[Greenbuilding] Non-Motorized Rangehood

[Dan Antonioli]

I have an old cottage bungalow that has a kitchen with a 9' ceiling. There's an opening for the old range-hood, which back in the day were not motorized.....they used natural "heat rises" ventilation, and while this isn't as efficient as a motorized fan vent it still works. 

Having used this kitchen for a number of years I've been impressed by how well the opening works, but even in our mild bay area moderate winters it still gets cold and I'd like to close the opening when not cooking. So I'm looking into range-hoods that would have a simple lever action opener. Are any such units available? I'm prepared to make a custom range-hood, but if this has been done before and is marketed then life will be a little easier. 

Dan Antonioli

Green Builder
Ecovillager
Oakland, CA