Ventilation for renovating kitchen installed in 1999 apartment building

If it recirculates you should feel the air being blown back in to the room through the grill on the side of the cowl at the top near the ceiling (if it is this type). You could also remove the grill at the bottom (usually sprung handles) and look up in to the inside of the appliance and see if there is evidence of a duct leaving the room.

Hello there, Please check the external walls for an extraction vent, which should be about 100mmX100mm. Then turn on your cooker hood to see if there is any output from this vent. Also check inside the cooker hood to see if there are charcoal filters inside attached to the motor unit. These area installed when the unit is a recirculating unit, as these filters take out fat and smells before recirculating the air.I hope that this will help you establish the type of unit you have installed.(Also check for ducting on top of the adjacent wall units)

There are a number of ways.. If it is ducted out, you will see a cowl/external vent cover usually immediately behind it on the exterior of the wall. Recirculating extractors should! have charcoal filters attached internally. I agree also with the other answer where you should feel air coming out at the top of the chimney if it's recirculating. If you are going to DIY it and still can't determine it from above, removing the chimney part will visually show you if it is ducked out or not.

Easy just to use a recirculating extracter and change filter every 3 months.