To create long-term resale value, builders and their subcontractors need to make homes future-compatible through effective wiring-and wireless doesn't cut the mustard.
Future-proof is a fairly self-explanatory term. In the home technologies industry it refers to the ability of a design to stand the test of time. The term can be used for a variety of systems and is touted as a solution that will allow homeowners to add any new technology or tech product they wish over a given period of time. The trick for builders, and for their subcontractors, is to prepare their homes so that clients will be satisfied with their level of connectivity far into the future. If done effectively, future-proofing is likely to bolster the resale value of a home.
In the effort to make certain products future-proof, manufacturers are aligning themselves to allow their products to use less proprietary means to make their systems work. In other words, Product A shouldn't have to rely on Product B to work. It should have open-ended compatibility. Using RS-232, Cat 5 or Cat 6 wiring, and RG-6 provides an easy way for builders, installers and manufacturers to make their homes, installations and products future-proof. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) offers a specification that describes future-proofing in great detail. The TIA has brought together a wiring specification that describes the connectivity from various service providers into a home and up to the wiring's demarcation. It describes the necessary arrangements for single- and multi- dwelling units.
From the demarcation, greater detail is given to describe how certain components will be connected to these service providers' incoming signal.
The primary wiring topology for 570-B is using standard structured wiring. This is wiring that has at least two Cat 5 wires and two RG-6 cables bundled together in one jacket. Some manufacturers even offer the addition of two fiber optic cables for future technology provisions. The specified arrangement with this wiring is in using it as an outlet, much like a 110VAC power outlet. In a given room, these outlets will be used to provide the service provider's signal. A distribution closet is used as the location for installing the distribution equipment, as all of the home's wiring is sent from this location. It may or may not be co-located with the demarcation point.
Home automation involves several electronic systems in a home. They are lighting, climate control, telecommunications, security, a home network, whole-house audio/video distribution, home theater, central vacuum, shade controls, video surveillance, and electronic entry access electronics.
What Can Be Future-Proofed
The common denominator for home automation is wiring. It is a cheap supporting technology, readily available in great quantities, and requires little skill to install. However, the variety of subsystems and manufacturers' wiring requirements still leaves quite a bit to swim through in order to make a home's wiring future-proof. Wireless solutions are available, but manufacturers are not adopting this as a widespread solution due to inherent interference potential, signal security, and expense. Combined with good planning, wiring is the only solution for true future-proofing.
Terminating all of the installed wiring will complete your design into a plug-and-play ready environment. It keeps the wiring hidden and manageable even when electronics are not installed. For flush-mounted transducers, terminating the wires wastes labor and materials. In this case, not terminating the wires but placing them in a low-voltage junction box with a blank cover will serve as a manageable solution.
Selecting locations for the terminated wiring will require an understanding of the optimal locations for the intended components. Flush-mountable components such as speakers, for example, may be installed either in the wall or in the ceiling. The quandary is, how can you prepare for speakers when you don't know what the homeowner will eventually install? Installing more than one set of possible locations is unattractive and adds more expense. Placing speaker locations at a central point in the room's ceiling will allow the installation to retain audio value while minimizing the required length of additional wiring, all without dictating where speakers will or should be placed.
What if the room requires multiple locations of the same type of wiring configurations? Instead of home runs, the design will prove flexible by connecting those multiple locations in parallel. This allows the design to remain functional even when the room's furniture is rearranged.
In case you desire to make provision for maintenance, repairs, or upgrades on the installed wiring at a later date, you can add conduit to the design to make it easier. Selecting a conduit size that allows the most growth for the location without overcrowding the joists and studs is desirable. In many cases, this means that installing multiple smaller conduits to the same locations will be advantageous to selecting one large conduit for the same purpose. (The CEA's "Wiring America's Homes" white paper advises 2-inch conduit be used.-Editor's note)
Benefitting The Builder
Future-proofing shows your clients that you are interested in offering a solution, not a product. The costs of wiring and terminations are low enough for you to offer larger designs that include more subsystems at once without your client suffering from sticker shock. Offering a passive wiring package without electronics allows your design to remain universal and unbiased. For your clients, when it is time to resell the home, they can recoup at least all of the installed value of the wiring package because of the significant usefulness of the wiring to all possible combinations of electronics. And the opportunity to upgrade the wiring keeps you in the loop longer, making you more money in the process.
Wesley Mullings is a contributing participant to the TIA's 570-B residential wiring standard committee. He moonlights with Digital Lifestyles at www.digilifellc.com.