Home wiring
Encyclopedia
Home wiring is wiring in domestic use such as houses and gardens.
In many countries around the world any new dwelling must include what are referred to as essential services these are typically:
Whilst these services are essential most new homes will also have provision for Telephone, Internet access, Security, Pay TV to name a few.
When a home is built plumbing is installed to distribute the water and sewage to the location where it is needed in the home. At the same time electrical cabling is also installed to provide light and power throughout the home. Now in addition to this you also need to have an infrastructure to support all the new services now available to a modern home.
All of the above services have to have some way of being connected to your home and somewhere to house any connection equipment. A simple example is the electricity supply as in most cases it is a cable from the street pole or underground supply that runs into your switch board. Your switch board is typically a metal box mounted on the outside wall of your house. In may new homes the location of the electrical switchboard is on the outside of the external wall of the garage.
How services are connected will vary depending on the service provider and location of the home.
Power points are typically located where there will be an appliance installed such as, telephone, computers, television, home theater, security system, CCTV system.
Fore more details on electrical wiring practices you can read Electrical wiring
Fore more details on electrical wiring practices you can read Electrical wiring
terminated onto a telephone plug
. The cabling is typically installed as a daisy chain starting from the point where the telephone company connects to the home or star wired if it is more practical.
There are a range of standard that apply to telephone cabling, see the reference listed below.
ADSL service
ADSL services are typically delivered using the telephone cabling. So wherever you have a telephone point you can install your ADSL modem. When you have an ADSL modem you also need to install a filter at every location where you have a phone plugged in. If you want to install the ADSL modem in a room where you don't have any phone point you will need to install a phone point by extending the phone cabling from the nearest existing phone point.
Cable Modem
cable modem
s are typically installed in location where there is an existing Pay TV service outlet. The installation requires the installation of a Pay TV outlet (F connector
) at which point your connect the cable modem.
Fiber
Fiber is the least common but it is growing in numbers. If the home has fiber to it then the fiber terminates on what is known as an Optical Network Termination unit
(ONT) and it has a data port on it. Cabling from the street to the point where the ONT is installed is fiber and is typically installed by the service provider.
In all three cases the modem supplied or the ONT will have a data port which is an RJ45 socket and this is the port that needs to be connected to the devices you need to connect to the internet. This is the data network cabling or LAN cabling.
To extend the data service from the data port on the ADSL modem, Cable Modem or ONT to your networking devices (PC, printers, TV etc.) you need to install data cabling also referred to as LAN cabling. The cabling used for data networking is similar to the phone cabling as it is twisted pair
but of a much higher quality. The cable is known as Cat 5 or Cat 6 where Cat stands for Category. What you need to do is decide where are you networking devices and install cabling from the location where the data modem is located to where you have your PCs or TVs that need to connect to the internet. The cabling must be installed as a start wired configuration, that is the cabling runs from the point next to the modem uninterrupted up to where you install the outlet next to the device that needs to be connected to the internet. So unlike the phone wiring where you could wire from one outlet to the next, here each outlet is wired individually back to the location next to the modem. Therefore next to the modem you will have what is known as a patch panel
. Note, if all you need to plug into the modem is one computer then you can simply buy a Ethernet cable of the desired length and connected to between the modem and the PC.
There are a range of television antennas for a range of different locations, it is best to consult with your local supplier as to which one is best in you situation. The antenna is typically mounted external to the building most commonly on the roof. From the antenna you need to run a coaxial cable from the antenna to the location where the television is located. today the most common type of cable used for this purpose is RG-6
Tri-shield or quad-shield cable. The cable is terminated on a television outlets. the television outlets are typically an F connector
mounted on a face plate.
In cases where you need multiple television outlets then you run the cable from the antenna to an RF splitter. The RF splitter typically has one input for the cable from the Antenna and two or more outlets depending on the splitter. From the splitter you then run a coaxial cable to each outlet you are installing.
'Additional notes'
In most cases the Pay TV company will supply and install the satellite dish or cable from the street and the cabling to the various location where your televisions are. Whilst you can pre-wire for it if you do it must comply with the requirements detailed by the Pay TV company you choose.
In many cases Pay TV services also require a telephone point so you can access movies on demand, so if you have a Pay TV point you also need a phone plug.
is television delivered to your home via the internet. So on any device you want to watch IPTV on must be connected to the internet. To be connected to the internet it must be connected to your data network. For more details on data cabling see the section in this article titled "Data Network Cabling".
