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Central Vacuum

CEPro Advantage Series • October 2008 • Central Vacuum - Sweep in the Profits© 2008 EH Publishing

CEPro Advantage Series • October 2008 • Central Vacuum - Sweep in the Profits �

No one’s going to say that central vacuum is the sexiest technology you can offer your clients. It isn’t – not by a longshot.

But in a world of declining margins on A/V products, central vac provides a breath of fresh

air to your revenue stream. Consumers like it because it cleans up their homes, and you’ll like it because you’ll clean up, too.

Learn how central vacuum can help you with this Advantage Series from CE Pro.

CE Pro Advantage Series: Central Vacuum - Sweep in the Profits

CEPro Advantage Series • October 2008 • Central Vacuum - Sweep in the Profits ��

Table of Contents

Considering Central Vac Installs? Learn the Fundamentals

It’s good business sense to at least explore the category.

By Fred Harding 1 Why Central Vac Retrofit Installs Are Worth It

Most integrators eschew central vacuum retrofit installations.

In doing so, they’re missing out on a steady and profitable market,

plus potential referrals. By Tom LeBlanc 5 Making Money on Central Vac

While not every integrator works with central vacuum systems,

those who do say they’re moneymakers. By Jason Unger 11 Let Clients Vacuum Your Showroom

More than half of central vac shoppers want to see system on display,

research shows. By Tom LeBlanc 14


Considering Central Vac Installs? Learn the Fundamentals It’s good business sense to at least explore the category. by Fred Harding

WHEn I WAS In HIgH SCHooL, I worked for Jack’s Vacuum Exchange. We sold lots of different vacuum cleaners and repaired

a bunch more. I made a decent wage for the era.

My boss, Jack, would look at central vacuum systems today and have conflicting emotions. He’d admire the logic of them, but it certainly would have put a crimp on his bottom line.

The idea of central vacuum systems is fairly straight forward. You put a big motor onto a can in a discrete location, run pipes through the walls to different inlets and plug a hose mechanism in anytime dirt rears its ugly head.

They make a great deal of sense for folks suffering from dust allergies, as the can mechanism, where the dirt goes, is outside of the room where the vacuuming is being done. A traditional vacuum cleaner, no matter how well made, will still reintroduce a certain amount of dust back into the room in which it’s being used.

Installing a central vacuum system has other advantages, too. It’s a rare occasion when a customer calls


you at 10 p.m. on a Saturday night with a vacuum problem.

Central vacuum systems aren’t generally sold at big-box warehouse stores. They require labor to install, and generally are profitable for the installer. And if you aren’t installing them, somebody else might be. It’s good business sense to at least explore the category.

When you set out to install a central vacuum system, you want to make sure that the system you install is large enough to cover the square footage of the home. The systems will have a square footage rating that you’ll use to figure appropriate sizing.

If you live in a part of the country that has basements, make sure you factor the basement into your square footage calculations. That way, when the basement is finished, your unit can still perform. If you have a huge house, you certainly can have a couple of canisters installed in the home, so that one covers the western half and the other the eastern wing.

Locating InletsThe connection point for a central vacuum system is called an inlet. Most every central vacuum system offers hose kits that are 30 feet long.

So, consider that each inlet can cover between 700 and 800 square feet of living space. Your results will vary, of course, depending on how the furniture and structure of the house lays out. It’s better to have an extra inlet in a home then to have an area that’s just out of the reach of the vacuum hose.

Centrally locating inlets makes a great deal of sense. over time, you’ll become very aware of logical spots to place an inlet from a practical point of view. But remember, homeowner and interior decorator aesthetic tastes need to be taken into account.

Fortunately, inlets aren’t hideously ugly, are usually located at outlet height and, generally, are accepted by homeowners. The point, however, is to show a finished plate to the homeowner prior to placement so as to avoid the surprises that can sometimes occur.

