Ours are hardwired and that works very well. I'm not sure I'd like the remote, however our installer didn't offer that feature so it wasn't ever in question :-) Smaller doors *would've* been nice, however. Of our seven outlets, only one is really visually obtrusive-- the one in our entry. It was the best location to reach the north side of the house, but still, it does bug me sometimes. I might've been a bit more careful about placement if I'd known what it was going to look like. You can see it in this picture-- its about 18" from the floor on the left. Everyone that walks in for the first time wants to know what it is, which makes me think its pretty noticable. Here is a link that might be useful: Hide-a-Hose

I do and I love it! I have the Maxair, Vacuflo. We were referred to an installer by the 'hide a hose' people. Finding an installer was the hard part. We have 3, 40 foot hoses, each strategically located in our home, so we can reach every area. It is very easy to pull out the hose, attach the wand, switch on the button located on the wand handle, and vacuum. When finished remove the hose from the wand and while the unit is still on suction into the installed pipes in the wall, turn off.

HEPA is not a brand; it is a designation defining a standard of particulate removal efficiency. "By government standards, a HEPA air filter must remove 99.97% of all particles greater than 0.3 microns from the air that passes through." It is a proven standard that is reproducible and is not dependent upon the design of a central vac system that would be inherently variable depending on home design and quality of installation and implementation (actual suction of a central vac is dependent upon run length, tubing diameter and turbulence from non-straight runs) HEPA vacuum filtration has been proven in controlled trials (funded by the NIH) to mitigate allergen exposure specifically in asthmatic subjects. In fact, regarding vacuuming with a HEPA filtered vacuum: "The intervention was effective in improving measures of lung function, reducing the frequency of coughing, reducing the proportion of children requiring unscheduled medical visits and reporting inadequate use of controller medication." In order to claim that a central vacuum would be superior one would have to show that the act of vacuuming with a central vac would aerosolize fewer respirable particles than a portable vacuum and more effectively remove allergen from the environment. I can find no evidence of this and it is counterintuitive that it would, given that the suction of a vacuum is not the primary determinant of aersolization of particles; the act of vacuuming stirs up particles from the leading and trailing edges of the head while suction is directed perpendicular to the direction of movement and aerosolization. So, if they both aerosolize particles equally which one is better? I'll take the one that uses a standardized method of particle removal over one that is installation-dependent. I'll take an evidence-based, proven intervention over a "seems like that should work" intervention any day. Interestingly, HEPA-rated portable vacuums are also the standard for asbestos abatement and nuclear remediation. And I'll state most importantly that the person with the allergies should not be the one doing the vacuuming. Particles can remain suspended for 60-90 minutes after they are aerosolized so the allergic individual would ideally not be in the room for that length of time as well. Obviously the allergic person should not be emtying the bags or canisters whether in a central of portable vac. I always recommend that portable vacuums should be emptied outside as well.

We installed HAH in our new home 6 months ago. It's a large 2-story home plus a walk-out basement. We have 2 outlets per floor and that gives us adequate coverage. To answer your questions: 1. Yes, we also have a Dyson v-8 cordless vacuum, actually 2 of them - one on main floor and 1 upstairs where laundry room and kids' room are. Honestly, I use it more often than the HAH i.e. a few times per day and it's what my husband and kids use the most. However, the main limitation of the cordless is that the charge does not last forever. I really like the HAH b/c it doesn't need to be charged and it is also pretty quiet. For weekly cleaning, I use the HAH. 2. Yes, I would definitely install the system again. It's very convenient compared to corded vacuums and traditional central vac. The cordless Dyson is also very convenient but I couldn't rely on it to be my sole vacuum because of its battery life. 3. We have mainly hardwood, some nice (silk and wool) area rugs and wall-to-wall carpeting in 2 rooms. I use the hardwood floor brush the most, as well as another attachment that looks like a mop on the wood floors. For the nice area rugs, be sure to use the attachment that is recommended. It is different than the one for wall-to-wall carpeting. The one for carpets is too rough to use on more expensive rugs. My main advice is to get a walkthrough from a certified installer/distributor after it is installed. My contractor handed me all the accessories and that was it. A few months after we moved in I called the distributor and he came over and showed me some tips and tricks that improved the user experience.