, and then plan your cabling for your speakers. If you have 5.1 you need to wire up:
The cable you need to install for all speakers except the sub-woofer is known as speaker cable which is figure eight multi-strand copper cable
. If the installation you are doing is permanent then go for good quality cable as it will be in the walls for a long time and you don't want to replace it.
Cabling for the sub-woofer is typically a single shielded cable terminated on an RCA connector
.
if you happen to have a 7.1 system then you also need to cable for speakers that are installed between the front and back speakers.
The simplest installation of a home theater system is by using a large flat screen TV as the source for the video and have all the home theater equipment installed next to the TV screen. If on the other hand you are planning on installing a rear projection unit
and a screen then you need to think how to get the video signal from your home theater equipment to the projector. The cabling used for this is known as an HDMI
cable and there are limits to how long this cable can be.
so the starting point for the cabling of a home theater system is, identify the equipment you are going to use, decide if you are going to use a flat screen TV or a rear projection unit and then draw a diagram with all the cable you need as you cannot leave any out. Once you have done this can you then run the cable in. Warning, you also need next to all main equipment a power point or power outlets and telecommunications, data, free to air and pay TV outlets. The sub-woofers are commonly active speakers and are required to be plugged into the mains as well.
When wiring a distributed audio system the first step is CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT" and check what wiring is required by the equipment you have purchased. In summary there are a few ways to wire up the system:
So the first step when wiring your distributed audio systems is CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT then read the manual and find out what cabling you need. Then you can install the cabling required. If you are thinking how do I choose my system, look for the functionality you want.
) systems contain basic components of:
and may have additional components.
Cabling for traditional equipment
Code pad
The code pad is typically found inside the font door or any other access door. The code pad is used to alarm the system on departure and disarm the system on entry. The cabling required is 6 core multi strand copper cable
.
Siren and strobe light
The siren and strobe light are typically installed outside the front of the house where it can be seen from the street and is protected from the weather. The cabling required is a 6 core multi strand copper cable.
Motion detectors
The motion detectors installed in locations throughout the house were any intrusion into the home can be detected. The best way to think of this is, which are the rooms that have direct access from the outside, where can I place a detector to pick up any intrusion. On solution is to place a motion sensor in each room, as this can be expensive an alternate is place one immediately outside in the common corridor to all rooms. The cabling required is a 6 core multi strand copper cable.
Main equipment
The main equipment is typically installed in a location that is not easily accessible such as a cupboard or sub floor area where in the event of an intrusion the person(s) cannot easily find it and interfere with the unit. The main unit requires a power point installed next to it for main power. It also needs a connection to the telephone line servicing the home so in situations where a back to base service is required it can be connected to the phone line. For details on the telephone connection see the section titled "telephone" in this article. Note the connection of the security system to the phone line requires a wiring configuration that allows the security system to disconnect all phones in the home when it needs to connect to the monitoring center. This is critical, if the wiring is not correct the system may not communicate back to base when an intrusion is detected.
All cabling from the code pad, siren and strobe light and motion detectors need to be run out from the main equipment. It is also recommended that the cabling to each code pad, motion detector are individual runs from the main equipment to the device. By having each device individually connected to the main equipment is facilitates maintenance and allows for more effective monitoring.
Cabling for IP Based systems
Like the traditional equipment the IP based systems require as a minimum:
The difference here is the cabling to connect the main equipment is either Cat 5 or Cat 6 and it is installed as part of the data cabling of the home. See this article the section titled "Data network cabling"
The advantage of an IP bases system is the flexibility to add devises at a later stage. That is you can cable to as many locations as you want and have it terminate on a data outlet near where you may be planning to add devices at a later stage. Adding the device is as simple as plugin it into the outlet and configuring the device.
Electrical
This is cabling installed from the electrical switchboard to the light fitting or any other device that is to be controlled by the automation system. For example if you have four down lights in a room and you wish to control each light individually, then each light will be wired back using electrical cabling back to the electrical switchboard. This means you will have four electrical cables installed from the electrical switchboard to the location where the light fittings will be installed. Each cable will be a three core active, neutral and earth cable.
If in that room you also have a free standing lamp plugged into a power point and you also want to control this from your automation system, you will need to have that power point individually wired back to the electrical switchboard.