When you lay the system out, make sure that you use a 30-foot piece of cord to measure the coverage area for the room or rooms that will be serviced by the inlet. You must also pay attention to where heating and cooling duct work exists—as well as plumbing lines—so you don’t have conflicts with other trades. Furthermore, don’t put the inlet behind a door or, even worse, into a wall with a pocket door.

There are two styles of inlets available. one requires the homeowner to plug the vacuum cleaner power head into a convenient outlet. The other provides power to the head through the inlet. In either case,



have a licensed electrician perform the high voltage work so that electrical code requirements are met.

Keep in mind that the inlets will also have a low voltage wire attached to them (typically an 18-gauge, two-conductor wire) that is used to turn the central can on when a hose is inserted into an inlet. An additional option for your work with the electrician is having a dedicated twenty-amp service set aside just for your vacuum unit.

It’s really embarrassing when the lights go out every time somebody runs the vacuum system.

Powering the VacuumFolks with non-carpeted floors often take advantage of powered dust pans. These devices attach to the central vacuum system, and when you pop the lever with a broom, the central canister turns on, making sweeping a lot easier. These devices are very typically mounted in the toe kick area of a cabinet, frequently in kitchens.

The power unit itself is large and potentially noisy. If the house has an attached garage, consider mounting the can in the garage. That way, noise is abated, and when it comes time to empty the dust collected, it’s done outside the house.

If that’s the direction toward which you are leaning, make sure that you install an appropriate fire stop ring so that the inspector doesn’t tag you. If the canister has to live inside the house, consider adding a muffler on the can to cut down on the noise the system generates.

All of the inlets are connected back to the can using plastic piping specifically designed for this purpose. You’ll still use a PVC cement to join the pieces together, but don’t use plumbing piping for central vacuum purposes. There are a slew of different fittings that you’ll need for the installation, and it’s always a good idea to have a couple extras on the truck in the event of an unforeseen obstacle.

Those fittings include stop couplers, which allow you to splice two pieces of pipe to make one long piece. You’ll use several Tee adapters, which allow you to splice into a line. Do make sure that you pay attention to the direction of air flow so that the suction carries the dust towards the canister without having to go around a corner.

There will be 90-degree and 45-degree elbow adapters, which allow you to change the direction of the tubing behind the walls. There are also 90-degree dual elbows, which are mounted behind the inlet itself. The dual elbow piece is shorter then the standard 90-degree elbow, in part to keep things from being sucked into the system that shouldn’t be there.

Most central vacuum manufacturers offer kits with most of the parts you’ll need included. Buy the kit



according to the number of inlets, and then, in addition, buy some extra parts.

Installing central vacuum systems is predominantly done with new construction, although skilled retro fitters can go into a finished house and make a functional system. Typically, the installation process will take place over a couple of different visits to the job site. The first visit occurs before the sheet rock is installed, and the second visit generally happens around the time of final trim out for other trades.

When you are presenting central vacuum systems to clients, remember to recommend a hose kit for each floor, and potentially a separate kit for the customer’s garage. That way, whoever is vacuuming isn’t lugging a heavy hose and power head around the house. n

Fred Harding is in sales and technical support at Capitol Sales, a full-service distributor of electronic installation hardware.



Why Central Vac Retrofit Installs Are Worth It Most integrators eschew central vacuum retrofit installations. In doing so, they’re missing out on a steady and profitable market, plus potential referrals. by Tom LeBlanc

In An InDUSTrY HEADLInED by transcendent home theaters and omnipotent control systems, central vacuum may be the least cool category available to custom integrators. Coolness aside, however, central vac can

be an extremely reliable and profitable cornerstone of an integration business. And in the current market, that’s what many integrators need.

Several consumer electronics product categories, including flat panel TVs, have fluctuating margins. While a client isn’t likely to invite friends over to see his new central vac system as he would with a flat panel TV, he’s just as likely to be satisfied with it. The margins that integrators earn, meanwhile, are likely to remain steady.

