 This
year, the National Association of Homebuilders will
ratify National Green Building Standards that offer a
significant boost for the central vacuum industry. These
new standards will allow a builder who installs a
central vacuum system to claim
five points toward having a
home platinum certified, which requires a total of 108
points. The NAHB standards are the strongest endorsement
that use of a central vacuum system drastically improves
the quality of air in your home. In 2005, the estimated
number of builders utilizing Green standards increased
by 20, and an additional 30% the following year. Out of
those builders, two-thirds of them have said they
believed that building green is here to stay and not
just a fad. When asked what green features were
important to their buyers, 83% of the responses from
builders said indoor air quality, which ranked second
only to energy efficiency. About half of the builders
also said that building green helped them improve their
sales and increased their traffic. |
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Caring for the environment is something which we
would all agree is essential for maintaining a good
quality of life. Unfortunately, proclaiming the need to
protect the environment and actually doing something
about it are sometimes worlds apart. We take it for
granted that products are produced with minimum
effect on the natural world. We offer quality products
designed to last for many years and which maintain a
high standard ecologically.
This we feel is the best
contribution to give a production process which looks
after and cares for the environment.
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Recyclable |
Proper Filtration Has Significant Health
Benefits
Today's homes are tighter and better insulated
than ever before. This means more indoor
contaminants are trapped inside your home. The
US Protection agency reveals 6 out of 10 homes
are "sick" and are potentially hazardous. Indoor
air quality can be up to five times worse than
outdoor air. Small wonder that respiratory
ailments like asthma are at record high levels.
Ordinary house dust is plentiful and contains
skin flakes, hair, food particles, pet dander,
insect parts and feces, and whatever your shoes
can drag in including animal waste, mold, pollen
and pesticides.
 Indoor air
pollution is one of the most common problems
addressed by allergists. A central vacuum system
if often recommended for removing pollutants
since 100% of pollens, bacteria, pet dander
vacuumed are exhausted out of the home when
vented outdoors. Researchers at the University
of California at Davis School of Medicine
revealed that use of a central vacuum system
reduced nasal allergy symptoms by as much as
47%, eye symptoms by as much as 61% and improved
indoor air quality by 52%.
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Reduction in Allergy Symptoms
Results from a UC-David clinical
study |
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Sleep: 44% |
Non-Nasal: 48% |
Nasal: 47% |
Eye: 61% |
No other
technology cleans as efficiently and effectively
as a central cleaning system. It is by far the
best choice in making your home healthier and
cleaner. If you were to examine your carpet
through a microscope, you would see millions of
microscopic organisms per square foot. mold
spores, pollen, dirt, dust, bits of food, pet
dander and fur all inhabit the vastly huge world
of carpeting. Simply walking across the surface
of your carpeting stirs up lighter particles
which often remain suspended mid-air for up to
half an hour. These tiny airborne particles
(which are visible to the eye when reflected in
a sun beam shining through a window) are often
the cause of watery eyes, shortness of breath,
coughing, lethargy, wheezing and sneezing for
those who suffer from allergies or asthma. |
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Be part of
the
Green Environmental Movement!
Save time, money, and
energy with Green products.
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What
is living green?
Living green
represents a commitment to make products that are
easily recyclable, contain no toxic elements and do
not release a significant amount of pollutants into
the air. It's a way to conserve and save energy and
materials and reduce the size of landfills which can
be harmful to the environment.
In the "Green" market,
there are 3 different aspects to the marketing behind it.
The first being the most important, the reduction of the
amount of energy consumed. By using a central vacuum
over a conventional upright or canister vacuum, you
stand to reduce the amount of energy consumed
drastically. Second, what health aspects are increased
by cleaning with a central vacuum? Does it actually add
to a healthy home? And finally, do the manufacturers
actually produce their products using an Environmental
Management System in their
factory and are the dealers following this effort?
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What is a green vacuum?
Questions and Answers |
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Q: While
"going green" is definitely a hot trend in
the cleaning industry today, it seems
everyone has his or her own definition of
what green means. How do you define it? |
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A: Green cleaning consists of measures that improve the
environment while causing the least harm to it. This is a
complex issue since many products labeled green - chemicals, for
instance - have an upside and a downside. |
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Q: Many in the
industry favor the development of a green
certification process for services and
products, including vacuum cleaners. Just
how would you characterize or qualify a
green vacuum? |
A: The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) - a leading authority that
works closely with carpet and equipment manufacturers and has
funded considerable research - is perhaps the most qualified for
such a task. |
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1.