So if you want to individually control every light fitting and every power point or power outlets then each one of these devices must be individually wired back to the electrical switchboard. As you can see this start to become quite a lot of electrical cabling so planning is essential.
Note, when you are using an automation system, there is no need to install any electrical cabling to the light switches. In a traditional electrical installation without automation the lights in a room would be wired back to the light switch which in turn would be wired back to the switchboard or some similar arrangement, so keep reading.
Data Bus
Once you have installed the electrical cabling you need to install the data bus cable from the electrical switchboard to every location you want to have a light switch or control panel installed (control panel is like the code pad on a security system or touch screen that gives you access to various control functions). The most common cable used for this is a Category 5 cable. The cable can be installed in either a daisy chain or star wired configuration. The importance is to minimize the cable length to avoid an communications problem on the bus.
If a cabled system is selected cabling needs to be deployed to the major appliances in the home. The cabling is installed as part of the data cabling as per detailed in this article in the section titled "Data Network Cabling". In addition to a cable being installed to every major appliance you also need to install a data cable near the electricity meter.
The major appliances being considered at this stage are:
Should a wireless system be selected the need for such disrution is removed. Smart plugs or switches can be used to connected the major appliances to the electricity supply and the home energy management system will wirelessly control them.
The first thing to consider when wanting to get some cable installed is find out what are the local regulations and licencing requirements. At a high level many countries clearly delineate between the installation of hazardous services from others based on the voltage used. Voltages typically found in a home can be divided into two categories:
whilst the voltage range may vary slightly between some standards for what is an ELV or LV voltage the rationale behind this categorization is the potential threat they pose. ELV is considered low risk whilst LV is considered to be high risk which can cause severe injury including death.
Below are the cabling system and associated voltage so you can judge for yourself where it is best to get someone that knows what they are doing to do the work.
Overview
The evolution of home wiring can be said to have started when electric lights and telephone where first installed in homes towards the end of the 19th century. Only towards the end of the 20th century have we seen the explosion of services and technologies that have increased the amount of cabling in the home.In many countries around the world any new dwelling must include what are referred to as essential services these are typically:
- Water
- Sewage
- Electricity
Whilst these services are essential most new homes will also have provision for Telephone, Internet access, Security, Pay TV to name a few.
When a home is built plumbing is installed to distribute the water and sewage to the location where it is needed in the home. At the same time electrical cabling is also installed to provide light and power throughout the home. Now in addition to this you also need to have an infrastructure to support all the new services now available to a modern home.
Home wiring elements
The elements that make up home wiring are:- Power point (also known as Wall outlets)
- Light fittings
- Telephone
- Data
- Free to air TV
- Pay TV
- IPTV
- Home theater
- Distributed audio
- Security monitoring
- Security CCTV
- Automation
- Energy management
Service connection
This section looks at the services that need connection and what are the typical connection types required. the services that need connectivity from an outside party are:- Electricity supply
- Telephony
- Internet
- Free to air TV
- Pay TV
- IPTV
- Audio
- Security
All of the above services have to have some way of being connected to your home and somewhere to house any connection equipment. A simple example is the electricity supply as in most cases it is a cable from the street pole or underground supply that runs into your switch board. Your switch board is typically a metal box mounted on the outside wall of your house. In may new homes the location of the electrical switchboard is on the outside of the external wall of the garage.
How services are connected will vary depending on the service provider and location of the home.
Power point
Power points need to be installed throughout the house in locations where power will be required. In most countries the installation must be done in compliance with standards and by a licensed or qualified electrician. For the list of standards see the references listed below. Power pointsPower points are typically located where there will be an appliance installed such as, telephone, computers, television, home theater, security system, CCTV system.
Fore more details on electrical wiring practices you can read Electrical wiring
Electrical wiring
Electrical wiring in general refers to insulated conductors used to carry electricity, and associated devices. This article describes general aspects of electrical wiring as used to provide power in buildings and structures, commonly referred to as building wiring. This article is intended to...
Light fittings
This is even more of a challenge than the power point as the number of light fitting does depend on the type of light fitting. So for this reason we cannot give you much as it depends in the function of the room. So work out the function or functions of each room and identify where the you need to install various light fittings and which group of light you would need on depending on the use of the room, then you can determine how much cable and where. In most countries the installation must be done in compliance with standards and by a licensed or qualified electrician. For the list of standards see the references listed below.Fore more details on electrical wiring practices you can read Electrical wiring
Electrical wiring
Electrical wiring in general refers to insulated conductors used to carry electricity, and associated devices. This article describes general aspects of electrical wiring as used to provide power in buildings and structures, commonly referred to as building wiring. This article is intended to...
