Just wanting to measure people's thoughts on Ducted Vacuum vs Robot Vacuums in a new home build.
The ducted vac we have been quoted is $1900 installed for a 4 bedroom single story house (hard floors throughout).
Would you spend the money on these or do you think robot vacs are now the way to go for less than half the price?
Ducted Vac System Vs Robot Vacs for New Houses
goingDHfast on 07/11/2016 - 12:12
Last edited 07/11/2016 - 16:50
Last edited 07/11/2016 - 16:50
Poll Options
- 14I would install a ducted vacuum system if I was building a new house
- 5I would prefer a robot vacuum cleaner to a ducted system if I was building a new house
Comments
Interesting, thanks. I just wonder if having a ducted vac as a feature will actually be considered valuable in 5 years time? With the rate the robot vacs are improving, why would anyone waste time vacuuming their house themselves? The new ones have laser rader mapping so they can accurately map floors and not cover the same spot twice. Also the robots are a modular purchase so every 3-5 years I'll buy a newer/better one (can't see myself doing that with the ducted system).
We have a ducted vacuum system we have used once in the three or so years we have been here. We bought a display home and this was one of the features. We have maybe half a dozen connection points throughout the house and a very long hose. However, the suction on the vac is very weak, and since using it requires us to go out to the unit in the garage to get it going, and to uncoil the very long and cumbersome hose to actually vacuum, we'd rather use our old Dyson for a regular vacuum or just a basic broom for daily sweepings.
I'd definitely go for the robot vac.
Thanks for that! I thought the hoses were small and light, isn't that the idea of having ducts in each room? I have definitely heard mixed reviews about vac system pressure over long distances and am also leaning towards the robot option (mostly due to being lazy!).
Our ducted system starts up automatically when we connect the hose to the ducts. We never have to go out to start it up. Occasionally we have to go out to empty it.
Suction is fine, but the hoses are long and cumbersome - there aren't ducts everywhere.
One of the benefits of ducted is all the dirty sucked in air is sent outside the house - much better for you if you have allergies; no need for HEPA filters.
, and good luck if you get a blockage somewhere in the ducted system!
don't have ducted vacuum but have a robot vac and wooden floors.
a neato xv-21. it's on a timer so it starts at 10am (after everyone has left the house).
come home in the evening and empty it.
once a month I do a very quick vacuum in the corners and edges to pick up anything the robot couldn't get to.
My parents' ducted vacuum is way stronger than their robot. The robot kept breaking (lots of free repairs), so they gave up on it. Also they have 4 levels in their home, so the robot has to be taken up/down stairs a lot.
I think like most things it depends on how much you're willing to pay for a higher quality.
Why haven't you mentioned a traditional vacuum cleaner in this debate? Both options presented aren't comparable. A robot vac isn't going to thoroughly clean your house. It's a light substitute for a vacuum cleaner.
Unfortunately, it's like comparing apple to orange
Ducted vac requires manual work
Robot vac is semi-automation (semi because when the robot is stuck, you need to manually help them)Personally I find ducted vac is an old style, plus maintenance cost rather expensive too (note: I have rental property that comes with ducted vac, and according to the previous owner, it requires maintenance every 2-3 years)
If you really need to choose between both, choose robot vac
Also, if you after clean'er' house, perhaps hire a cleaner? (yes, I know, I'm now introducing banana in the discussion now hehe)
Will people with robot vac experience, will they go over carpet on wooden floors or hit the raised edge and cover the wooden area only?
Also, what if you're looking to cover a two storey house? Do you just plug into whatever point or does it remember its route over time?
To be honest, with ducted vacs, it all depends on how sealed the pipes are. We have one at our house (around 10 years old), its a 1400w unit but i get amazing suction. In addition it's totally bagless so no maintenance required (ive used it for 10 years and haven't spent any money on it yet). Its wisper quite inside the house with the only downside being the pipe is quite long and hard to manage.
However a friend of mine recently installed one with metricon as the builder. They installed a 2400w unit but their suction is quite low. They have complained to metricon about it but they haven't resolved it as yet. I guess it all depends on how sealed the pipes are.
I've never used a robot vac so can't really comment there.
Just use a dyson stick deducted vac are pointless
And the long cord weighs more then the hand stick
having done both… built (and we put in ducted vacuum), and since bought and using robot vacs…
for day-to-day usability I prefer robot vacs (for starters you don't have to push them around!)…. however ducted is a good "feature" to put on the house listing when you sell, whereas robot vacs you can't really list..