SPECIAL REPORT

RESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS WIRING

Prepared for

NAHB High Production Home Builder Council

Prepared by

NAHB Research Center

400 Prince George’s Boulevard
Upper Marlboro, MD 20774

August 29, 2000

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PURPOSE AND SCOPE ...................................................................................................... 1

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................................... 1

WHY HOMEBUYERS NEED COMMUNICATION WIRING................................................... 2

A STRUCTURED WIRING SYSTEM EXAMPLE .................................................................. 5

Unshielded Twisted-Pair Copper Wiring ......................................................... 5

Coaxial Cabling ................................................................................................. 7
Distribution Panel.............................................................................................. 9
Outlets .............................................................................................................. 10
System Flexibility and Growth........................................................................ 10
Cost Estimates.................................................................................................. 11

WIRING FOR AUDIO ...................................................................................................... 11

WIRING FOR SECURITY AND HOME AUTOMATION ....................................................... 12

WHAT ABOUT FIBER OPTICS?...................................................................................... 13

STRUCTURED WIRING VENDORS/MANUFACTURERS .................................................... 14

STRUCTURED WIRING INSTALLERS .............................................................................. 16

APPENDIX A: HARDWARE COST ESTIMATES.............................................................. A-1

PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This summer a new rule from the Federal Communications Commission became active.
It requires that all of the telecommunications wiring in new residences be Category 3 or
better. Category 3 is a cable that includes 2 to 4 twisted pairs of copper wire enclosed in
a plastic sheath. Builders are now required to use this cabling in place of the old 4-wire
telephone cable. An article in the July 17, 2000 Nations Building News states "The new
FCC requirements will give home owners a basis for making a civil claim against
builders or contractors if they experience telecommunication problems --- due to non-
compliant telephone wiring." This means that, as a minimum, builders will need to
assure that their subs are installing Category 3 cable.

This rule can easily be satisfied by installing Category 3 cables to outlets in a few rooms
around the house. However, the current and growing number of communication services
and electronic equipment has many homebuyers looking for homes that have the right
kind of wires connected to the right places to meet current and future needs. This means
installing Category 3, or even better, Category 5 cables to the right places and including
the right kind of coaxial cables to meet television/video needs.

This report is intended to give home builders information that will help them to decide
what kind and how much communications wiring to install in a new home. It is focused
on wiring, not home automation. It talks about wiring to meet current and future needs of
the homeowner. The report provides recommendations, not just an array of options and
tradeoffs. These recommendations are not claimed to be "right" but they are rational at
the time this report was being written—summer of 2000.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Cable TV and high-speed modems can function well over existing coaxial cable and plain
old telephone wires. However, new technologies like direct broadcast satellite TV or in-
home data networking need more than the standard telephone wires and coax. Special
wiring done right can meet the requirements for these new technologies and provides the
flexibility to support future technologies.

The conclusions and recommendations below summarize the information presented in

this report.

A wiring system using special telephone/data cables (Category 3 and preferably Category
5 cables -- explained later in this report) and special coaxial cable (RG-6) will meet the
communication needs of most families now and in the foreseeable future. The key to
making this wiring useful now and in the future is to wire with a separate cable run from
a distribution panel to each outlet. If this wiring is done as a system, including the panel,
the cables and the outlets and documentation, then it is often called a structured wiring
system.

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 1

Builders have three options available for offering a structured wiring system to
homebuyers.
1. Assemble a system made up from components available from distributors like
Branch Electric, Grainger, or Graybar. Leviton Telcom offers the components
needed to make up a system through a variety of distributors.
2. Buy a system from a systems integrator who packages components. HomeTech
Solutions is one such company.
3. Buy a system from a structured wiring system manufacturer. The best known and
most widely used products are those from OnQ (formerly a division of AMP),
Home Director (formerly a division of IBM), and Lucent.
Although option 3 is probably easiest and lowest risk, it may be worth looking into the
others to compare cost.

