Product review (5 stars): My AKDY range hood installation
First the final installation of the hood. It is beautiful, and the noise is not as bad at high speed. Most of the time it is running at low speed with little reduction in exhaust air quantity. It does not rattle. The light is sufficiently bright. It just looks great, see the picture.
I may have an older unit. Yes, the lights are in the front and it is supposed to have an auto sensor to activate the fan. When the control panel failed, AKDY was helpful and fast to send me a replacement of a slightly different panel without the sensor. That is ok for me, others may not like this. It did not come with an instruction manual. Apparently there is a video, I was told, to help with the installation. I did not bother, I just replaced it, remembering where everything goes. I suggest taking pictures if you do not remember. The replacement came with lots of stuff. I did not replace the power cable, because it looks the same and the old one is neatly attached to the unit with cable ties, etc. that I do not have. It also saved me lots of time doing a neat job on it. The rest is not difficult to replace. I had to squeeze the panel through small openings, but with patience, it is a easy job.
You need some tools, like a small socket and ratchet with extension, or just a socket-driver, to loosen the nuts of the electronic board from inside the box above the fan. Make sure to turn off the power supply. Don't forget to disconnect the data cables. They are colour-coded. I took a picture of it too to facilitate reassembly.
I still have a picture of the discharge ductwork custom-made by a sheet metal company, that I unfortunately cannot quickly find right now. I will post it when I have found it.