Superior Filtration.
Select a filtration system
that retains 99 percent of particles one micron or smaller. The
tiny airborne dust and dirt you can't see is the biggest health
threat. Vacuums should be tested in a sealed chamber to detect
all sources of particles emanating from the unit, rather than
just from the filter or exhaust.
2.
Energy efficient.
Greener vacuums should use less
"energy" - less electrical power, but also less human energy.
Green is associated with lower energy costs or electrical usage,
but we've never heard anyone talk about how much physiological
energy - human energy - is expended to clean a square foot.
3.
Airflow.
There are two ways vacuum cleaners work.
Straight suction from fast-moving air, and vibrating or bouncing
dirt into the airflow using a beater bar or brush. The be green,
a vacuum's airflow and air velocity - the volume and speed of
air passing through the pickup tool - should pick up debris
efficiently while minimizing energy use. Straight suction using
higher air velocity and a narrower tool orifice is the greener
way because it captures debris and fine dust more directly and
effectively on commercial loop pile carpet.
 4.
Worker-friendly filtration.
To be green, vacuums
must have great filtration system, but the filter setup must
also be easy to access, maintain, or change. Keeping a filter
clean is the trick to having good filtration and pickup
efficiency. Some vacuums have filters that are terribly hard to
clean, while others are simply impossible to get completely
clean. If changing or cleaning a filter is an inconvenient or
filthy job, workers are less likely to do it. And if they don't
clean or change the filters, the vacuums won't work effectively
and certainly are not improving Indoor Environmental Quality.
5.
Filter-changing schedule.
Green vacuuming shouldn't
refer to just the product, but rather, the whole vacuuming
system or process. We've conducted many field studies with
organizations where we've changed to a superior filtration
vacuums and established a filter-changing schedule. |
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Important Facts About The Air Your Breathe |
 Since
most people spend about 90% of their time indoors, poor indoor
air quality can affect their health, safety and comfort -
especially in children, the elderly, and allergy sufferers
alike.
American
Lung Association
Allergy sufferer's symptoms can be improved up to 61% when using
a central vacuum system. "It's the best investment for you can
do for your health"
University of California
Davis School of Medicine |
Using a central vacuum system significantly reduces dust mites, pollens,
animal dander and other allergy causing agents from
your home.
U.S. EPA
Central vacuum systems are among the
best indoor air quality investments for
your home. Also, adding to the value of your home.
BUILDER
Magazine |
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Going
Beyond Green Vacuums |
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Simple
things around the house that you can do to save
energy |
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Do Full Loads of
Laundry
Whenever you
wash just a few clothes or dishes at a time
rather than waiting for a full load to gather,
you're wasting water, power, and money. The
average American family of four washes about 540
loads of laundry a year, which consumes up to
21,000 gallons of water; and more than 150 loads
of dishes, which uses about 1,500 gallons. Most
of the energy consumed by washers goes toward
heating the water - about 90% in the clothes
washer and about 80% in the dishwasher.
Combining half-loads, choosing shorter cycles
and using cold or warm water rather than hot
water racks up savings.
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Recycle Old
Electronics
Americans
tossed out an incredible 5.5 billion
pounds of electronics (TV's, stereos, cell
phones, computers) in 2005, according to the
EPA. Only about 12.5% of this was recovered for
recycling. The result was millions of pounds of
chemicals and heavy metals ended up in the
ground even though it's easier than ever to
recycle electronics. The Consumer Electronics
Association created a
website
to help people find a recycling center in their
area. You could collect electronics in a box and
make a drop-off a few times a year, for example.
Their website also provides a list of things
from laptops to baby monitors that are easier on
the environment and your energy bill.
• Fix Leaks!
The next time you
fill up a glass of water, think about this: we
each use about 100 gallons a day, enough to fill
1,600 glasses. Household water consumption has
increased by 200% since 1950, even though the
population has grown by only 90%. As a result,
more than 36 states are expected to face water
shortages in the next six years. Stemming the
flow is as easy as fixing a leaky faucet or
toilet, a dripping faucet can waste up to 74
gallons a day, a leaking toilet up to 200
gallons a day! |
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The
SEBO Supreme ET-2 Powerhead is a Carpet &
Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label approved
vacuum accessory made to satisfy any job
requiring a higher level of filtration. The
CRI Green Label signifies a superior
cleaning accessory that has passed stringent
testing for soil removal, dust containment
and carpet appearance retention.
