A lot of homeowners have heard of a central vacuum system, but aren’t sure of how they work and the benefits they provide. At the request of a customer, we’ve decided to write about how a vacuum system works.

A whole entire system consists of three separate parts: The power unit which provides the suction, the piping which is installed within the home, and the attachment set which is used to clean the dust and debris. An important thing to note is the difference between the two available types of units. Most systems are “filtered” units in which the exhaust coming out contains no dirt or debris. These units can be mounted anywhere in the household, and do not have to be vented. The less popular type of unit is known as a “cyclonic” unit. Cyclonic systems are similar to bagless vacuums, in which they use cyclonic action to swirl the dirt and dust around. The heavier particles then fall to the bottom, and lighter particles pass through the exhaust. For this reason you need to vent cyclonic systems.

The power unit works by creating a vacuum in a sealed space, this in turn causes air to rush to fill the space and suction is created.  The unit is then connected to all of the piping which is run throughout the home (diagram below).

As you can see on the diagram above, the piping is run throughout the walls with the attachment set connected at the valves on the wall. The valves themselves resemble the profile of an electrical outlet and mesh with any design.