“A lot of dealers are very techy,” says Paul runyan, sales manager for Beam, a manufacturer of central vacuum systems. “But the bottom line is that consumers get central vac. It’s not really electronics; at the end of the day it’s a vacuum cleaner. But it’s a product that dealers can make a lot of money on.”

The dealers who appreciate this tend to offer central vacuum mostly to the new-construction market. There’s a 70 percent to 30 percent new-construction to retrofit split in the central vacuum market, according to runyan. given the recent slowdown in homebuilding, though, integrators who only do


central vac in new constructions will have fewer jobs on which to bid.

“The retrofit market makes a lot of sense for integrators,” says Greg Calderone, general manager, floor care, for H-P Products, the maker of Dirt Devil and Vacuflo central vac systems, “especially in a downturn building market.”

Logical though it may seem, not a lot of integrators seem to be embracing retrofits. There is a perception among integrators, to put it bluntly, that retrofitting a home for central vacuum is a pain in the butt. After the walls go up it’s too difficult to run tubes and find locations to place outlets and it’s not worth the time and effort, according to many dealers.

Those who think that way are wrong, says Bob Mariano, owner of Cyclone Home Systems, Inc., a Berlin, Conn.-based integrator. “They’re a little afraid of retrofits,” he says, adding that with a little education they’d learn that it’s not that hard and it’s extremely profitable.

Up to the Challengerico Dubach, president of Bountiful, Utah-based Swiss Boy, says virtually any integrator can learn to become efficient with retrofit central vac installations. “If an integrator is comfortable running wire in existing homes, central vacuums are a small step from that,” he says. “We have found it easier to install vacuums into existing homes than intercoms and trying to put speakers into every room is more challenging than installing three or four vacuum inlets.”

Not all houses, though, can be easily retrofitted for central vac. For some integrators, this creates a red flag for the product category. It’s not a valid concern, says Bill Corwin, sales manager for A-Tech Easy Living Store in Des Moines, Iowa. He says A-Tech has evaluated over 10,000 homes for central vac installations and “we’ve turned down about three.”

Similarly, Mariano says he’s been doing central vac for 25 years and “can remember only two or three times I’ve had to turn away from a retrofit.”

Dubach says Swiss Boy can do a retrofit in any home, “it just depends on how bad the customer wants it!”

Corwin, Mariano and Dubach have been doing retrofits for years, so they may be more equipped to make it work than the average integrator. Still, the average integrator shouldn’t have much of a problem, says Mariano. “Houses built in the last 25 years are easy,” he says. “The homes are pretty standard. The two-story colonials have closets that open up to the second floor, for instance. There are little tricks for everything.”

Why Central Vac Retrofit Installs Are Worth It


He adds that if integrators are working with good central vac manufacturers, “all they need to do is reach out to them” for retrofit support. He says good manufacturers have seen all the obstacles and know the easiest ways to overcome them.

The southern part of the country, for instance, is more difficult, according to Mariano, because many homes don’t have basements. “But there are dealers in Florida doing retrofits,” he says. “They’re coming up through the garage, running pipe through the attic and dropping it down.”

In difficult homes, Dubach adds that Swiss Boy often uses the back of closets or furnace flue chases to run pipe vertically.

Corwin agrees that manufacturers can help integrators overcome most obstacles. “They know all the tricks of their top retrofit installers,” he says. For instance, if an integrator is located in an area where the local architecture creates a challenge—no basements in the South, adobe in the Southwest—manufacturers can reference their successful installers in that area.

One manufacturer says the biggest challenge for integrators doing retrofit central vac is the time factor. “It does take longer than new construction,” says Runyan. “Also, you need to have confidence in your installation crew [because the jobs are more complicated than new construction jobs]. You overcome this with training from manufacturers and by looking at the profit potential.”