Telephone
To allow for connection of telephone points you need to have cabling installed from the point where the telephone company has installed their cabling to where you want the phone points. In many of the new homes this is typically located near the electrical switch board but not always. You need to identify where you want the phone system or handset physically connected. Probably the best location is in the kitchen and possibly the study. The telephone cabling typically uses two pair twisted cableTwisted pair
Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two conductors are twisted together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference from external sources; for instance, electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted pair cables, and crosstalk between neighboring pairs...
terminated onto a telephone plug
Telephone plug
A telephone plug is a type of male connector used to connect a telephone to the telephone wiring in a home or business, and in turn to a local telephone network. It is inserted into its female counterpart, a telephone "jack", commonly affixed to a wall or baseboard...
. The cabling is typically installed as a daisy chain starting from the point where the telephone company connects to the home or star wired if it is more practical.
There are a range of standard that apply to telephone cabling, see the reference listed below.
Data service delivery
The three most common ways data services are delivered to the home:- ADSL service on the back of the telephone cabling
- Cable Modem
- Fiber
ADSL service
ADSL services are typically delivered using the telephone cabling. So wherever you have a telephone point you can install your ADSL modem. When you have an ADSL modem you also need to install a filter at every location where you have a phone plugged in. If you want to install the ADSL modem in a room where you don't have any phone point you will need to install a phone point by extending the phone cabling from the nearest existing phone point.
Cable Modem
cable modem
Cable modem
A cable modem is a type of network bridge and modem that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a HFC and RFoG infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high...
s are typically installed in location where there is an existing Pay TV service outlet. The installation requires the installation of a Pay TV outlet (F connector
F connector
The F connector is a type of coaxial RF connector commonly used for "over the air" terrestrial television, cable television and universally for satellite television and cable modems, usually with RG-6/U cable or, in older installations, with RG-59/U cable. It was invented by Eric E...
) at which point your connect the cable modem.
Fiber
Fiber is the least common but it is growing in numbers. If the home has fiber to it then the fiber terminates on what is known as an Optical Network Termination unit
Network interface device
In telecommunications, a Network Interface Device is a device that serves as the demarcation point between the carrier's local loop and the customer's premises wiring....
(ONT) and it has a data port on it. Cabling from the street to the point where the ONT is installed is fiber and is typically installed by the service provider.
In all three cases the modem supplied or the ONT will have a data port which is an RJ45 socket and this is the port that needs to be connected to the devices you need to connect to the internet. This is the data network cabling or LAN cabling.
Data Network cabling
To extend the data service from the data port on the ADSL modem, Cable Modem or ONT to your networking devices (PC, printers, TV etc.) you need to install data cabling also referred to as LAN cabling. The cabling used for data networking is similar to the phone cabling as it is twisted pair
Twisted pair
Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two conductors are twisted together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference from external sources; for instance, electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted pair cables, and crosstalk between neighboring pairs...
but of a much higher quality. The cable is known as Cat 5 or Cat 6 where Cat stands for Category. What you need to do is decide where are you networking devices and install cabling from the location where the data modem is located to where you have your PCs or TVs that need to connect to the internet. The cabling must be installed as a start wired configuration, that is the cabling runs from the point next to the modem uninterrupted up to where you install the outlet next to the device that needs to be connected to the internet. So unlike the phone wiring where you could wire from one outlet to the next, here each outlet is wired individually back to the location next to the modem. Therefore next to the modem you will have what is known as a patch panel
Patch panel
A patch panel or patch bay is a panel, typically rackmounted, that houses cable connections. One typically shorter patch cable will plug into the front side, whereas the back holds the connection of a much longer and more permanent cable...
. Note, if all you need to plug into the modem is one computer then you can simply buy a Ethernet cable of the desired length and connected to between the modem and the PC.
Free to air TV
Cabling for free to air TV requires the following:- An antennaTelevision antennaA television antenna, or TV aerial, is an antenna specifically designed for the reception of over the air broadcast television signals, which are transmitted at frequencies from about 41 to 250 MHz in the VHF band, and 470 to 960 MHz in the UHF band in different countries...
