1.The main function of a cooker hood is to filter steam, food odours and airborne grease from your kitchen. A hood with a re-circulating fan guides the air through filters and recirculates fresh air back into the kitchen. A hood with an extractor is more effective at removing odours as it pulls the air through a duct outside. For it to work efficiently the ducting must have few bends and be no longer than 11 metres.

2.Just like most electrical appliances cooker hoods come in a dizzying range of sizes and styles. A conventional hood is the cheapest (from ¤400) and just offers the standard features. An island hood is suspended over an island and can be ducted or re-circulating. They are expensive and you will have to pay extra for fitting. Drumms sell in-ceiling extractors from ¤12,000 – they're the James Bond of the hood world.

3.For a hood with designer appeal opt for Elica's 'Star' cooker hood (looks just like a chandelier) or Falmec's 'Ice' hood (pictured; it's a lamp cum artwork cum cooker hood), from ¤900 at Drumms. Houseworks supply flush mounted ceiling extractors with perimeter extraction from ¤1,000.

4.When buying a hood choose one that's as wide as your hob to ensure maximum efficiency. "Ideally the hood should be at least 15cm bigger than the hob; buy a 90cm hood for a 60cm hob", says Ruth Wassel, appliance specialist at Houseworks.

5.Filters are one of the most important aspects of a cooker hood. Buy hoods with stainless steel filters that can be washed in the dishwasher. "Aluminium filters have to be washed by hand as they turn black in the dishwasher," says Wassel.

6.A cooker hood must be powerful enough to extract the air in your kitchen. To work out the extraction rate you need, you'll have to calculate the volume in cubic metres of the room and multiply x10, to allow for 10 changes of air per hour.

7."When fitting a hood, the ideal height it should be at above a hob to be effective is 75cm to 80cm," recommends Áine Maguire, resident chef and appliance specialist at Drumms.

8.Cooker hoods can be noisy. "Buy an extractor with a remote motor which can be fitted on an outside wall rather than in the kitchen. It's a lot quieter and more efficient at removing odours," says Maguire.

9.Look for models with variable speed controls so you can control the speed of the fan.

10.Most hoods come with fluorescent lights built in. Some even come with dimmer options, or with separate switches for independent operation.