Challenge Pays OffNot only do integrators get paid more for retrofit central vac installations versus new-construction, they get paid immediately. “You make full margin, not paying a builder,” says runyan. “And you get paid that day.”

Builders often have lines of credit or have structured payment plans with their contractors. Homeowners do not. That means when the job is done the integrator should walk out with a check. “That’s huge in terms of cash flow,” says Corwin.

As far as getting paid more, Mariano says Cyclone typically charges about 30 percent more for retrofit labor than it does on its new-construction jobs. “It’s a little more difficult. Your technician has to be a little sharper,” he says.

Since the installations are more challenging, a key to maintaining the profit margin becomes good training. If his technician “knows exactly what he has to do,” Mariano says Cyclone does retrofits in less than one day. “He’d spend five or six hours if it’s a typical colonial; three to four hours in a ranch,” he says, explaining that good training prevents wasted time.



Dubach agrees that the margins are higher with retrofits and cites dealing with homeowners versus builders as a major reason. “[Homeowners] place more of an emphasis on quality than price,” he says. Other benefits of retrofits, he notes, include not having to deal with change orders as often and usually not having to make multiple trips.

Dealing with homeowners also allows integrators to present upgrades directly. Selling central vac upgrades, says Corwin, is as simple as “putting yourself in the place of the homeowner and thinking about how you would want to use the system.”

Most up-sell items, according to Dubach, have margins of over 50 percent and require no additional installation. Some upgrade opportunities include:

Vacuum pan. An automatic dust pan, of sorts, this allows homeowners to quickly sweep up rather than fire up the vacuum. It’s usually installed in kitchens. “These are harder to install into existing homes. We charge $150 to $200. This is a popular item,” says Dubach.

Quietness. Clients can upgrade to a unit with an engine that makes less noise. “For example,” says Mariano. “Beam has a standard unit and a serenity unit. You can up-sell the customer on quietness.”

Garage accessories. Tool sets specifically designed for heavy-duty garage cleaning are popular.

Extra attachments. Homeowners won’t want to lug attachments from floor to floor, so any client with a multilevel home is a candidate for extra attachments.

More power. Just as retailers can up-sell customers to more powerful portable vacuum cleaners, integrators can offer up central vac units with more sucking power.

Extra units. This isn’t really an upgrade opportunity, but integrators should be aware that some homes that are extremely challenging to retrofit are candidates for multiple power units. That way, the installer will have to run less tubing. An extra unit can mean an extra $600, according to Corwin.

Hose hiding. “one of the biggest issues clients have with central vac systems is ‘where do we put the hose?’”



says Mariano. H-P Products recently got the rights to distribute the Hide-A-Hose retractable Hose System with its Vacuflo brand. “We’ve sold a lot of them already,” adds Mariano.

Other tech categories. Eighty percent of central vac clients are satisfied with the technology, according to Runyan. “That’s the highest I know of for any product.” That satisfaction provides tremendous leverage once integrators have their foot in clients’ doors, he says, allowing integrators to present their full spectrums of installation offerings to clients. “You really don’t get to meet with the end consumer when you are doing new construction,” he adds.

Sizing Up the MarketCustomer demand for retrofit central vac installations is on the rise, says Mariano. One reason he cites is that consumers seem to be realizing the health benefits of the technology, including reduction of airborne allergens and general maintenance of air quality.

They’re also realizing that it’s even possible to add central vacs to their current homes. Mariano sees evidence of this while exhibiting at home shows. He just attended one show at which he “was blown away” by how many homeowners asked about central vac. “We sold 22 central vac systems that weekend and a majority of them were retrofits,” he says.

Even if the market isn’t growing, as Mariano perceives it to be, it doesn’t appear likely to drop. “I would say it’s steady,” says Corwin, “and it has been from the time we started the business in 1979.”

Actually, it’s both steady and growing, says Calderone. “I anticipate that the retrofit central vac market will be a good one for integrators, as it has been steadily increasing over the past few years,” he says.

