3 Reasons Why Structured Cabling is a Smart Investment
Smart Homes Need a Myriad of Connections
Structured cabling sounds very organized, but what is it? Does it avoid a rat’s nest of cables and wires in a wiring closet? To a large extent, yes. Structured cabling installations are commonly found in the commercial world yet are also common in homes – and can be just as necessary.
If you are building or remodeling a home, structured cabling is highly recommended. Today’s homes have ever-increasing amounts of technology and connected devices. Structured cabling can present an organized approach for providing the proper infrastructure for your security, networking, entertainment, and smart home systems in your Goochland County, Virginia home. Read on to see how you can prepare your home for the technology of today and tomorrow.
SEE ALSO: Why Installing Structured Cabling Future Proofs Your New Home
Security
In residences, security has long been an application for structured cabling. For a home with extensive sensors for doors, windows, motion, and fire, the low-voltage wiring would be centrally routed to a panel with the main security system brains. Today's systems go beyond just sensors with high-resolution video monitoring cameras, smart video doorbells, and smart locks. Those devices may employ wired and wireless connectivity, and a structured plan can ensure features like the ability to view your security camera feed on any display in the house. IP networked video cameras work best with wired connections, which can deliver both power and data connectivity. To enable that, you need a structured central panel with power over ethernet (POE) and other accommodations to tie the cameras to a networked video recorder or controller hub.
High-Performance Networking
The foundation of any smart home is the network. Many devices depend on a solid wi-fi signal to connect to the internet or internally to a central hub for control. In a large house, the wireless signal often doesn't extend far enough with one main wi-fi router. Wireless access points can be deployed in outlying areas to ensure even, strong signal coverage. Access points should be hard-wired to the router for the best performance, and that cabling – and specific endpoint locations – should be considered in a structured wiring strategy. For the best performance with bandwidth-intensive entertainment like 4K streaming and video gaming, wired connections should be planned for optimal performance and reliability. Other devices like smart locks may depend on different wireless protocols, and sometimes the signal for those also needs extension throughout a large house or property. Those repeaters might be wired, so they should also be taken into account with low voltage cabling plans.
Smart Home Features
Smart home systems require wires and cables too. While a smart lighting system might control lighting wirelessly, the controlling system that manages the lighting loads is centrally located in some space and will connect via wiring to various things. Similarly, a smart home control system like Control4 will need network and low-voltage connections to multiple devices. You may have a whole-home audio system with speaker wiring emanating from a central location, or you may opt for a newer approach with distribution digitally over network connections. Either way, when you start looking at all the connectivity requirements of various systems and the interrelationship between them, it becomes clear why a carefully planned structured cabling system for your home is a necessity.
Work with a professional like Sound + Image to get the structured cabling installation that enables you to integrate everything you want in your modern smart home. To get started, give us a call at (804) 741-5816 or fill out our online form to get started today. We would love to work with you!
