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TEA London News and Opinion

Taking a holistic view to home wiring

2009-02-24

New projects take the time and trouble to plan and execute the installation of core services e.g. plumbing, gas and electrical installations. These core services, however, no longer represent the extent of the services required in a modern home. The modern home requires sound, vision and computer services, a good security system, intercom systems, automated controls and more.

No home-owner would want visible wiring. They would much prefer to have equipment that integrates with the site's architecture and meets its design aspirations. It is therefore essential that all systems are installed during refurbishment. This will require collaboration between the contractors, interior designer, architect  and the customer.

It is common practice for numerous suppliers to be used for the installation of these services, as specialised skills are required.  Such contracts are commissioned well after the planning stages of a project and in certain cases, after works have begun.

It is rare for a holistic view to be taken on how these systems can interact with one another, its quality and what each system's technical capabilities are. These are rarely understood by a single party. It is therefore rare for these systems to be scrutinised to the same extent as other aspects of the project.

The end result is that the home-owner will end up with several different wiring systems instead of one, with varying degrees of quality and workmanship.

A holistic approach needs to be taken in order to best understand the present and future requirements of the home by viewing all these systems as a whole, rather than several individual systems. The approach must also determine what wiring systems are required, what is common to all of the systems and if these systems are capable of being integrated with one another. The holistic approach will allow system specifiers to suggest systems that are able to to integrate with one another as a deeper understanding of how they work and interact with other systems will be gained through this approach. Ultimately this will lead to systems that can be installed in a cost effective manner, interact with one another bring on more value from the systems and will exceed the customer's requirements and expectations.

System suppliers can be scheduled to install and configure their equipment onto the wiring system This will lead to systems being installed on time, costs will be controlled, quality is maintained, dependencies are met and systems can be integrated as they are commissioned.

Particular attention can be paid to the quality of the cabling to ensure that it not only meets current requirements, but will meet future demands as technology advances.

We have seen cases where incredibly poor quality speaker wiring, contractor grade as we like to refer to it, has been used on really good speakers and amplifiers. These systems will never achieve the performance they are capable of delivering. This is comparable to driving an Aston Martin on an uneven,  pot-holed, dirt track; the car will never perform to the fullest of capabilities, even if the Stig is driving.

The use of Category 5 (CAT5) cabling is the 'norm' for most home network and telecoms cabling. Cable specifiers should be aware that CAT5 cable is simply not capable of meeting high definition video demands, let alone the advances that are being made in HD video and sound. New projects should only consider CAT6a or CAT7 cabling.

Television and video services are already moving away from satellite and terrestrial broadcasts to on-demand services delivered by the Internet. Soon video content will be delivered via the Internet in a similar fashion to music like MP3's already are.

If you consider how much the iPod and MP3's have revolutionised the way in which we listen to music to today, and how dated CD's seem, the same will be said for television and DVD's in the very near future. These advances should be considered today, as this will be a reality in a matter of years.

Wiring is part of the building's structure, it should be permanent, need little or no maintenance, and should be able to cope with change. Nobody would consider rewiring the entire home in order to change an electrical appliance. The same should apply to upgrading audio-visual equipment, phones, satellite systems, computers and more.

One should consider taking on the design services of a company which has an in-depth understanding of data networks, audio-visual equipment, security systems and home automation; to help you with the design of your home's core wiring to ensure that not only current requirements are met, but your home's wiring is indeed future-proof. The company need not supply all of the equipment or services, no company should be that demanding. Their insight and planning advice could prove to be valuable to you and your customer.

 

Timothy Francis
TEA London Limited

Article first appeared in Refurb and Rennovation News Feb/Mar 2009 issue