It helps that there isn’t a lot of competition. When offering central vac, integrators don’t have to compete against big-box retailers like they do with audio, video and control products, points out runyan.

Mariano says the only real competition that integrators have when selling central vac is the portable vacuum market, and he doesn’t deem that to be significant. “The portable industry has really declined,” he says. “The quality of the machines isn’t the same as it was 30 years ago.”

runyan, who works for Beam which also makes portable units, doesn’t agree. “In terms of air quality, though, portables leak and central vacs do not,” he says, pointing out a fundamental difference. However, he says the bigger competition comes from other technologies homeowners can invest in for their homes, joking that the Jacuzzi is central vac’s top competition. “Our problem as an industry is really consumer awareness.”


CEPro Advantage Series • October 2008 • Central Vacuum - Sweep in the Profits �0

Mariano agrees, adding that he wants the central vac industry to invest in a campaign to raise awareness among consumers of the possibility to retrofit homes for central vac. “We have a great opportunity because the portable industry isn’t there,” he says. “If these guys [industry leaders] would step up to the plate, it would explode.”

An awareness campaign might also lead more integrators to get involved with retrofits. Right now those who are offering retrofits are enjoying very little competition from area installers. For integrators like A-Tech, Cyclone and Swiss Boy, the lack of competition allows them to maintain healthy margins. Still, Corwin, Mariano and Dubach recommend that integrators think about adding retrofit central vac to their arsenals. It’s good for the industry because it builds awareness and creates satisfied integration clients, they all say.

“Central vac is hands down the one [product category] that customers love a year after they get it,” says Corwin. “If I can put something in somebody’s home that they will appreciate one, two or five years later, I have a better shot of getting referral business from them.”

When it comes to integrators deciding to do retrofit installations of central vac, according to Runyan, it’s just plain logical. “The name of the game for a dealer is it’s profitable for them,” he says. “Central vac doesn’t have the issues other product categories have where margins are declining. It’s a very stable, good growth opportunity for dealers.” n



Making Money on Central VacWhile not every integrator works with central vacuum systems, those who do say they’re moneymakers. by Jason Unger

CEnTrAL VACUUM ISn’T THE FLASHIEST THIng that a custom integrator can offer—especially not compared to a new plasma television or a single iPod playing music in every room of your home. Some

integrators have decided that flashier is better and choose not to offer central vacuum systems.

But those who do say that the profitability is good, labor costs are average and installation is easy. So what’s keeping more integrators from offering central vac, and how can the industry respond?

Paul runyan, sales manager for Beam, says that integrators can make a good amount of money installing central vac systems, but manufacturers and dealers need to do a better job of educating consumers about why they need a central vac system.

“It’s a very profitable industry with high growth potential for dealers,” says Runyan. But he adds, “Awareness is probably the biggest hurdle.”

Stuart, Fla.-based Built-In Home Solutions does about 40 installations a month, taking only four to five hours for a standard five inlet install and a one man crew. “It’s simple, easy and most of the time it


works,” says Paul DeMaio, owner, Built-In Home Solutions.

DeMaio’s company began seven years ago primarily installing central vac, but expanded to include A/V as the demand grew. He says that the profitability of central vac hasn’t changed and isn’t much different than that of A/V. “It’s as good a margin as A/V, just not as high,” adding that central vac is the second most profitable system he installs, only behind A/V.

Sucking Up ProfitsBut there is one segment of the central vac market that seems to be slightly more profitable. As current homeowners begin to desire new technology products in their homes, installers have to be able to retrofit central vac.

“The dealer’s truck is sitting at that site, and the more they put in the better,” says runyan. Bill Corwin, sales manager and partner of Des Moines, Iowa-based A Tech Easy Living Store, recognizes that there’s more money involved in retrofitting homes for central vac.

“It takes more labor and more expertise,” he says, and even though his company does more new home installations, they charge more to retrofit systems and pay their employees more to do them.

