pgrades that sound good, but aren’t practical for your lifestyle.
You can get a very basic range for $500 - $1,000. You’ll be able to perform basic cooking functions, like baking and broiling, but your options for finishes are usually limited to black, white and bisque. Occasionally you can find a few stainless-steel models in this price range.
For $1,000- $3,000 you have more options in cooking modes, styles and finishes, including lots of stainless steel models.
For $3,000-$6,000 you can get some fancy options like dual-fuel power, slide-in design and convection fans.
$6,000-$10,000 gets you professional-style appliances. You can buy a range with all-stainless steel construction (not just a stainless steel finish on doors and control panels). This price range also has many larger models with more than 4 burners.
If you are looking for ranges in unique colors like blue or orange, and if you want built-in features like steam for baking, you’ll most likely have to invest $10,000 or more for a range.
Other fancy features that you can see in higher end ranges include:
Wireless connectivity which allows you to control and monitor your stove from your smartphone. For example, you can use your smartphone to begin to preheat your oven on your way home from work. There are also some newer models that can be controlled by Alexa, Amazon's voice-activated virtual assistant.
Temperature probes are like meat thermometers that are built into the wall of the oven. You can use them to monitor the internal temperature of meat as it cooks. The temperature displays on the control panel of your oven, so you don't have to open the oven door to see if your meat is done.
A Self cleaning mode which will cost you an extra $300 or so, but most people think not having to manually clean the oven several times a year is worth the added cost.
A Delayed bake mode which turns the oven on at a predetermined time, and a warm and hold mode that maintains a low oven temperature and allows you to come home to a hot meal.
Lastly, a quick word about vent hoods.
Ideally you want unwanted elements from cooking such as smoke, odor, humidity and heat to be exhausted outside the house with a ducted vent hood. Seriously try to avoid ductless, or down draft vent and those over-the-range microwave filters that pull air in but recirculate the air back into the kitchen.
Vent hoods, both ducted and non-ducted, must be adequately sized for the job. Hoods need to be designed around the size and strength of the range. A properly sized hood must cover at least the full width of the range and at least 50 percent of the front burners. Local code will dictate minimal vent hood requirements, but you might want to go beyond the minimal code requirements and take the recommendations of the The Home Ventilating Institute (HVI), a nonprofit organization that certifies residential ventilation products.
For range hoods, The HVI recommends a minimum of 40 CFM for every linear foot of range. CFM stands for cubit feet per minute and is measurement of how fast air circulates in and out of a space. So, 40 CFMs per linear foot of an electric range.
In the case of gas cooktops, the rule of thumb is 1 CFM for every 100 BTUs. But ultimately the HVI recommends following the cooktop manufacturer's advice to determine ventilation requirements.
If at all possible, choose HVI-rated vent hoods. Inflated performance ratings are common for range hoods that are not HVI-Certified. Selecting range hoods with HVI-Certified Performance Ratings will ensure that ventilation expectations and building code requirements are met.
Alright, wanna do a couple of quiz questions?
1. True or false: Electric ovens cook more evenly, but gas ovens cook moister.
Choose a combination convection steam oven for moist and even cooking.
2. True or False: For range hoods, The Home Ventilating Institute recommends a minimum of 40 CFM for every linear foot of range.
Well, that's all I have for this week. Thank you for joining me. I hope you learned as much as I did. Hope you stop by next week.
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