How to Use the Vacuum Suction Power Comparison
Enter the suction spec listed on a vacuum โ either air watts or kPa โ and this tool gives you a rough performance tier plus a best-fit use case. It's a quick way to make sense of suction specs that different brands and retailers list in different units.
Air watts (AW) combine airflow (how much air is being pulled through) with suction pressure, making it the closer approximation to real-world cleaning performance. Kilopascals (kPa), on the other hand, measure only pressure โ the raw strength of the suction โ and are often cited for how well a vacuum performs on resistant surfaces like carpet.
Because these two units measure genuinely different physical quantities, there's no reliable way to convert one directly into the other. That's why this tool uses separate general thresholds for each unit (for example, under 100 AW is light-duty, 200+ AW is high-performance). Cordless vacuums are typically limited by battery capacity to around 100-200 AW, while corded models often exceed 300 AW, so compare within the right product category.
Frequently Asked Questions
Air watts combine airflow and pressure, making it closer to real cleaning performance, while kPa measures only suction pressure. Since they measure different physical quantities, converting one directly to the other isn't reliable, so it's better to compare within each unit separately.
Not really. Battery-powered cordless vacuums typically run 100-200 air watts, while corded models often exceed 300. This tool uses general thresholds, so weigh the result against your specific vacuum category.