Range Hood Filter Cost Calculator: Baffle vs Metal Foam
Compare what stainless-steel baffle filters and metal foam filters cost you over a year and over five years: purchase, replacement and the labor of cleaning them. Built for range hood manufacturers, kitchen operators and hood service companies. Enter your own measured numbers.
Your kitchen
Stainless baffle filter
Metal foam filter
All values are examples. Cleaning interval and time start equal for both filters on purpose: measure your own and change them. $179 is PrometheanFoam's listed kitchen hood filter price; use your quote.
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How the numbers are calculated
About the 93% figure: it comes from the production factory's own internal test, not a third-party or certified laboratory. Grease removal depends on particle size, face velocity and how loaded the filter is, so figures from different tests are not directly comparable. Ask us for the test method and conditions.
Commercial kitchens (US): NFPA 96 requires listed grease filters tested to UL 1046. Confirm the listing of any filter, or that it is part of a listed hood, with your hood maker, fire marshal or insurer before installing it in a commercial kitchen.
Questions
Are metal foam filters allowed in commercial kitchen hoods?
In the United States, NFPA 96 requires grease filters in commercial cooking hoods to be listed, tested to UL 1046. Check that any filter, baffle or metal foam, carries that listing (or is part of a listed hood) before using it in a commercial kitchen. Residential range hoods are not covered by NFPA 96.
What grease removal does PrometheanFoam's metal foam filter achieve?
93% grease removal in the production factory's own internal testing. That is not a third-party or certified result, and removal depends on particle size, airflow and loading. Ask us for the test method and conditions.
How do I compare baffle and metal foam filter costs?
Annual cost per filter = (purchase price ÷ service life in years) + cleanings per year × (minutes per clean ÷ 60 × labor rate + supplies per clean). Multiply by the number of filters. Use your own measured cleaning interval and time for each filter type.
How often should hood filters be cleaned?
It depends on cooking volume and fuel. Kitchens set the interval by inspection: clean when grease build-up is visible or airflow drops. NFPA 96 sets separate inspection frequencies for the exhaust system by cooking volume.
Why does grease removal matter for ductwork?
Grease that passes the filter collects in ducts and fans, where it adds fire load and cleaning cost. If you know both filters' tested removal rates, the share reaching the duct is (1 − removal rate); the calculator compares the two when you enter a baffle figure.
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