A qualified contractor with trained installers will be needed. Installing the cables
correctly and attaching the connectors properly is critical to the performance of the
wiring system and requires special knowledge and skills. The system should be tested
after it is installed. Also, laying out a flexible configuration—deciding where to cable
and provide outlets and how many and what type of cables to use is very important. This
is especially true if home theater, audio distribution, and other relatively sophisticated
functions are to be offered. This report provides several leads for finding local installers.
Or, a national account with Brinks or ADT is another possibility.

A structured wiring system as described in this report should be all the wiring a
homeowner needs for a future home automation system. This structured wiring, when
supplemented by communications that operate over the AC power lines in a home, should
be able to support all of the home controls that a home automation system offers.

Optical fibers for communication inside the home aren't necessary. Twisted pairs and
coaxial cable will meet in-home communication needs well into the future—maybe
"forever.” However, there is always the possibility that some day fibers will be practical
for in-home communications. A very economical form of insurance is to install 2 inch
conduit from the basement to the attic to make future fiber installation easier.

WHY HOMEBUYERS NEED COMMUNICATION WIRING

As communications providers deliver ever-higher bandwidth with fiber optics, satellite

communications, digital subscriber lines, and other communications offerings, builders
need to give their customers the opportunity to use these advanced technologies. The big
drivers for more in-house communications capability are:
ü personal computers and the Internet that need high-speed data connections;
ü telephones, faxes and telephone modems that need high-quality telephone cabling;
ü TV for entertainment and security that need video connections;
ü stereo audio; and
ü security systems and home controls that need low-speed data connections.

These needs are briefly summarized below.

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Personal Computers and the Internet - High Speed Data
A market research company, InfoTech Trends, estimates that almost 8 million homes had
2 or more PCs in 1999 and over 12 million will have 2 or more by 2002. Many of these
multiple PC owners will want a computer network. An article in the September 1 issue
of PC Magazine (page 145) quotes a Yankee Group prediction that home networks will
mushroom from 650,000 today to more than 10 million in 2003. Although these home
networks can work without special wiring, the kind of wiring described in this paper
would make it much easier and better.

Families with multiple PCs may want to be able to communicate between these
computers for a variety of reasons. They may want to share files between computers,
download files from several computers to a shared printer, share scanners or other
peripheral devices among several computers, and share a single Internet modem among
all the computers in the house. Sharing the Internet connection makes a lot of sense if the
user has a high speed connection -- either the cable or satellite modem or a digital
subscriber line modem. Home networking hardware for 4 to 6 devices can be had for a
few hundred dollars and Windows 95 and 98 includes the required networking software.
This type of network will operate over Category 3 cable at 10 Megabits/second (10
million bits per second)-- fast enough for almost any current application. This report has
about 3 million bits, for example, and would take about 1/3 of a second to download. For
a little bit more money a consumer can buy 100BaseT, which operates at 100
Megabits/second and can operate very well over Category 5 cable.

Telephones, Faxes and Modems

These devices are all designed to work quite well over existing telephone wiring inside
the home. However, increasing numbers of telecommuters and home offices result in
needs to support more than one line. For example, one or two private lines, one business
voice line and one fax line.

Although the plain old 4-wire telephone cable used in most of the 100 million homes
today have worked pretty well for most telephone, fax, and modem applications the FCC
made their ruling because they have concerns for the future. As homeowners get more of
these devices and as they set up data networks, the potential for signal interference
increases. This can be interference among the signals in a home or even interference
from a nearby home. Reduction of interference or crosstalk among the different
communication signals is the reason for using twisted pair wires—for example, Category
3.

Internet Connection - Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Modems

Telephone companies are now delivering communication rates up to several
Megabits/second to the home over telephone lines (this is 30 to 40 times as fast as the old
56KBit/second modem most of us now use. These modems are designed to work over
plain, old-fashioned telephone pairs. They don't require twisted pairs. However, if
twisted pairs are used in a home, the likelihood of interference or crosstalk between the
modem and other signals (fax, phone, data network) should be lower.

