Understanding Vacuum Cleaner Specifications
Understanding vacuum cleaner specs is one of the most difficult components of buying a new vacuum. First and foremost, customers want vacuum cleaners with the finest cleaning power. And most people often link cleaning capabilities with “power” or “suction”.
Cleaning ability is more than simply vacuum suction force, yet it is a significant factor in vacuum cleaner performance. With a little information and education, you will be able to sift through the numbers and better understand what the specifications mean and which ones are important to you.
Regrettably, no one ranking exists to reflect cleaning capabilities. However, there are a number of primary vacuum cleaner specifications, that when clearly understood, allow consumers to make educated decisions concerning which vacuum cleaner will have the best cleaning ability.
Watts, amps, volts, water lift (or sealed suction), horsepower, air watts, and airflow are the major criteria.
There are also a number of other, secondary specifications that influence cleaning ability that we’ll also examine. Filtration, cleaning tools (agitation), capacity, quality, noise, features, and cost are among them.
To make sense of it all, we must first grasp the fundamentals of how a vacuum cleaner works.
All vacuum cleaners operate based on air flowing from the opening at the cleaning head or tool, through the vacuum cleaner and the bag and/or filter system and then out the exhaust port. This airflow is generated by the vacuum motor, also known as the suction motor.
The vacuum motor is made up of electrical components that are connected to a fan or many fans. As the fans spin, a partial vacuum is formed, and the pressure within the vacuum cleaner falls below the room’s ambient (or existent) air pressure. Air rushes through the vacuum cleaner because air pressure is greater outside than inside.
As can be seen, the suction motor is the core of a vacuum cleaner. After all, the more powerful the motor, the greater the pressure differential and therefore the more vacuum suction power and airflow, right? As a result, the majority of the standards for cleaning capabilities are either directly or indirectly related to the motor.
But here’s where things become complicated. Specifications for components such as the motor do not necessarily relate to the performance of the entire vacuum cleaner, and therefore are only a part of the story.