RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURED CABLING
By John Pryma, Genesis Cable
Systems
Residential structured
cabling represents a fast growth market that no distributor or electrical
contractor can afford to ignore. By 2004, it is forecast that more than half
of all new homes in the United States will include a structured wiring
system. If this prediction holds true, residential structured cabling will
soon surpass today’s commercial voice and data wiring market.
WHAT IS RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURED CABLING?
A residential structured
cabling system, essentially, networks voice and data, audio and video, along
with home security and environmental control.
A properly installed wiring
system can support home theater with surround sound, whole-house audio,
lighting automation, security requirements, appliance control, telephone,
fax and other home office requirements and remote-access zoned environmental
controls. Additional lifestyle options include driveway sensors, motion
detection flood lights, automated drapes, pet doors and feeders, medical
diagnostic monitoring, a wireless LAN, web cameras and voice telephony over
an Internet protocol. In certain cases, stand-by power generators are also
offered.
While some of these
capabilities may seem like luxury items, structured cabling is also fast
becoming a very real necessity for some. To professionals who work from
their homes, for example, structured cabling is a necessity for a
sophisticated home office.
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS?
If you are familiar with
commercial networks, you are well on your way to understanding a home
installation. The components, including the distribution center, cables and
wall outlets, are virtually identical, however, smaller in scale.
The distribution center is a
central panel or cabinet where services from outside the home (cable tv,
telephone, satellite, high- speed Internet access, etc.) enter the house.
The cabinets tend to be 14.5 inches wide so they can be recessed between
wall studs on 16-inch centers. Typical cabinet heights range from 8 to 10
inches for condos, to 14 to 28 inches for standard homes and up to 40 inches
for large homes. A minimum requirement for each cabinet is a
telephone-connecting block for terminating the twisted pair, and a passive
cable splitter for the coax. Room should be left for upgrade components,
including patch panels for the voice and data lines, amplified splitters for
cable, lighting controls, audio distribution panel, security panel, home
automation components and data hubs and routers.
In larger homes, a
stand-alone cabinet or rack can be used if there is room for a dedicated
telecommunications facility. To meet the requirements of TIA-570A, every
structured cabling system needs to have a distribution device or cabinet. It
should be centrally located and be as close as possible to the entry and
demarcation points of the telephone and cable television service providers.
In no case can the furthest outlet be located more than 492 feet from the
demarcation point. The cabinet should be properly grounded and be within 5
feet from a duplex power outlet.
What about wiring? Although
individual Cat 5e and RG-6 cables will service the various outlet
configurations, specifically designed “multimedia” cables are being
recognized as better solutions. A dual cable, for example, consists of one
Cat 5e and one RG-6 under a single jacket. Another “composite” construction
could include 2 Cat 5e 24/4 UTP cables for voice and data and 2 RG6 Quad
shielded satellite grade coax cables tested to 2.4 GHz. These cables speed
installation time because multiple cables can be pulled at the same time. It
also minimizes termination times since all ends are readily identifiable.
It is very important that
the installer test all cable runs from the cabinet to the information
outlets at the completion of the pre-wire. Once the drywall is installed, it
is very difficult and expensive to replace a marginal cable run. A basic
test consists of continuity and wire map to T-568A on all four pairs of the
Cat 5e, and continuity of the coax’s inner and outer conductors.
WHAT DOES IT COST?
It is not unusual for a
homeowner to choose a number of options resulting in a $10,000 wiring
package. However, for a $500,000 home this adds only two percent to the
purchase price and can be easily recouped at resale time. Similarly, a
$2,500 system adds only two percent to the price of a $125,000 house.
Here’s another factor
driving this market: the homeowner can roll the cost of structured wiring
into the tax-deductible home mortgage.
It is important to recognize
that the term “residential structured cabling” implies to two distinct
markets: the pre-wiring market for new construction, and the re-wiring
market where, for example, a home office or a home theater is being
installed.
Pre-wiring new construction
to accommodate several phones and televisions can cost a homeowner as little
as $500. Pulling the wires during construction is easy to do, relatively
inexpensive, and it doesn’t disturb the finished home. This basic system
fixes the locations of telephones and TVs in the home, and does not include
a distribution center to facilities future upgrades. Including the
distribution cabinet increases the cost to approximately $1,000, but allows
for the inexpensive installation of additional information outlets at a
later date.
Pre-wiring is much more
successful if a centrally located distribution cabinet is used with home run
cables running from it to information outlets located in every room. At
least two outlets are recommended for the family room, den and master
bedroom; other rooms should get at least one. While a smaller home may
require only 8 to 12 outlets, a larger home may have dozens.
This type of pre-wiring may
cost a homebuyer from $2,000 to $6,000 depending on the number of wired
outlets and the module types installed in the cabinet. Modules can host a
number of functions, such as security panel, connection to a telephone key
system, amplified cable TV splits, data hubs, and Internet router and
connections to audio systems, satellite receivers, DVD players and video
surveillance cameras.
Re-wiring is another
situation all together. Installing the wiring necessary for a home theater
or office in an existing house takes creativity, skill and specialized
tools. Installers need to determine the best routing for a variety of cable
needs to minimize opening walls, as well as the subsequent replastering and
repainting. The bill to re-wire a single room with several information
outlets may run as high as $2,000 due primarily to labor.
WHO INSTALLS THE SYSTEM?
Three different groups of
installers can do home wiring.
High-end custom homes
normally retain the services of a CEDIA type system integrator who knows how
to design a home theater or a home office, providing a turnkey solution.
They’ll do the wiring, install the speakers, set up the audio/video
equipment; program home automation cycles and integrate a variety of
stand-alone systems to work together.
Security dealers/installers
do both pre-wire and re-wiring, bringing with them the experience in
installing cables to difficult locations.
Electricians are rapidly
entering the pre-wire structured cabling arena, primarily in newly developed
communities. Electricians save time and money for the homebuilder because
they install both the high- and low-voltage cables. Using trained
electricians, builders can offer a basic structured wiring package that can
be enhanced with options during the selection process.
Growth in structured cabling
is slated to grow so rapidly that it will very likely overwhelm today’s pool
of qualified installers. For that reason, BICSI, NECA, as well as cable and
cabinet manufacturers are offering training programs to low-voltage
installers and electricians on residential structured cable installation,
termination and testing techniques.
John Pryma, PE & RCDD/LAN
Specialist
Vice President & General
Manager
Structured Cable Division
Genesis Cable Systems, LLC
7701 95th Street
Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158
www.genesiscable.com
1-800-222-0060
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