A:Answer The installation instructions call for 30” from the cooktop surface to the top of the microwave oven, or 14” to the bottom where the fan is. Also keep in mind that an average range protrudes from 26” to 30” from the wall behind it, the microwave/ hood fan protrudes 16”, so it is roughly only over half of the cooktop. The instructions also say that there is a thermal protection circuit that will turn the fan on if the bottom of the microwave gets too hot. I have yet to see this be utilized but I’ve only had the unit for a little over a month.
I raised my microwave/ hood fan 3” because I do canning with water bath in a rather tall boiler pan. The fan can still capture the steam from pans with this added height easy enough.