- Coaxial cableCoaxial cableCoaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...
- TV outlets
There are a range of television antennas for a range of different locations, it is best to consult with your local supplier as to which one is best in you situation. The antenna is typically mounted external to the building most commonly on the roof. From the antenna you need to run a coaxial cable from the antenna to the location where the television is located. today the most common type of cable used for this purpose is RG-6
RG-6
RG-6/U is a common type of coaxial cable used in a wide variety of residential and commercial applications. The term "RG-6" itself is quite generic and refers to a wide variety of cable designs, which differ from one another in shielding characteristics, center conductor composition, and...
Tri-shield or quad-shield cable. The cable is terminated on a television outlets. the television outlets are typically an F connector
F connector
The F connector is a type of coaxial RF connector commonly used for "over the air" terrestrial television, cable television and universally for satellite television and cable modems, usually with RG-6/U cable or, in older installations, with RG-59/U cable. It was invented by Eric E...
mounted on a face plate.
In cases where you need multiple television outlets then you run the cable from the antenna to an RF splitter. The RF splitter typically has one input for the cable from the Antenna and two or more outlets depending on the splitter. From the splitter you then run a coaxial cable to each outlet you are installing.
'Additional notes'
- On RF splitters, there are a few different types depending on the application. They range from very basic splitters to active splitters when you install many TV outlets throughout the home.
- Whilst most TV outlets use the F connector the Television or digital set top box usually come with a connector known as Belling Lee so the cable used to connect from the TV outlet to the television will need to have an F connector in one end and a Belling Lee connector at the other end.
Pay TV
The distribution of pay TV through the home uses the same type of cabling used for Free to Air TV with some variations. The variations are:- There is no antenna as there is either a satellite dish or a cable from the street.
- The cabling must be RG-6 quad shield
- You may be required to used the cable and cabling connectors approved by your pay TV provider
- A Pay TV Set Top Box needs to be installed at each television where you want to have access to Pay TV services.
In most cases the Pay TV company will supply and install the satellite dish or cable from the street and the cabling to the various location where your televisions are. Whilst you can pre-wire for it if you do it must comply with the requirements detailed by the Pay TV company you choose.
In many cases Pay TV services also require a telephone point so you can access movies on demand, so if you have a Pay TV point you also need a phone plug.
IPTV
IPTVIPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
is television delivered to your home via the internet. So on any device you want to watch IPTV on must be connected to the internet. To be connected to the internet it must be connected to your data network. For more details on data cabling see the section in this article titled "Data Network Cabling".
Home theater
Home theater is very difficult to pre wire for as you need to know what home theater system you are installing as there are two main types to consider 5.1 and 7.1 and that is only the beginning. then you need to look at what extras the equipment you are using requires in addition to the basic 5.1 or 7.1. So what is 5.1 and 7.1, see Surround soundSurround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
, and then plan your cabling for your speakers. If you have 5.1 you need to wire up:
- Two front speakers one on the left of the screen and one on the right of the screen,
- One front speaker cable just above or below the screen which is the middle front
- Two rear speakers one on the left and one of the right in line with front left and right speaker locations
- The sub-woofer which can be anywhere in the room acoustically but must be relatively close to the active equipment the amplifier or surround sound receiver.
The cable you need to install for all speakers except the sub-woofer is known as speaker cable which is figure eight multi-strand copper cable
Speaker wire
Speaker wire is used to make the electrical connection between loudspeakers and audio amplifiers. Modern speaker wire consists of two or more electrical conductors individually insulated by plastic such as PVC, PE or Teflon. The two wires are electrically identical, but are marked Speaker wire is...
. If the installation you are doing is permanent then go for good quality cable as it will be in the walls for a long time and you don't want to replace it.
Cabling for the sub-woofer is typically a single shielded cable terminated on an RCA connector
RCA connector
An RCA connector, sometimes called a phono connector or cinch connector, is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals...
.
if you happen to have a 7.1 system then you also need to cable for speakers that are installed between the front and back speakers.