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 3

Internet Connection - Cable Modems
Internet access is becoming available from cable TV providers. A cable modem can
deliver downstream rates of 10 Megabits/second and higher over the same cable used to
deliver the TV signals. This means that it will be helpful to have coaxial cable available
where ever a PC might reasonably be located. The high data rates offered by these
modems also make modem-sharing by several PCs an attractive option. In this case, the
cable modem might be connected to a data network that connects to multiple PCs using
twisted pairs.

Internet Connection - Satellite and Fiber Optic Modems

Direct broadcast satellite modems, using the same small antenna as DBS TV are just
coming on the scene and provide data rates similar to cable modems. Once inside the
home, the data can be delivered to the PC using coaxial cable or using an in-the-home
network running on twisted pair cable.

Also, fiber optic connections to the home, currently being trialed in Georgia for example,
will be able to deliver up to 10 Megabits/second in the near future and 100
Megabits/second and higher in ten years. Although these modems connect to fiber on the
outside of the house their output will be compatible with twisted pairs or coaxial cable
inside the home.

TV for Entertainment
The need to distribute TV signals around the house isn't new, although the numbers of
TV sets, VCRs and DVDs in a house may well be increasing, resulting in a need for more
coaxial cable outlets. Also the use Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) TV brings with it a
need for a different type of coaxial cable. DBS TV operates in a higher frequency band
than cable or broadcast TV. Where cable TV occupies the frequency band from 50 to
550 MHz (and in some cases up to 890 MHz), the output of a DBS TV low noise block
(LNB) located at the antenna is in the band from 950 to 1450 MHz. The result is that a
DBS system needs a cable designed for signals at higher frequencies (RG-6 coaxial
cable) instead of the cable designed for the lower frequencies used in cable TV channels
(RG-59 cable).

TV for Safety or Security

TV cameras for monitoring the front door have been available for years, but have not
been very popular in the United States. However, TV cameras are now so inexpensive,
that this application may increase. Another application that seems to offer more benefits
for young families, is the use of TV cameras to monitor infants in the nursery or
youngsters in the playroom or the backyard. These monitors convert their video to a TV
channel frequency that can be viewed on any TV set in the house to allow mom or dad to
keep an eye on the kids while working or relaxing.

Entertainment - Audio
Homeowners' desire for entertainment audio can be broadly divided into two categories.
One is average fidelity stereo that sounds OK and most people are happy with it. The
other is audiophile stereo that most of us can't easily discern from the average fidelity

4 Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring

stereo. Average-fidelity stereo audio can easily be provided using structured wiring. It
just requires two pairs of wires to each room where the stereo might be wanted.

The requirements for high fidelity stereo are much more of a challenge. If an audiophile
wants to connect from centrally located audio amplifiers to stereo speakers, she or he
may need very heavy gauge speaker wire, depending on the length of the run and the
power delivered to the speakers. Serious audiophiles don't even agree among themselves
about amplifiers, wiring, and speakers.

Security Systems
Not much new seems to be happening with security systems. They typically use low
voltage, copper wire connections to connect sensors at windows and doors, as well as
motion detectors and smoke detectors into a security panel. Many security systems use
RF communications, especially when the security system is installed after the house is
built.

Home Automation
In this guide, home automation is assumed to mean the various monitoring and control
functions that aren't covered under the other categories discussed above. Typical features
include lighting control, zoned heating and air conditioning, monitoring of appliances and
control of various appliance functions. Usually this includes some sort of centralized
coordination and control, either by a personal computer or a special-purpose controller.
Most of these home automation functions require relatively low data rates that can be
accommodated with a variety of "hard-wired" approaches or using techniques that don't
require wires.

A STRUCTURED WIRING SYSTEM EXAMPLE

Unshielded, Twisted-Pair (UTP) Copper Wiring

ANSI/EIA/TIA-570, Residential and Light Commercial Telecommunications Wiring
Standard Building specifies the types of wiring that might be used in these buildings.
(The acronym stands for American National Standards Institute/Electronic Industries
Association/Telecommunication Industries Association). They describe and rate wiring
needed for different applications—a key measure being crosstalk as a function of
frequency. This specification defines categories of wires, starting at Category 1, which is
plain telephone cable using untwisted pairs. The categories of interest for this report are:
ü Category 3 - is suitable for networks with data rates up to 16 Megabits/second.
ü Category 5 - can handle data rates to 1000 Megabits/second
ü Category 5e - tested to the same frequencies as Category 5 - provides
improved performance.

