My old range hood had been dead for two years. The light still worked, but the fan motor made a sound like marbles in a blender and then stopped entirely. I cooked bacon once and the smoke alarm went off on the second floor. My wife said, in that particular tone, “We should probably fix that.”

I got a quote from an electrician: $350 for installation — on top of the $120 hood itself. I decided to figure it out myself. It took an afternoon.

Check If You Have Existing Wiring First

If you are replacing an old hood, the wiring is already in the wall. Turn off the circuit breaker for the kitchen — verify with a voltage tester, not just the breaker label. Remove the old hood and you will see a junction box with black (hot), white (neutral), and green or bare copper (ground) wires.

If there is no existing wiring, stop here. Running new electrical is a job for an electrician.

Template Is Your Friend

Most new range hoods come with a paper mounting template. Tape it to the bottom of the cabinet exactly where the hood will go. The template shows you precisely where to drill holes and how the hood aligns. Do not freehand this — being off by even half an inch means the duct does not line up.

Wire Matching Is Simple

Black to black. White to white. Green to green. Use wire nuts to twist each pair together tightly, then wrap each nut with electrical tape for extra security. Tuck the wires neatly into the junction box. If this part scares you, you can hire an electrician for the wiring alone — it will be much cheaper than the full installation.

Ducting Matters

Range hoods can vent outside or recirculate through a charcoal filter. Venting outside is always better — it actually removes smoke and moisture instead of just filtering them. If there is already a duct in the wall, connect the hood with aluminum duct tape (not regular duct tape — it dries out). If there is no duct, you may need to use the recirculating option or hire someone to cut a vent.