The process of purchasing and installing a centralized vacuum system is often as easy or as difficult as buyers make it on themselves. Copious research and careful buying decisions lend themselves to a great outcome, especially if you’re working with a good contractor. Simply selecting Beam central vacuums or any other top-hit provider in the search results to provide all your central vacuum needs, on the other hand, is shortsighted and can result in a long-term buying and installation ordeal that ends up costing way more than you budgeted. It’s certainly not always a bad move to go with a brand name company, but it’s typically ill advised not to rate that company against smaller competitors that may be able to give you a better deal for the same services. After all, this is a home appliance that you will be using for decades to come, so it only makes sense to make sure you’re getting the best.
Picking the right power unit and location for wall inlets is something best left to the professionals unless you have a good understanding of centralized vacuum logistics. A single wall inlet, which connects through tubing back to the central power unit and receptacle, will cover an average area of about 600 square feet. The hoses that connect to those inlets usually span about 30 feet, but it’s important to account for furniture and walls that obstruct straight lines. You’ll also want to be sure that all the tubing is in accord with local building codes and doesn’t prevent a fire risk.