Articles and whitepapers

Structured Wiring for Property Developers (4/9/2006)

By Michael Grant, Flamingbox

As property developers try to stay ahead of their client's home technology needs, it is now quite common for mid-range, new-build homes to be pre-wired with some form of high-performance cabling.

Broadband, digital television and security systems are becoming the norm, and a property's wiring must be able to support increasing amounts of digital information and power around the home. If the wiring is structured, the user has the ability to choose whatever application best suits an outlet, and this flexibility has lead to the term 'plug and play property'.

Advantageous infrastructure

The outdated 'daisy chained' method of wiring has become obsolete as it fails to accommodate new devices. The method involved running cable from one outlet to the next which consequently meant the signal would become weaker the further it travelled and, like old Christmas tree lights, if one connection failed, then the subsequent devices would also fail.

Structured wiring covers all home entertainment and automation systems, from HVAC and lighting control to AV sub-systems, the Internet and telephone access. Structured wiring combines communications data, signal and control cabling into a single consolidated wiring system, where cables from all areas of the house, are run directly back to a central wiring panel (CWP).

A central wiring panel

The CWP houses a selection of devices including AV sources, amplification, distribution, control equipment and patch panels. Although it is central to the system, it does not mean that it literally has to take a central position in the house, but simply that all cables must return to it.

Cables from the CWP will run to outlets, such as coax, RJ45 outlets and phono sockets, around the home, and because the cables from these sockets can be easily rerouted at the CWP end, the sockets can be used by any compatible appliance or signal for a variety of applications. For example, a particular coax socket could be used to connect a TV monitor to the Sky box or DVD player located in the CWP, or an RJ45 socket could be used to connect a handset to the telephone system, or a computer to a broadband network.

The structured method of cable running also has the advantages of greater signal quality and no splices, and it allows each cable to be tested individually.

Planning

While installers face the challenge of finding the best way to route the mass of cables back to the central wiring panel (CWP) and keeping them well labelled, the pivotal issue for both developers and installers is to make sure the wiring infrastructure is future-ready. This must be dealt with at the design stage.

Choosing the correct cables is one of the more basic elements of the wiring install, and the developer is advised to seek expert advice, particularly given the increased bandwidth demands of HDTV for which HDMI, Cat5e, Cat6 and fibre-optic cable are all contenders.

After the tender, quote and sale, the designers will begin overlaying the wiring design onto the building's schematics, which these days, tends to be done using computer aided design. The plans will be shown to and talked over with the technical manager, who will then brief the installers. Electricians predominantly lay the wiring rather than installers, because this is more efficient and cost-effective.

The absolute minimum that a structured wiring installation should provide is broadband networking and multiroom audio. Installations also tend to allow for distributed video, security systems and scene lighting - even if it is only implemented at a later date. A properly-designed structure should have the capacity to support emerging technologies.

Professional help

The costs to hardwire a property are relatively marginal. The real dilemma comes when deciding which home entertainment and automation products to choose. In addition, developers may not know where the residents will want to place their plasmas or computers, which is why they ask home technology experts for advice.

Media suites, master bedrooms and living rooms should have multiple outlet points to ensure that the residents have flexibility in deciding where to place their electronic devices. A technique called 'flood wiring' can be employed, which entails installing more outlets than is strictly necessary. This gives the resident an immense amount of flexibility, and makes the property that much more attractive.

Developers who want to guarantee their client's new home has been built with the future in mind, tend to employ the services of professional installations companies. The main objective of developers Lightspace for example, was to ensure that whoever purchased the property did not have to include re-wiring costs on top of the initial outlay, and so they asked installation company Flamingbox to wire the property.

Dining room with multiroom audio

The exclusive One Islington Place is pre-wired for multiroom audio, allowing the homeowner to install a cutting-edge sound system without seeing any unsightly wiring. The home is also pre-wired for home networking, enabling shared broadband and the potential to take full advantage of up-coming Internet TV services. Networking is one of the most popular benefits, as it facilitates file, resource and web sharing, so a family can simultaneously use the computers, scanners and printers around the home.

Structured wiring and the wireless world

The future of structured wiring looks like it is going to be driven by IP-based devices. 1000Mb/s data rates will become more commonplace as IPTV, movie downloads and video streaming increase in popularity. Advancements in the realm of wireless ports and wall plates will combine with AV points, and if signal strength can be boosted to make weak WiFi signals a thing of the past, then the sky truly is the limit for wireless communication.

Structured wiring however, is considered to be superior to wireless because it is more reliable, secure and standardised. WiFi can be interrupted by building structures or solid objects, whereas structured cabling allows secure connections to a network without having to install multiple WiFi points in problem areas.

The only way to guarantee excellent service 100% of the time is to have the property hardwired, even if the cabling leads to wireless access points. For the foreseeable future therefore, while developers may be tempted to leave it all to a wireless solution, if they want satisfied customers, it is still wise to have a structured wiring system comprising plenty of high-quality cables.

Michael J. Grant is the PR and Marketing Executive for Flamingbox, provider of full custom solutions for commercial and high-end residential properties.

www.flamingbox.com