Hassle Free Home Wiring

By Paul Bianchina

We live in a world of high-speed electronic devices that just keep advancing. It’s not easy keeping up with the latest trends. While you can’t buy every new gadget on the market, you can organize the ones you already have with the help of a new home wiring system. Several companies now offer these systems which will not only accommodate both your newest plasma TV and your super fast computer, but they will make your home increasingly desirable for resale as well.

Home wiring systems utilize a series of low-voltage cables throughout the home, servicing individual rooms from a central point. A basic system runs a few hundred dollars, depending on the size of the home, and goes up from there as you add optional features. Because of the amount of wiring involved, the work is best done while a house is under construction and the walls are open - retrofitting this much cable, unless you don't object to exposed conduit, can add considerably to the cost.

A complete home wiring installation is designed to accommodate four basic electronic systems:

• Communications, which includes multi-line telephones, computer modems, and certain types of video access, such as pay-per-view connections;
• Entertainment, which includes access to cable television, roof antennas for local broadcasts, satellite TV, home theater systems, and audio components ;
• Security, including fire and intrusion alarm systems, telephone key systems, door intercoms, video security, and other types of in-house systems;
• Computerized local area networks (LAN), which is a data communications system serving a small, limited area.

The heart of the system is the main panel, which is typically located in a garage, basement, or other convenient, out-of-the-way location. The panel box contains a number of knockouts for running the cables into it, just like a standard electrical panel. Inside the panel are a series of connection modules - panels with connection points for the various wires. Different modules accommodate different wiring uses - cable TV, computer, phone, etc. - keeping the systems separate and organized.

All wiring coming into the home is directed first to the main panel. This includes telephone lines, cable TV, TV antenna or satellite cables, and LAN cables. From there, wires and cables are run to each individual room. The cables terminate in wall plates, and the plates have a variety of connection points in them that allow you to simply plug things in. The wall plates fit standard electrical-type boxes, and, other than the configuration of the plugs, are designed to look like any other electrical outlet - no big steel plates or odd-looking connectors. Now, for the first time, every area in the home has the same quick, clean and convenient access to all systems.

Let's say you have cable television, and also have a roof antenna. Depending on how the wires are connected within the main panel, you can direct the cable TV programs to every room in the house, and the antenna TV only to your home office. You can add a few speakers, and have the same home theater-quality sound system in the bedroom or kitchen as you do in the living room.

Perhaps you'd like to have access to cable TV programming in your bedroom and study, but don't want the kids accessing it elsewhere in the house - just unplug and move a couple of cables in the main panel, and only those two rooms will have cable TV. The main panel can be equipped with a key lock to keep control of those connections in your hands only.

Multi-line phone systems can now be shared easily throughout the house as needs change. Maybe you want to convert an unused spare bedroom into a home office. In less than a minute, you can plug and unplug systems as needed to bring phones and data ports into that room.

Data sharing is another important feature. As more and more households have two or more computers in them, the ability to interlink and share information between them becomes increasingly desirable. With cable systems such as these, data can be moved and shared instantly between various computers, and even with outside offices using the LAN connections.

If you're building a new home or remodeling your old one, a home wiring system is a feature that's certainly well worth considering.

Copyright 2002-2006 Inman News Features. Distributed by Inman News Features