Central Vacuum Installation

NB. Installing a vacuum system is not difficult provided the principles described in the following pages are followed. For maximum efficiency, ensure that all joints are properly glued and that there are no leaks.

Planning A New Central Vacuum System

Position of vacuum unit

This should be sited away from the living areas but remain accessible. Garages, outhouses and basements are ideal, but utility rooms and under-stairs cupboards are also satisfactory, providing they are ventilated. It needs to be mounted on a wall at a height which allows the dust container to be removed easily. For preference, the vacuum unit should be fitted at the lowest convenient point. Ideally, it should be installed so that the vacuum unit is less than 3m. above the lowest point in the system, although it is quite acceptable to install it in the loft of a house. If this is the case, please ask for advice - a slightly more powerful vacuum unit may be required. It should not be installed where it is damp or where it can get wet.

The ambient temperature should preferably not exceed 30 degrees C and the area where the unit is sited should be ventilated. All vacuum units (except the compact model) have by-pass motors, meaning that there is a separate cooling fan on the motor and that the air from the vacuum fan is vented to atmosphere through an exhaust pipe. The compact model has a through-flow motor, which means that the air sucked in by the vacuum fan is exhausted to atmosphere through the motor in order to cool it. This means that a compact unit can be installed in a small enclosed space (cupboard) provided it is ventilated. Apart from this model, all vacuum units need to be vented outside the building, although if the vacuum unit is installed in a garage or similar outhouse, this is not essential although recommended. Do not make the exhaust pipe any longer than necessary. Allow enough space for a silencer if required - a silencer is approximately 300mm long. If the vacuum unit is installed in a garage, one would normally fit the vacuum unit at the rear of the garage so that it does not impede the opening of car doors, but a utility vacuum socket should be positioned near the main garage door so that the flexible hose can be used to clean cars outside the garage.

The popular models are 920mm high & 300mm wide, with the inlet & outlet positioned at the rear on the right hand side, running parallel to the wall on which it is mounted. The pipe connections need a space of 200 to 300mm so it is advisable to allow a space 1.1m (h) x 0.6m (w) for mounting the vacuum unit. The compact model is 670mm high by 300mm in diameter and would easily fit in a cupboard under the stairs.

Position of vacuum sockets

The general rule is to site these centrally within a building in order that as much floor area can be covered with the minimum number of sockets. It is not necessary to install a socket in each room - position the sockets so as to cover as large an area as possible. If using a 7.5m hose, each socket can provide approximately 50 to 60m2 cover, while a 10m hose will cover 70 to 80m2. In an existing building, real distances can be measured, but if planning a new installation from drawings, it will be necessary to use a scale rule to determine where to site the sockets. When planning from drawings, bear in mind that a hose will have to go around furniture and other obstructions which do not yet exist. The siting of sockets will also depend on the shape and the construction of the building; it may not be so easy to put them in the ideal position. As they are inexpensive and easy to install, it is better to put in two sockets in less than ideal positions rather than struggle to install one socket in the perfect position. The sockets can be installed either in the walls or the floor. A shorter flexible hose is more efficient and more convenient to use than a longer one so, generally, more sockets are better.

Planning the pipe system

Ideally this should be as short as possible. The position of the sockets will usually be determined by how easy it is to get the pipework to the position selected for the sockets. The choice will probably depend on the construction of the building. The pipework connecting sockets to vacuum unit is best run through the building’s natural voids: for example, under the floor, inside stud walls, in the space between ground floor ceiling and the first floor, in the roof space and in service ducts such as those which bring the waste water pipes from an upstairs bathroom to the ground floor. In buildings under construction, it is very easy to run the ground floor pipework in the layer of insulation (usually 50-60mm thick Celotex, Kingspan or similar) which is normally laid under the screed. See diagram (right) which shows 50mm vacuum pipe laid on the concrete sub-floor and the insulation layer which is laid up to it so that the pipe runs within the insulation (lay the pipe first). If underfloor heating is specified, the UFH piping is usually installed over the insulation and the screed is laid on top. You can also fit Designer sockets in the floor if required.

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