The simplest installation of a home theater system is by using a large flat screen TV as the source for the video and have all the home theater equipment installed next to the TV screen. If on the other hand you are planning on installing a rear projection unit
Video projector
A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image on a projection screen using a lens system. All video projectors use a very bright light to project the image, and most modern ones can correct any curves, blurriness, and other...
and a screen then you need to think how to get the video signal from your home theater equipment to the projector. The cabling used for this is known as an HDMI
HDMI
HDMI is a compact audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed digital data. It is a digital alternative to consumer analog standards, such as radio frequency coaxial cable, composite video, S-Video, SCART, component video, D-Terminal, or VGA...
cable and there are limits to how long this cable can be.
so the starting point for the cabling of a home theater system is, identify the equipment you are going to use, decide if you are going to use a flat screen TV or a rear projection unit and then draw a diagram with all the cable you need as you cannot leave any out. Once you have done this can you then run the cable in. Warning, you also need next to all main equipment a power point or power outlets and telecommunications, data, free to air and pay TV outlets. The sub-woofers are commonly active speakers and are required to be plugged into the mains as well.
Distributed audio
Distributed audio refers to having the ability to have music throughout the house, where the music sources are all centralized. In every room and hallways you have a pair of speakers and you can select to have all speakers play the same music throughout the house or have different music in different location or zones as they are referred to. You can also remotely control the music sources and volume throughout the house. There are a wide range of distributed audio systems in the market and therefore the cabling you need depends on the system you are installing.When wiring a distributed audio system the first step is CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT" and check what wiring is required by the equipment you have purchased. In summary there are a few ways to wire up the system:
- Spear cabling is installed from the central equipment to the speaker location
- Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable is installed from the Central equipment to the speaker location
- Cat 5 or Cat 6 cable is installed to each room where you want the distributed audio and in each room you have an amplifier and speaker locally installed
So the first step when wiring your distributed audio systems is CHOOSE YOUR EQUIPMENT then read the manual and find out what cabling you need. Then you can install the cabling required. If you are thinking how do I choose my system, look for the functionality you want.
Security monitoring
Security monitoring (burglar alarmBurglar alarm
Burglar , alarms are systems designed to detect unauthorized entry into a building or area. They consist of an array of sensors, a control panel and alerting system, and interconnections...
) systems contain basic components of:
- Code pad
- Siren and strobe light
- Motion detectors
- Main panel
and may have additional components.
Cabling for traditional equipment
Code pad
The code pad is typically found inside the font door or any other access door. The code pad is used to alarm the system on departure and disarm the system on entry. The cabling required is 6 core multi strand copper cable
Wire
A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...
.
Siren and strobe light
The siren and strobe light are typically installed outside the front of the house where it can be seen from the street and is protected from the weather. The cabling required is a 6 core multi strand copper cable.
Motion detectors
The motion detectors installed in locations throughout the house were any intrusion into the home can be detected. The best way to think of this is, which are the rooms that have direct access from the outside, where can I place a detector to pick up any intrusion. On solution is to place a motion sensor in each room, as this can be expensive an alternate is place one immediately outside in the common corridor to all rooms. The cabling required is a 6 core multi strand copper cable.
Main equipment
The main equipment is typically installed in a location that is not easily accessible such as a cupboard or sub floor area where in the event of an intrusion the person(s) cannot easily find it and interfere with the unit. The main unit requires a power point installed next to it for main power. It also needs a connection to the telephone line servicing the home so in situations where a back to base service is required it can be connected to the phone line. For details on the telephone connection see the section titled "telephone" in this article. Note the connection of the security system to the phone line requires a wiring configuration that allows the security system to disconnect all phones in the home when it needs to connect to the monitoring center. This is critical, if the wiring is not correct the system may not communicate back to base when an intrusion is detected.
All cabling from the code pad, siren and strobe light and motion detectors need to be run out from the main equipment. It is also recommended that the cabling to each code pad, motion detector are individual runs from the main equipment to the device. By having each device individually connected to the main equipment is facilitates maintenance and allows for more effective monitoring.
Cabling for IP Based systems
Like the traditional equipment the IP based systems require as a minimum:
- Code pad
- Siren and strobe light
- Motion detectors
- Main equipment
The difference here is the cabling to connect the main equipment is either Cat 5 or Cat 6 and it is installed as part of the data cabling of the home. See this article the section titled "Data network cabling"
Security CCTV
This is becoming more sought after in private home as an additional level of security. The wiring required to install a CCTV system is Data cabling, refer to the section in this article titled "Data network cabling". What you need to determine is where do you want to install the CCTV cameras and wherever you want the camera you need to install a data outlet. The location where you install the cameras will vary from home to home but typically they are installed so you can see anyone approaching any of the entry areas of the home.The advantage of an IP bases system is the flexibility to add devises at a later stage. That is you can cable to as many locations as you want and have it terminate on a data outlet near where you may be planning to add devices at a later stage. Adding the device is as simple as plugin it into the outlet and configuring the device.
