Some of these cordless vacuums offer the power of a regular cleaner but with a fraction of their size, weight, and energy consumption, giving you the ability to clean your home with wireless convenience. They are lightweight enough to be used for quick pickups or for full house cleaning without causing user fatigue.

Let me just get this one pun out of the way, because it's been gnawing at me all day long. You've probably heard the joke before; you may have even used it yourself. You're certainly welcome to use it after you read it, but I want to add this important Disclaimer: The following joke is a joke:

Vacuum cleaners suck.

Get it?

Okay, now that you've recovered, we can get down to business; which is just how exactly do we measure how much vacuum cleaners actually suck? Most manufacturers rate their vacuum cleaners using either one or a combination of these four measurements: watts, amps, peak horse power, and air flow.

Watts are a way of measuring the input power of a vacuum's motor. The higher the watts, the more powerful the motor is. However, this doesn't take into account aspects like how efficient the motor is at using that power, the number of fans the motor is powering, or the overall vacuum design, all of which play a part in how well a vacuum performs. Still, comparing the wattage of two different vacuums will give you a basic understanding of which has a more powerful motor.

To make things confusing though, not all manufacturers will list the wattage of their vacuums. Some may choose to rate the input power of their motors in amps. The amperage rating indicates how much electrical current is floating through the machine when it is in use. Take note, that we said through the machine, not specifically through the motor. This means the amp rating will also include the amount of power being consumed by other components of the vacuum, such as the light, powered brushroll, etc. The motor does draw the most amount of amps, though, so we can still use the amperage rating to gauge the input power of a vacuum. The higher the amps, generally the more powerful of a motor a vacuum cleaner is. As with watts, the amp rating doesn't take into account the other aspects of a vacuum that can affect its performance.

Peak horsepower is really just a marketing gimmick that many manufacturers use to illustrate how powerful their vacuums are. It was calculated by removing the fans from the motor, and then subjecting it to the highest possible load to see when it burned out. In truth, it has no relation to how a vacuum cleaner performs in real life situations. Thankfully, manufacturers are slowly phasing out this rating.

Airflow is probably the most reliable aspect of measuring how well a vacuum cleaner performs. Rather than measuring input power, it measures the amount of airflow it creates across a surface. Since the airflow is what picks up dirt and other particulate, we can assume that the more powerful the airflow, the more dirt and dust a vacuum can suck up. Airflow is measured in cubic feet per minute. The more cubic feet per minute, the more powerful the suction. Unlike all of the other ratings, airflow actually takes into account the resistance of the bag and filter system, turbulence in the tube, airflow obstructions, and anything else that might affect suction power.