Bertazzoni range hood terms fall into four groups: the body types (insert, under-cabinet, wall canopy, island), the filters (baffle, mesh, charcoal), the airflow words (CFM, ducted, recirculating, makeup air) and the controls and indicators (speed levels, boost, filter light). Knowing which word means what lets you read a spec sheet, describe a fault accurately on the phone and avoid ordering a filter or part for the wrong hood.
What do the body types mean on a Bertazzoni hood?
Bertazzoni sells hoods in several shapes, and the model list on this site groups them by family: names beginning KU, KT, KIN, KPH, KMC, KCH, KG and KTV, each followed by a width in inches. The shape matters because housings, brackets, ducting collars and even filter sizes differ between them, so a part for one is rarely a part for another, even at the same width. Our Bertazzoni model number decoder explains how the letters and digits work together, and every hood has its own model page you can check against your rating plate.
Two terms come up repeatedly. An insert, sometimes called a liner, is the working part of a hood that goes inside a custom surround, so the visible hood is built by a cabinetmaker or installer around it. A canopy is a hood body you see, whether it hangs on a wall or above an island. An under-cabinet hood is a slimmer unit that mounts beneath a cabinet, and the width figure in the model number is the size of the cooking area it is meant to cover.
What are the different hood filters?
The filter nearest the cooktop is the grease filter, and on most premium hoods it is a baffle filter: a set of metal plates arranged so that rising air has to turn corners, throwing grease droplets against the metal where they drain away. Mesh filters do the same job with layered screens. Baffle filters are generally easier to clean, since they come out and wash in warm soapy water, and many are dishwasher safe if your manual says so. Cleaning frequency depends on how you cook; our guide on grease filter cleaning frequency covers it.
A charcoal filter is different. It captures odors, not grease, and it is used only when the hood recirculates air back into the room because there is no way to vent outside. Charcoal filters cannot be washed, and they need replacing on a schedule. If your hood vents outside, you generally do not use one. Check your manual before buying either type, since filters are fitted to specific models.
What do CFM, ducted and recirculating mean?
CFM measures how much air the blower can move at its best, in cubic feet per minute. A bigger number means a more powerful fan on paper, but the real performance depends on the duct, the number of bends and the filters. Our guide to how Bertazzoni range hood airflow is rated explains why the number on the box is a ceiling, not a promise.
Ducted, or vented, means the hood sends air outside through a duct. Recirculating, or ductless, means it passes the air through filters and returns it to the room. Ducted is more effective at removing steam, heat and combustion products, while recirculating is a compromise for kitchens that cannot vent. Makeup air is the fresh air that must come into the house to replace what a strong ducted hood removes, and some jurisdictions require it for large hoods over gas appliances. Ask your installer what your area expects.
What do the controls and indicator lights mean?
Speed levels set how fast the blower runs, from a quiet low setting to a loud high one. Many hoods also have a boost or intensive setting that runs the blower at its maximum for a short time, then returns to a normal speed automatically. The lights switch separately from the fan. An indicator light that blinks is usually a reminder or a status signal, such as a filter reminder; what it means depends on the model, so read the manual for your hood and do not assume that a blink is a failure. If a hood has not responded at all, our symptom pages on a hood fan that is not running and a speed control that is not responding are the quick lookups.
Weak airflow is its own entry in the vocabulary of hood problems. Our page on weak range hood airflow separates the usual causes, from a full filter to a closed damper.
Which words should you have ready before you call for service?
Give the full model number from the rating plate, the family letters in particular, the type of hood in plain words (insert, wall canopy, island), whether it vents outside or recirculates, the filter type, and what the hood does or does not do. Describe a blinking light by its color, position and the pattern it follows. With those details, a technician can bring the right filters and parts and knows what to test on arrival.
Our range hood troubleshooting checklist and the cleaning and maintenance guide put these terms to work, and the hood systems guide follows the air from cooktop to outdoors.