Runyan says 95 percent of homes can be retrofitted with a central vac system, and in a January 2002 interview with CE Pro (“Central Vac Market Doesn’t Suck”), he explained that the only homes unable to be retrofitted are ones without an attic or that have a furnished basement. But his advice to dealers is to work in both avenues.

“You need to have a good fit of new construction and retrofit,” he says. Runyan calls the market a “relationship” business and stresses that dealers and builders must work together to educate all parties involved.

Dealers are better at penetrating the market than builders are, runyan says, but he maintains that it is the builders who need to make consumers aware of central vac. Built-In Home Solutions gets many of its clients from builders as they meet with the homeowner to choose what is right for a new house, according to DeMaio.

Corwin agrees, saying, “We try to add things the builders want to have.” But if everything so far seems to be clicking for the central vac industry, why do only two percent of total households in the country have systems?

There’s a belief that consumers don’t know enough about the benefits of a central vacuum—including better air quality and alleviating allergies and asthma, says runyan. “once [consumers] are educated

Making Money on Central Vac


about the product, they generally want it,” says Corwin.

Builders have a tendency to choose the “better” product that Corwin sells (on a scale of “good” “better” and “best”), but when homeowners learn about the product, they often pick the best available.

There are consumers who are knowledgeable about central vac and what they provide; however, many of them are in Canada. A recent study shows that central vac systems are installed in 50 percent of new Canadian homes, compared to about 8 percent here. Corwin thinks that the technology has not been embraced as much in the United States as it has been in our neighbor to the north.

“[In Canada], it’s not central vacuum or no central vacuum, it’s which central vacuum. There’s been no real specialist to get [the market penetration] number up,” he says, adding that the Canadian government has done a lot to educate the public about the systems.

Beam has established an online “university” where it aims to train its dealers to manage, market and sell products to consumers, as well as to educate potential buyers about the benefits of central vacuums.

So the opportunities for making money on central vac are there, but a dealer needs the right mix of everything to succeed. of course, if you work in a market where no integrators install it, then you’ve got an opportunity right there. But educating consumers and forging the right relationships with builders can definitely help you out. n

Making Money on Central Vac


Let Clients Vacuum Your ShowroomMore than half of central vac shoppers want to see system on display, research shows. by Tom LeBlanc

VACUUMIng ISn’T VErY ExoTIC. The idea of a great vacuuming experience doesn’t exactly give the average person goose bumps.

Maybe that’s why most integrators choose

not to display central vacuum systems in their showrooms.

Showrooms, though, aren’t just for generating goose bumps; they’re also for generating sales and educating prospective clients, points out Larry Hartley, vice president of sales and marketing for Electrolux, makers of Beam central vacuum systems.

He says integrators that don’t display central vac in their showrooms are missing an opportunity.

Hartley cites a study by market researcher Synovate, indicating that 57 percent of central vac shoppers want, prior to buying, to see an actual-sized display, showing how the system would work in their home.

Bill Corwin, sales manager for Des Moines, Iowa-based Easy Living Store, is one integrator that


displays central vac prominently in his showroom.

He says Easy Living Store is a full-service integrator, offering multiroom audio/video and home theater among many other home systems. Central vac makes up 25 to 30 percent of its business.

Corwin says his central vac displays stack up well with audio and video displays in terms of generating interest. The Easy Living Store’s displays are operational as they would be in clients’ homes, according to Corwin.

“All accessories and several units are on display and can be demonstrated,” he explains.

“The vac pans are operational and we can clean up colorful paper through our clear pipe to show the speed dirt moves through.”

Corwin recommends having at least two display areas—one dedicated to retrofits and one to new construction.

Easy Living Store allows its builder partners to use the showroom to demonstrate systems like central vac, Corwin says, adding that it enjoys a high take rate. n

Let Clients Vacuum Your Showroom


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