It’s no fun tripping over wires or breaking into walls to upgrade or customize your entertainment system. If a new construction home (or a gut to the studs renovation) is in your future, be aware of the huge advantages of pre-wiring to ensure optimal cabling and infrastructure for all your audio/visual needs, now and to come.
Central hub and Structured Cabling
Structured cabling can be installed before walls are closed in the same way electrical wires and plumbing are installed before construction is finished. For this scenario, feeds for telephone, entertainment systems (including speakers and cable TV) and networking run from each room to a central hub. External feeds for services are also connected to the hub panel which can also contain splitters, amplifiers, and modems. With everything clearly labeled, easy access for future changes or troubleshooting is much easier. And, not insignificantly, wires are tucked away for a tidy and clutter-free home.
Control in each room
Speaker cables run from a central hub to a control panel in each room in the home can control volume and other aspects of audio transmission. The latest systems feature keypads with control for switching between sources, or touchscreens for accessing Internet radio.
Installing cables from a central location into each room where you want a TV or entertainment system means you can put a satellite or cable receiver in each room, locate a single receiver centrally, and distribute its output to each room, or connect your TV to the Internet to receive IP delivered content via Netflix, Roku or Apple TV.
The Future is IOT
The Internet of Things (IOT) is coming. Ever increasing bandwidth and more frequent inter-connectivity between devices means it’s never been more important to pre-wire new construction for wireless transmission. A web of data cables can be run from a central location, specifically to rooms with entertainment centers. Currently, these can be networks of ethernet or fiber optic cables.
The Big Advantage
To recap, here’s a list of several advantages to pre-wiring a new build or home under renovation:
- the aesthetics of a wire-free environment
- fewer tripping or shorting hazards, keep infrastructure out of the hands of young children and animals
- maximizing the potential for an integrated security system or remote monitoring, in the future if not immediately
- one touch turn off and audio or internet that flows unobstructed from room to room
- ease of use by centralizing controls
- better affordability to install cable during construction than afterward
