[ads11]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

For Indian cooking, one needs a high suction chimney (highest possible) and should be wider to cover entire stove/hob (overhang is even better). Needless to say, regular cleaning of filters is a must. Another thing which can help is to have large diameter exhaust pipe (6" is better) and shorter/straight layout with minimal bends from chimney to exit so that suction power is not compromised. Also, there should not be open window or exhaust fan nearby which may cause natural draft of air which works against the chimney.

Many kitchens I have seen, struggle with some of these aspects, resulting in poor performance and fumes spreading all over.

Not sure if these are even available yet in India, and I've seen them at precious few homes here in the UK, but you get some induction hobs where you have the extractor integrated into it, between the burners, or sometimes just behind the back edge/rear splashboard.

In my experience with these ones, they're fantastically effective considering they're right next to the source of the fumes/smoke/vapour. As such they manage to deal with most of it. Now you might ask what happens with the inevitable pot that boils over - I asked the same. It essentially has a pull out tray where you pop it out, with the filters able to be popped in the dishwasher and any gunk can be binned.

(Sidenote: I highly recommend fairly regularly popping the metal filters on top mounted hoods in the dishwasher if you want to keep them clean. Obviously if a big old layer of grime has built up you've no option but the overnight soak in hot, soapy water.)

Anyway, if I were to redo my kitchen, I'd seriously consider these flush mounted extractors. For refence the unit I used belongs to a Turkish friend and their cuisine is not that far removed from subcontinental cuisine in terms of being heavy on the good stuff.

An example of what these venting hobs or downdraft extractor equipped set ups look like

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-9KcJrnQBU

Little demo with a humidstat to show how well they handle vapours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OoqQHAcpSQ

[fast_elegance]

Does anyone here have experience with one-way cassette ACs?

Are they effective and is it better than the split ACs functionally or are they just for the aesthetics? Looking for 3 new ACs for my home and confused whether to go with split ACs or Cassette ACs.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by fast_elegance

Does anyone here have experience with one-way cassette ACs?

Are they effective and is it better than the split ACs functionally or are they just for the aesthetics? Looking for 3 new ACs for my home and confused whether to go with split ACs or Cassette ACs.

Do you mean the IDU which is square/rectangular shape mounted on the ceiling?

If so, then that is just an IDU for central AC. Generally large capacity AC (4 to 10 tons or more) are VRF. A central ODU ( upto 10T and multiple units above that) Services multiple IDU's. The sum total of tonnage of IDU's are generally more than the capacity of ODU, as all the IDU's are not used at the same time. Central AC's are of commercial grade and are designed for long life and heavy duty. Normal split AC's are of domestic grade.

In case you have a requirement for large capacity cooling, a cassette type central AC is more efficient than individual AC's, and they last decades compared to individual units. The major downside is the capital cost - 2 to 3 times that of individual split AC's and the recurring maintenance costs.

Major suppliers of VRF central AC's are Daikin, LG, Blue Star etc. You can call them up for a proposal. That will give you an idea of the costs and the number of units etc.