Thanks for posting this question - I'm doing new construction, and I have time to add it. I will only have carpet in the 3 bedrooms, so I wasn't sure that I needed a central vac and I'm wondering how it works on hardwood floors? My house will only be 2400 sq. ft - 1st floor master, 2 bedrooms 2nd floor, no basement... Hope you get a lot of replies

No such thing as too much suction ! The most important thing (to me anyway) is the proper and efficient design of the piping system. That will make the biggest difference. You don't mention whether you are going with an electric brush or an air driven one. More flow needed for that. Are you going to be getting something like a hidden hose , which will require a specific pipe layout or a large amount of in wall space depending on which type you go with. Vac Pans are really handy if you sweep your floors. You should also read up on whether you want a filtered unit (like that elux) or a unit that takes bags (nutone, airvac) or a cyclonic type (drain vac, imperium, vacumaid) I'd think long and hard about where you'll use and need inlets or vac pans based on your furniture and cabinetry plans. The Pipe Hangers will just wing on install day if you don't a have a blueprint.

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.

I have a Beam Central Vac. I like it alot. It is very quiet and I've had mine for 10 years with no problems. I am getting to the point where I need to buy a new power head, but they are expensive, so keep putting it off. I find I have to clean out my dirt bucket every 3-4 months. The beam doesn't have a bag, there's a fabric filter that hangs down in the bucket that filters the dust. My only issue with the Beam is emptying the bucket can be messy. Since the dirt is in the bucket, and hair/dust lings to the hanging filter bag, you can't just take the bucket off without extraneous dirt falling onto the floor. I take a large trash bag and put it around the entire bucket and up the sides a bit of the unit. I then take off the bucket and stick my hand up inside the unit to pull out any hidden hair etc. It's messy, but I only have to do it 3-4 times a year! Other than that, I've not every had a clog because the opening on the hose is smaller than the pipes so things don't go into the hose period if they're too big.