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We all stayed up late last night getting all the piping installed for the central vacuum system. Well, what really went down is that Scott did all the work, I took photos and Sadie slept But anyway, here’s what we did:

Scott installed blocking which will serve as a place to mount the vacuum unit once insulation and drywall are in.

He pulled pipe all over which way from upstairs, the laundry room, entry, shop and brought it all back via one main trunk line.

This is the sweeper pan for the kitchen. It will be under the bank of cabinets in the island. Sweeper pans start suction when the lever is flipped. They are situated on the floor and can be kicked on and then debris is swept into them. Generally these are only seen in kitchens, but since we have hard services everywhere but the bedrooms, we thought these were were much more functional than the hose inlets.

We did install one wall inlet valve (aside from the one that is built into the vacuum unit). This one we placed in the middle of the upstairs living space. A vacuum hose plugged in here can reach both bedrooms as well as the kitchen and living room space. Low voltage wiring to each of these valves (wall inlets and sweeper pans) means that there is no need to plug in to a separate electrical outlet. When the valve opens, the suction begins.Having a built-in vacuum system is extremely convenient. There are even models that offer retractable hoses so that you don’t have to bother with storing and moving the hose around. Said models are quite a bit pricier, unfortunately.

This feature of our home isn’t “green” necessarily, although central vacuums do provide improved air quality and can greatly reduce allergy symptoms and asthma. Compared to conventional vacuums, central vacuum systems are more powerful and can therefore remove more allergens and dust.  Additionally, they do not recirculate the dust in your living space like traditional vacuums. So we’re sharing this not because it will save the earth, but because we just think it’s pretty neat