and airtightness strategy.
Kitchen ventilation assessment
We review your kitchen layout, cooktop position, and building envelope to determine the right ventilation approach — ducted extraction, recirculating, or a combination — before any work begins.
Make-up air system design
For ducted range hoods in airtight homes, we design the replacement air path: damper sizing, control interlocking with the range hood, and integration with your MVHR system to maintain neutral building pressure.
Range hood selection guidance
We help you select a range hood suited to your cooking habits and building type — extraction capacity, noise level, duct diameter, and compatibility with make-up air controls.
MVHR coordination
The range hood and MVHR systems must coexist correctly. We ensure duct penetrations are separate, backdraft dampers are correctly specified, and the MVHR continues to operate normally when the range hood is running.
Backdraft damper specification
Every ducted range hood in an airtight home needs a high-quality, sealed backdraft damper on the extraction duct. We specify and install dampers that seal reliably when the hood is off.
Design-stage coordination
We work with builders and architects at design stage — before structure begins — to resolve kitchen layout, duct routing, penetration locations and airtightness detailing while changes are still easy to make.
Who we work with
Homeowners
Building or renovating a high-performance home and want kitchen ventilation that's been properly thought through — not an afterthought during fitout.
Builders
Working on airtight or Passive House projects where kitchen ventilation needs to be coordinated with the airtightness layer and MVHR system from the start.
Architects & Designers
Need technical input on make-up air design, duct penetration detailing, and range hood specification for a project you're designing.
Related services and guides
MVHR Design & Installation
Whole-house mechanical ventilation with heat recovery — the essential partner to an airtight building.
ServiceBlower Door Testing
Verified airtightness measurement — confirming your building envelope performs as designed.
Range Hoods in Airtight Homes — Full Guide
The problem with standard range hoods, make-up air explained, recirculating hood limitations, and MVHR coordination requirements.
Planning a kitchen in an airtight home?
Talk to us early — before duct routes are locked in. We’ll make sure kitchen ventilation is coordinated with your building envelope and MVHR system from the start.