Why is it that more than 65 percent of the CE Pro 100 companies are not offering central vacuums? Is it the ugly step-child the industry only offers when it’s absolutely necessary? Is the category not sexy enough? Is the price point too low to include in a package?

Our company participated in a recent CE Pro 100 Summit and even offered a free vacuum system for each of the participants. Yet, they still didn’t pursue the offer.

How do you reconcile this with regular statements from industry leaders that claim that central vacuums are one of their most important category products?

It’s time for the industry to wake up. Maybe you’ll never get excited about selling vacuum cleaners, but you should have a proper perspective of this as a “must have” item.

In Canada every home has the central vacuum pipe-work automatically installed during construction. This year in the U.S. a paltry 145,000 central vacuums are projected to be installed, according to Appliance Magazine. That’s pathetic compared to the over 12 million portable vacuums sold.

Central vacuums have been clinically proven to provide one of the greatest health benefits for allergy and asthma patients because the air is exhausted outside the home. The aging population loves the lightweight convenience and versatility, especially in multi-level homes. The product fits the green initiative perfectly with tremendous efficiency.

Get Educated

So why doesn’t the average CE pro install them? I believe the acceptance of this product centers around education and information.

The major gaps in knowledge are related to the profit potential, ease of sale and installation and technical aspects. No one wants to add a category that will contain a huge learning curve, but central vac offers one of the easiest entry pathways.

Profit Potential

A central vacuum installation in a 3,500-square-foot home sells for about $2,500 with about $800 in component costs in the U.S. A pro should be able to complete the installation in less than eight hours. Do the math. The quick-added profit is hard to argue with.

We are told regularly that dealers love the central vacuum because it does not require any tweaking after you leave the home. In fact the accolades for the central vac are higher than most other installed devices. The central vacuum is often what brings in the referrals of new clients.

Ease of Sale

Matt Panter of Waco, Texas-based Panter Home Theater received an Internet referral for a Silent Master Central Vacuum on George Bush’s home and ended up doing over $30,000 of electronics because of the quality of the lead. The central vacuum can be your entrance into projects you never knew existed.

Upon gaining the clients’ trust on any one of your trades, the add-on sales are far easier.

Ease of Installation

I believe this is the major barrier keeping CE pros out of the C-Vac market. Having exhibited at 12 CEDIA Expos and almost all EHX events, I’ve had the dealers come up to me excited about selling central vacs but lost with the installation. New or existing construction projects are actually quite easy with the aid of training manuals and videos. Or subcontract out the installation to other experts in the area who would love the additional work. They can often assist with ongoing maintenance as well.

Technical Aspects

“CFM,” “waterlift” and “airwatts” are all Greek to the average integrator. Take an hour to browse the thousands of educational pages. Over 12,000 product reviews there can help you understand what the clients appreciate and what they don’t like. And if you can’t find an answer, technicians can respond to your e-mails.

Don’t let a lack of education keep you from adding this great category to your package of products. Give central vacuums an opportunity to prove themselves and you’ll find a bright spot in these tough times. The market for existing home central vacuum installations is unbelievable and now is an ideal time for you to educate yourself on it.

Come out to California and I’ll train you myself!

What's so great about it?

Pandora is unobtrusive, easy to use, and really good at finding similar and related music that I'm likely to enjoy. I'm always amazed at how good it is when I create a new station.

Just a few weeks back, I told Pandora to create a "U2" station. A few hours later, I realized that I'd been listening to an excellent selection of tunes.

I never get bored of the music on Pandora. It's just a part of my day, always playing good music to keep me happy while I'm coding or fixing things.

I feel like an idiot for the thousands of dollars I spent on CDs years ago, not to mention all the time and effort that went into digitizing that library multiple times (my own code, iTunes, WinAmp, etc.).

If I thought I could get any real money for my 550 CDs, I'd just sell 'em all and send the Pandora crew a nice check with a note: "Keep up the great work."

If you've not yet used Pandora, I highly recommend it. You'll be surprised by how often it plays music you like, even with the most minimal input from you.

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This was an event organized by AreoDynamic Aviation (formerly Amelia Reid Aviation) at the Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose.

We arrived to find Pete Marsh's Antares MA-34 R912 Ranger with an 80 horsepower Rotax 912 engine sitting outside the hangar. So I took several photos of the engine, cockpit, and wing while we got a good look at it.

