Exhaust socket: where to locate and how to connect?

The installation of electrical wiring in the kitchen is not an easy task, because if the electrical outlets are not correctly positioned, they can interfere with the installation of furniture and equipment, spoil the interior design and even pose a threat to the safety of your home.

Nowadays, a variety of cleaning systems, fans or hoods are presented at the choice of the consumer. They differ in appearance, equipment, installation and connection techniques. Suspended, wall-mounted, externally similar to a vertical umbrella and others - each hood requires a reliable power supply system. The location of the outlet is determined in accordance with the location of the main structure of the purification system.

Most of the modern exhaust systems are mounted in a wall cabinet above the hob (stove) or installed independently (without auxiliary elements). When mounted in a cabinet, the socket is installed inside its case, so the electrical connector is accessible for operation and there is no need for additional design. In autonomous systems, it is customary to place electrical cables and electrical outlets behind the hood of the exhaust system.

It is believed that sockets with a degree of protection from IP62 or more are suitable for the kitchen.

In addition to the degree of protection, it is necessary to pay attention to the following features.

• Manufacturing material. Overly inexpensive products are made from poor quality plastics. Such material very quickly deteriorates and melts more easily (which is important if the socket is placed near the hob).
• Build quality. The socket must be assembled at the proper level, reliably, without gaps and backlashes. Otherwise, grease, dust and soot from the stove can accumulate inside, or moisture can penetrate.
• Input jacks for plug connection must be hidden by special protective panels that do not allow anything other than the plug (curtains) to enter the outlet. This is an absolutely essential function for the kitchen.

• Ceramic block for a contact group. Inexpensive samples can also use ceramics, but they are significantly worse and softer than in more expensive models. The ceramic block should visually be intact, without obvious and subtle cracks and chips.
• Locking petals must certainly be tough, not short. It depends on how firmly the socket will be held in the wall.
• External appearance. The "super design" of kitchen outlets is, of course, not the main criterion. If you are going to make a kitchen in a certain style, you also need to pay attention to the appearance of the device so that it fits into the overall design. Otherwise, the socket can be stowed away in the cabinet.

The amount of electricity consumed by the kitchen exhaust system 100-400W in proportion to the load current does not exceed 2A, as a result of which the cable for the electrical outlet can be connected with a cross-section of 1-1.5 mm2.

If the choice and purchase of the outlet has already been made, you need to choose its location.

The main criteria by which the location for the outlet for the exhaust system is determined are as follows.

• It is necessary to determine exactly at what height and where the hood will hang or is already hanging (perhaps the most basic rule). This is required so that the remaining principles and restrictions (distance from furniture) can be adhered to when determining the location for the electrical outlet.
• The smallest distance from the power point to the furniture in the kitchen (countertop, cabinets, shelves) is 5 centimeters.
• The minimum distance from the power supply to the ventilation shaft opening is 20 centimeters.
• It is recommended to install the outlet not close to the hood of the exhaust system, but to indent by about 30 centimeters. In this case, heat will not reach the power supply point, splashes of fat and water from the hob (stove) will not fly.

• A connection with a grounding device must certainly be arranged, the current strength is from 15A.
• The total power of kitchen appliances should not exceed 4 kW. In the case when the sum of the power of the electrical equipment in the kitchen is already equal to 4 kW or exceeds this value, it is necessary to lay its own line for the exhaust system in order to avoid overloading the electrical network while all appliances are operating simultaneously.
• The socket should be freely accessible and not obstructed by appliances or furniture, in any case heavy and cumbersome. First, you need to see the status of the power point. Secondly, in the event of a failure of its or electrical wiring, it will be necessary to move away equipment and furniture (and in the kitchen it is often impossible to move a separate piece of furniture).

As stated above, there are several options for installing a socket for a kitchen hood:

• for built-in modifications, the ideal location will be the inner box of the wall cabinet, into which the hood is built;
• for suspended models - above the top panel, near the duct, then the power cord will be located outside the visibility area;
• in the duct cover.

Such a characteristic as the installation height of the outlet under the hood is extremely significant. Professionals advise installing at a distance of 190 centimeters from the floor or 110 centimeters from the table top. This decision is completely understandable. The ideal installation height of the hood is at a distance of 65 centimeters above electric stoves or hobs and 75 centimeters above gas stoves or hobs. The approximate height of the devices themselves is 20-30 centimeters. We add up the maximum dimensions and we get 105 centimeters. For a comfortable installation of the outlet, we leave 5 centimeters. As a result, its optimal location will be 110 centimeters from the top of the countertop.

Despite the fact that the distance to the outlet of the exhaust system of 190 centimeters from the floor or 110 centimeters from the countertop is suitable for the bulk of modern hoods and in kitchens of almost any architectural solutions, nevertheless, it is necessary to understand that this is just a universal height, it is not always may be the most successful directly for your case. As a result, even at the stage of electrical installation, it is necessary to have a clear plan of your kitchen with the selected electrical equipment. Then you will be able to accurately calculate the ideal place for the outlet, while taking into account that, as a rule, the length of the electric cord at the hood for the kitchen is no more than 80 cm in length.

The way the socket is placed inside the furniture makes it possible to hide the electrical wiring, which corresponds to today's method of arranging electrical points. The close proximity of electrical wiring and wood threatens to create fire hazardous situations.

The socket is connected after the all preliminary work has been completed:

• the cable is laid;
• the place where to install is determined;
• installation of socket boxes (mounting installation boxes);
• devices with the required IP protection level were purchased.

When all these actions are implemented, you can start mounting directly.

The connection looks like this step by step.

• Turn off the circuit breaker in the panel (machine). Despite the fact that this work is simple, one should not ignore such an aspect as safety.
• Check that there is no voltage. Before removing the front panel and touching the uninsulated wires and contacts with your hands, you must make sure to the end that there is no voltage. This can be done with a simple voltage indicator, multimeter or tester.
• Strip the wire. Before connecting, you need to prepare the wire peeking out of the glass. If the conducted electrical cable or wire has double insulation, then 15-20 centimeters of external insulation are removed from it. After which it will become more pliable to connect. If paired wiring with single insulation is carried out, then it is necessary to divide the cores by 5-10 centimeters.

• Connect a new socket. First, you need to connect the lead wire to the contacts. For this, the insulation is removed from the cable conductors by about 5-10 millimeters. The exposed part of the cable runs into the terminal and is firmly fixed with a screw. When tightening the screw, you do not need to apply incredible efforts, otherwise you can pinch the cable. If you connect the outlets to ground, the grounding conductor is connected to the proper terminal (grounding terminal). This contact is connected to the grounding "mustache". Before connecting the grounding conductor of the cable, you must make sure that this very conductor is the “ground”.
• Place the socket in the installation box. After connecting all the supply wires, put the working part (conductive elements) of the socket into the installation box. It must be mounted evenly, without skewing flush with the wall. The lead wires are carefully hidden in the installation box. After setting the socket in the required position, it must be securely fixed. For this purpose, it is provided with specialized presser "paws" (or fastening antennae) with screws. When screwing in the screws, the fastening tendrils diverge, thereby securing the socket. In the new generation of electrical outlets, there are no fastening antennae. They are fixed by means of screws, which are located in the installation box.
• Screw on the front panel. After mounting the conductive elements, the front panel can be screwed on.

For information on how to properly connect the hood in the kitchen, see the next video.