Step 1: Plan Layout Installation.

Each inlet you intend will boost the cost of a system and increase the probability of air leaks that reduce the suction of the system.

Plan carefully, with this in mind, so that you can keep the number of inlets to a minimum.

Step 2: Install Power Unit.

Intend to place the power unit/collection canister away from living areas in the basement, a utility room, the garage, or a comparable location.

Plan to place the unit on or near an exterior wall so that it is easy to route the exhaust line outdoors. Although some forms of central vacuum do not need to be exhausted outdoors, if you exhaust it, you can minimize the dust produced by the device.

Don't put the device where temperatures, such as in a furnace room, small closet, or attic, can get hot. For a long life and proper operation, the power unit needs good ventilation.

Step 3: Install Inlet Valves.

On each floor, most houses need one or two inlets, centrally placed, so that every corner of every room is within the reach of the vacuum hose (typically about 30 feet).

While inlets are best situated along the base of interior walls, if they are positioned away from foot traffic, they can be mounted on floors (all floor inlets should have metal covers).

Step 4: Run PVC Piping.

Tubing can run under the floor in a single-story house with a basement or crawl space and stub into walls for a short distance or serve floor inlets directly (by far the easiest method when retrofitting).

If a house has restricted access under floors, such as a two-story house, tubing must be redirected elsewhere. Typical solutions are vertically running tubing through laundry chutes, behind shelves, exposed in wardrobe corners, or boxed in at one of the corners of a room.

Another common alternative is horizontally running tubing in an attic and then lowering it down through a wall or into a cabinet or closet. Short, straight, and direct are the best runs.