Earn Green Building Points with Central Vacuums

Central vacuum systems have occupied an important niche in new residential construction for nearly 50 years. Now these powerful cleaning systems are moving into the mainstream as builders respond to consumer demands for healthier homes.

A Consumer Electronic Association (CEA) survey of builders conducted in 2007 found more than three-fourths, 76%, of builders offered central vacuum systems to their buyers in 2007. It followed an NAHB study in 2006 that showed central vacuum systems were installed in 30% of new luxury homes and almost one-fifth of “move up” homes.

“They stopped being an option for us years ago,” says Ron Jones, a custom builder who served on the steering committee that developed the NAHB’s soon-to-be ratified National Green Building Standards.

“We want all of our customers to benefit from the improved indoor air quality, superior cleaning and convenience that results from using a properly designed and installed central vacuum system,” Jones adds.

The emergence of central vacuum systems as indoor air quality enhancements began in 2002 when a clinical study proved a link between central vacuum systems and allergy relief. The study by the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the University of California, Davis, found that patients experienced a 40% to 61% improvement in their symptoms when they switch from using a portable vacuum to a built-in central vacuum system to clean their homes.

“We had numerous anecdotal accounts that allergy patients felt better when they installed a central vacuum system,” notes Larry Hartley, vice president of sales and marketing for Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems, whose Beam brand systems were used by the allergy patients in the U.C., Davis study.

“The study results confirmed that having a more powerful motor that could remove 100% of captured dust and allergens without stirring up dust in the house significantly improved the air quality of the home.”

According to a 2007 builder survey by Professional Builder magazine, having healthy indoor air ranked second only to energy efficiency in importance to buyers. Eighty-three percent of the builders rated indoor air quality as “somewhat or very important” to their customers.

Following the study’s publication, numerous local HBAs and national green building and healthy home demonstration programs added central vacuum systems to their list of recommended or required products to address indoor environmental quality. The American Lung Association’s Health House Program is one of those programs.

This year, the soon-to-be-ratified NAHB-ANSI National Green Building Standards will allocate five points toward Indoor Environmental Quality certification for homes that include a central vacuum system.

Manufacturers believe that new standards, combined with the affordability of central vacuum systems, $1,200 to $1,800 for a typical new home, will accelerate the mainstreaming of central vacs.

“These products contribute to indoor air quality and as such are a great product to incorporate into a newly built home,” says Jill Notini, director of communications and marketing for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM). “Not only do central vacuums contribute to IAQ, they are powerful, convenience products that new homeowners will love.”  

Sources: 2007 Green Building Survey, Professional Builder magazine; NAHB 2006 Building Product Survey; NAHB National Green Building Standards, Second Draft; American Lung Association Health House Standards, 2006; Journal of Investigational Allergology and Clinical Immunology “The Influence of a Central Vacuum System on Quality of Life in Patients with House Dust-associated Allergic Rhinitis.”

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