page_title: Central vacuum cleaner
section_title: Installation
hierarchical_section_title: Central vacuum cleaner / Installation
caption_attribution_description: English: A metal central vacuum floor inlet installed in a 1929 Canadian house. Metal floor inlets are used in locations in existing structures where it would be impossible or impractical to install standard wall inlets
context_page_description: A central vacuum cleaner is a type of vacuum cleaner appliance, installed into a building as a semi-permanent fixture. Central vacuum systems are designed to remove dirt and debris from homes and buildings, sending dirt particles through tubing installed inside the walls to a collection container in a remote utility space. The power unit is a permanent fixture, usually installed in a basement, garage, or storage room, along with the collection container. Inlets are installed in walls throughout the building that attach to power hoses and other central vacuum accessories to remove dust, particles, and small debris from interior rooms. Most power hoses usually have a power switch located on the handle.
context_section_description: A principal concern when designing a central vacuum system is avoiding situations likely to cause clogging of the tubing with debris such as toothpicks, hairpins, needles, or similar-shaped objects.  The most important safeguard is at the vacuum inlets, which are intentionally designed with a tighter radius of curvature than any other bends in the system.  This is done to ensure that if any vacuumed debris becomes stuck, it will jam right at the inlet, where it is easiest to discover and to remove.  Well-designed central vacuum tubing rarely or never clogs unless severely abused (e.g. vacuuming wet plaster, wet flour, or other sticky substances).
  The wall inlets are connected to the power unit by tubes that can be run inside walls, or through vertical pipe chases, closets, the attic, basement, or the cold air return ducts (if permitted by building code).  In new construction, the vacuum tubing is usually installed during a "rough-in" phase once the building interior framing is complete, after other in-wall utilities (e.g. plumbing, HVAC, electrical, etc.), and just before drywall, paneling, or other surface finishes are installed.  Strictly speaking, vacuum tubing should probably be installed before cabling (for electric power, telephone, LAN, etc.), since routing of wiring is usually less constrained than tubing.  In a similar manner to plumbing and electrical fixtures, the vacuum inlet fittings and final connections are installed in a finish phase, after the wall finishing is complete.
  Vacuum tubing systems may be installed by electricians, plumbers, specialized contractors, or even do-it-yourself (DIY) homeowners.
  Retrofitting of vacuum tubing in existing structures can be surprisingly straight forward or more difficult, depending on the anatomy of the building.  A home remodeling project can generate large amounts of irritating plaster dust and other demolition and construction dirt.  Installing a central vacuum early in the project makes ongoing cleanup much easier, especially if it is a filterless true cyclonic unit, which can inhale even abrasive or sharp construction debris without concerns about bag clogging or breakage.
  A typical house requires 2–4 inlets per floor, although many users find the central vacuum so convenient that they later install additional inlets in the basement, attic, garage, and even on the back porch (for vacuuming car interiors, storage sheds, etc.). A rough rule of thumb is one inlet per 600 square feet (56 m²) of floor area.  Inlets should be placed in convenient locations unlikely to be blocked by open doors or furniture, such as in central hallways. A non-stretchable cord of appropriate length (or a thin wire on an architectural scale drawing) can be used to check for adequate reach of a vacuum hose.
  Routing and design of vacuum tubing layout is very similar to drain-waste-vent (DWV) plumbing, with the exception that pipe pitch or gradient for drainage is not required.  Vacuum system designs share with DWV designs a concern about eliminating internal roughness, ridges, burrs, sharp turns, pockets, or other obstructions to smooth flow that might cause build-up of material into pipe blockages.  Tubing for central vacuums has a few peculiar constraints of its own, and a few unusual capabilities, such as the ability to run a pipe straight upwards after a sufficiently long horizontal "running start". In some jurisdictions, fire code regulations require that an intumescent firestop collar be installed around the pipe when it penetrates a firewall.  If a pipe runs through an unheated space, it may require external pipe insulation to prevent water vapor from condensing inside. These and other installation details are described in installation manuals available from manufacturers.
  Two different diameters of thinwall (typically 20 gauge or "Schedule 20") plastic tubing have traditionally been used in the US.  For years, HP Vacuflo advocated the slightly smaller 1 ¹³⁄₁₆-inch (4.6 cm) tubing size (outside diameter), claiming that their studies showed that it was less likely to clog.  However, tha
caption: Metal floor inlets are used in locations in existing structures where it would be impossible or impractical to install standard wall inlets
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "4032", "Image ImageLength": "3024", "Image Make": "samsung", "Image Model": "SM-G950W", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "G950WVLU6CSI3", "Image DateTime": "2019:11:25 01:19:38", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "238", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 2, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "N", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[43, 14, 11224/625]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[79, 49, 21737/2500]", "GPS GPSAltitudeRef": "0", "GPS GPSAltitude": "57299/1000", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[6, 19, 19]", "GPS GPSDate": "2019:11:25", "Image GPSInfo": "6304", "Thumbnail ImageWidth": "504", "Thumbnail ImageLength": "376", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "6640", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "21658", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/10", "EXIF FNumber": "17/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "320", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2019:11:25 01:19:38", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2019:11:25 01:19:38", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "3317/1000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "153/100", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "-19/10", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "153/100", "EXIF MeteringMode": "CenterWeightedAverage", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "17/4", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "4032", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3024", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "6274", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "26", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF ImageUniqueID": "F12QSJA00SM F12QSKB01SB"}