A strong foundation is an important part of any project and Low Voltage wiring for a home or office is no different.
There are many types of cable, and all of them have certain uses and benefits.
It is paramount to have the correct structure wiring done and installed in the appropriate locations at the beginning of each project.
The importance of having all of your ducks in a row becomes even more important if the home you are designing is to be a smart home
Home Automation, Security and Home Theater become much more difficult to customize after the structure wiring phase of the project.
Is it possible to retro in structure wire? Absolutely, but it is much easier to get everything pre-wired at the structure wiring phase of the project rather than after the drywall is up and installed.
What Are Some Examples of Wire?
CAT5: This is the cable used to plug your computer into the wall for a network connection.
Category 5 cable is known as the 5th generation of twisted pair wiring.
It is commonly referred to as an Ethernet cable when terminated and ready for use.
This type of structure wire has many more uses than it's primary purpose of getting the internet working correctly in a home or office.
CAT5 can also be converted into HDMI cables for video distribution over long or short distances as well as be converted into an audio connection.
CAT6: This type of wiring is also primarily used for internet network.
The main difference between CAT5 and CAT6 is in the twists in the wire pairs inside of the wire.
CAT6 can accomplish everything that CAT5 can do, just faster.
The most notable difference between the cables is the max speed that can be emitted through the wire - CAT5 can produce up to 1000Mbps & CAT6 can preform up to 10 Gigabit.
Fiber Optic Cable: Fiber is the fastest, most durable cable for communication.
It doesn't quite communicate at the speed of light, but it gets pretty darn close with a loss of only +/- 31%.
While copper cable can communicate just over 9000 ft, Fiber Optic cable can communicate just over 24 miles.
Although the cable is made of glass it is also more durable than the classic copper cable wiring.
Speaker Wire: When deciding which gauge wire to have installed for your House Audio or Home Theater system, there are a few things that need to be considered.
The smaller the number (10,12 or 16) the thicker the copper inside of the speaker cable.
Typically for a Whole House Audio system, the 16 gauge speaker wire is sufficient.
Home Theaters or Surround Sound Systems can also use 16 gauge speaker cable, but in order to get the best sound it would be wise to use a larger gauge wire.
These are a few of the basic cables that are ran in almost every new construction home or office.
As you prepare to get the low voltage cabling done in your home, we encourage you to reach out with any questions or concerns that may rise.
Reach us by phone at (480) 436-2840 or e-mail at hello@hybrydsystems.com. We are excited to get started with you!