A view of the cockpit.

Beefy landing gear!

The Rotax 912 Engine

Glass Cockpit

After checking it out, Pete spent about an hour telling our class about Trike flying in Alaska, answering our questions about the sport and the machines, and giving us a little bit of an idea what to expect.

For the record, this Trike has electric trim and will cruise at about 70-75mph while burning 2.5 gallons of high octane auto gas per hour. So mileage is comparable to most cars. But the ride is a hell of a lot more fun! And with a 15 gallon fuel supply, you can fly a lot longer than your bladder will let you.

Several of us had reserved times to fly 1 hour $99 introductory rides with Pete, and before I knew it my time had arrived. I was really looking forward to the experience.

Pete helped me get strapped in and I took a few pictures and a vide as we taxied over to the run-up area for runway 31R.

My turn!

Strapped in and ready!

View out the front.

Engine running and we're taxiing!

We sit close together.

Here's a short taxi video:

After a couple other departures, we were cleared to take off!

Takeoff video:

Check out that view!

Look, Ma. I'm flying the Trike!

And before I knew it we were in the air and flying.

The first few seconds were kid of freaky, given how open the cockpit is. But that quickly faded away and I began to really enjoy the flying. We headed a bit south and then over the first ridge toward the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton where we could play around a bit and I could get a better feel for flying the Trike.

Heading for the hills...

Me again.

All those houses...

Another great view.

Back there I got to try various flight maneuvers, really get a feel for the air, and even did some soaring in thermals. I was really impressed by how well we could feel the air as the wing tried to move and the distinct changes in temperature as we flew into different pockets.

Turns were easy once I got over the idea of forcing them. We also performed a few stalls (though they hardly compare to stalls in a larger airplane or glider)--very benign. I was impressed by how stable the aircraft was too. Let go and it'll pretty much fly straight and level if you're in calm air.

The view was, of course, amazing. And being able "feel" the air more directly makes you feel a lot more connected to the atmosphere you're flying in.

All in all it was a much more "raw" experience then the glider flying I'm used to. I really enjoyed it.

After almost an hour of flying, it was time to head back in and land.

Heading in to land.

Landing video:

After landing, we taxied back to the hangar so that Pete could pick up his next victim passenger.

Next up was Kathleen...

Strapped in.

Ready to go!

The took for for a similarly fun 1-hour flight.

Takeoff video:

I was there to grab a few pictures as the taxied back to the hangar area.

Thumbs Up!

What a blast!!!

Time to let someone else play...

Conclusion

We both had an absolute blast flying the trike. It's a little like flying a power plane and a little like flying a glider, but it's a very different experience from both. It's a very raw and natural form of flying that really puts you in touch with your surroundings and gives you an amazing view of the area you're flying in.

Thanks again to AeroDynamic Aviation for organizing this event. Not only do they provide excellent flight training and aircraft maintenance, Owner Zdravko Podolski has consistently organized events to help pilots expand our flying horizons.

We're both very tempted to get a weight-shift control add-on for our pilot certificates. It's worth noting that many Trikes make it easy to swap out the wheels on the landing gear for floats (land on lakes!) or skis (land on snow/ice).

Pictures and Video

I have the whole set in this Picasa album: Trike Flying at RHV

Or you can see a subset in my Trike Flying album on Flickr.

The videos are in my YouTube channel as well.

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Central Vacuums add value to your home.

Did you know a central vacuum system can add value to your home? . . . anywhere from $1,200 to $1,500 in value according to the 2008 Iowa Real Property Appraisal Manual. So what you invest in your central vacuum today, will yield returns later when you sell your home. It’s like money in an FDIC insured bank. You can’t lose!

You’ll also be in good company. Industry experts say 50 percent or more of new homes could have central vacuum systems, or be pre-plumbed for systems, by 2010 (source: Appliance Design). In addition, some of the National Association of Homebuilders’ leading green building organizations now recommend their members include central vacuum systems as standard features. NAHB’s Built Green Colorado program in Denver and EarthCraft Homes In Atlanta, award “green” certification points to builders whose homes include central vacuum systems.

When  looking to increase property value with a central vacuum system, choose Hide-A-Hose, the only system with the revolutionary retractable hose.  It’s an investment that can’t lose and one that makes life easier through convenience and efficiency.