Cool Tech for Central Vac
by John Sciacca
Without a doubt, the latest technologies are amazingly cool. With an iPhone, you can carry around more computing power in your pocket than what fueled the moon launches. With Blu-ray, you have access to studio-master quality audio and video in your very home. And every time I walk past one of the new LED backlit LCD TVs, I marvel at their razor-thin side profile. It’s an inch thick. An inch! You could practically shave with it. I mean, how do they possible cram all the magical techno-guts inside that thing? (If you really want to know what is inside, check this video I shot at CES last year. You’ll need Quick Time to watch. http://bitstream.soundandvisionmag.com/blog/2009/01/ces-2009-day-three-inside-hitachi-ultra-thin-lcd.html)
So, with all this great tech at our disposal, it is easy to overlook things that are low tech by nature. Like vacuum cleaners. Not very sexy, right? I mean, this is strictly a must have item, not something that people get excited about. I have a Dyson, probably one of the coolest vacuum cleaners around. And yet, it’s never one of the things I pull out to show people when they come to my house. In fact, it is sequestered away in a closet, where we hope no one will see it. (Which is kind of odd, right? Like, the people coming over know we have a vacuum. It isn’t a secret.)
Well, I recently saw a vacuum system that did excite me. In fact, of all the cool tech in this person’s home – and we’re talking about automation, full lighting and HVAC control, Kaleidescape movie servers, etc. – this was the thing that most excited them as well. A central vac system with an in-wall, retractable hose.
Now, I’m not saying that these things haven’t been around for a while, but this was the first working example I saw, and it seems like one of those things that no one knows about or that have been forgotten. But this completely addressed the giant negative that everyone hates about central vac: dragging that damned hose around all over the house. We used to have a central vac system. Never used it. First time I had to fight that 25-foot house up and down the stairs and back into the closet, was the time I decided to use the regular vac from then on.
But the Hide-A-Hose and Vroom systems from Vacuflo (www.vacuflo.com) were so cool and so easy to use and put away that you would truly give your old vac – even a Dyson – the heave-ho. The Hide-A-Hose stores up to 50 feet of hose in the wall, meaning you never have to see it or fight with it. And, because it is 50-feet long, you can get away with fewer ports around the home. When you’re finished, simply put your hand over the nozzle and it sucks itself back into the wall. The Vroom is great for spot cleaning, like quick spills in the kitchen.
Check out my video for a demonstration.
December 31st, 2009 at 9:31 pm
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January 18th, 2010 at 10:13 am
[...] Cleaner - differences - vacuum models - floors - suction - pick-up - filtration - low noise - Cool Tech for Central Vac | Electronics Design Group Blogby John Sciacca Without a doubt, the latest technologies are amazingly cool. With an iPhone, you can [...]