Automation
Automation refers to the ability to be able to control a range of devices in the home ranging from lights to curtains. The most common example of automation are referred to as Lighting control systems. Lighting control system need to be installed by a qualified professional as the cabling is only one element but without the equipment and programming you cannot even turn a light on. The cabling required when installing an automation system can be dived into two parts:- Electrical
- Data Bus
Electrical
This is cabling installed from the electrical switchboard to the light fitting or any other device that is to be controlled by the automation system. For example if you have four down lights in a room and you wish to control each light individually, then each light will be wired back using electrical cabling back to the electrical switchboard. This means you will have four electrical cables installed from the electrical switchboard to the location where the light fittings will be installed. Each cable will be a three core active, neutral and earth cable.
If in that room you also have a free standing lamp plugged into a power point and you also want to control this from your automation system, you will need to have that power point individually wired back to the electrical switchboard.
So if you want to individually control every light fitting and every power point or power outlets then each one of these devices must be individually wired back to the electrical switchboard. As you can see this start to become quite a lot of electrical cabling so planning is essential.
Note, when you are using an automation system, there is no need to install any electrical cabling to the light switches. In a traditional electrical installation without automation the lights in a room would be wired back to the light switch which in turn would be wired back to the switchboard or some similar arrangement, so keep reading.
Data Bus
Once you have installed the electrical cabling you need to install the data bus cable from the electrical switchboard to every location you want to have a light switch or control panel installed (control panel is like the code pad on a security system or touch screen that gives you access to various control functions). The most common cable used for this is a Category 5 cable. The cable can be installed in either a daisy chain or star wired configuration. The importance is to minimize the cable length to avoid an communications problem on the bus.
Energy management
Energy management is a new and upcoming topic in particular at the home. Older systems tended to be cable however all new systems use one of a variety of wireless solutios. This enables them to be effectively retrofitted into existing homes with the minimum of distruption.If a cabled system is selected cabling needs to be deployed to the major appliances in the home. The cabling is installed as part of the data cabling as per detailed in this article in the section titled "Data Network Cabling". In addition to a cable being installed to every major appliance you also need to install a data cable near the electricity meter.
The major appliances being considered at this stage are:
- Electric hot water system
- Air Conditioning
- Pool pump
- Fridge / freezer
Should a wireless system be selected the need for such disrution is removed. Smart plugs or switches can be used to connected the major appliances to the electricity supply and the home energy management system will wirelessly control them.
Who can do the work
Whilst the rules of who can do what in the area of cabling varies from country to country you should not attempt any cabling unless you have taken the time to learn how to do it properly. Cabling is not a difficult job at face value but if not done properly it can be the cause of countless difficult problems to rectify and can lead to serious and potentially fatal installations.The first thing to consider when wanting to get some cable installed is find out what are the local regulations and licencing requirements. At a high level many countries clearly delineate between the installation of hazardous services from others based on the voltage used. Voltages typically found in a home can be divided into two categories:
- Extra low voltage (ELV)
- Low voltage (LV)Low voltageLow voltage when used as an electrical engineering term concerning an electricity supply grid or industrial use, broadly identifies safety considerations of the system based on the voltage used. The meaning of the term "low voltage" is somewhat different when used with regard to a more typical end...
whilst the voltage range may vary slightly between some standards for what is an ELV or LV voltage the rationale behind this categorization is the potential threat they pose. ELV is considered low risk whilst LV is considered to be high risk which can cause severe injury including death.
Below are the cabling system and associated voltage so you can judge for yourself where it is best to get someone that knows what they are doing to do the work.
| Low Voltage | Extra Low Voltage |
| Power point | |
| Light fittings | |
| Telephone | |
| Data | |
| Free to air TV | |
| Pay TV | |
| IPTV | |
| Home theater | |
| Distributed audio | |
| Security monitoring | |
| Security CCTV | |
| Automation | Automation |
| Energy management |
Additional reading
- Electrical wiring practices Keith Petherbridge, Ian Neeson ISBN 0074710524
- Telstra Home Wiring
- Copper Development Association resources