Each of these categories of wire has two or more twisted pairs inside a plastic sheath.
The tightness of twists (number of twists per foot) is the important factor in determining
the performance. All other things being equal, the price of the cabling increases along
with the performance as you go from Category 3 to Category 5e. For example one
manufacturer has Category 5e priced 30 percent higher than Category 3.

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 5

The options that should be considered for the telephone and data wiring are as follows:
a. Use Category 3 for telephone and data, understanding that the homebuyer will be
limited to operating at 10 Megabits/second. This is clearly the lowest cost
solution and conforms to the FCC ruling
b. Use Category 3 cabling for telephone cable runs and Category 5 for data runs.
The Category 3 saves some cost on the telephone runs and the Category 5 enables
the homebuyer to operate at rates up to 100 Megabits/second now and 1000
Megabits/second in the near future. The downsides are that the installer has to
work with two different sets of UTP cables and that the telephone runs can't be
used as high-speed data runs (reduces flexibility to meet future needs).
c. Use Category 5 cabling for both telephone and data runs. This costs a little more,
but makes installation easier and gives good flexibility.
d. Use Category 5e cabling instead of Category 5 in the above options. It seems like
it isn't worth the extra cost.

Example of UTP Wiring -- For

ease of presentation and
Family
Closet discussion, a single story, about
Master BR 2000 square foot house is shown.
The structured wiring system
Bath shown in this example is middle-
of-the-road. It has fewer outlets
than most vendors of structured
Kitchen wiring systems suggest. This
Bath Nursery
or example is, however, similar to
Office what a number of builders are
currently offering. A very basic
Dining system might have fewer data
Utility Bedroom cables or assume that data and
voice will share a cable.
Additional ideas for flexibility
Living for growth and change are
Phone
Entrance provided later in this report.
Garage
The layout diagram to the left is
Category 5 Cable for the twisted-pair copper wire,
only. A diagram for the coaxial
Data cabling is shown in the next
subsection. For the actual
Voice
installation, imagine that the two
diagrams are overlaid, with the
two types of cable sharing a distribution panel. In fact, some installers use cable that
includes the UTP and the coaxial cable in a common sheath.

As stated earlier, the cables must be at least Category 3. Category 5 is better, especially
for the data cables. Although the telephone and data devices often don't require all eight

6 Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring

wires, the preferred procedure is to use separate cables. If the same cable is used for
voice and data, then 100 Megabit/second and 1000 megabit/second networks can't be
supported, because they need the wire pairs used by the telephone.

The wiring layout is called a "star" or "homerun" configuration. Each telephone and data
jack is connected (or homerun) back to the distribution panel in the utility room. An
exception to the homerun is sometimes made for cabling a room, where one data or
telephone outlet might be jumpered to another on the other side of the room. The benefit
of the star layout is that it is easy to make wiring changes at the panel. For example, if
the homeowner wants two separate voice lines, one for business and one for the family,
moving a few wires on a cross-connection block in the distribution panel can do the
change. The distribution panel should be large enough to permit installing an Ethernet
hub if and when the occupants want to install a data network.

This example shows telephone and data connections to all three bedrooms and the family
room, but only telephone for the kitchen and living room. The assumption is that the
occupants won't want data in those rooms. Laying out a system like this is obviously a
trade off among functions, flexibility and cost.

A piece of 4-pair Category (Cat) 3 or 5

cable (they look the same) and a Cat 5,
RJ-45 snap-in jack are shown to the
left. The RJ-45 jacks look a lot like the
old fashioned modular (RJ-11)
telephone jacks, only they have 8
connector pins instead of 6. In fact,
Cat 5 jacks can be used for telephones,
only they are more expensive than
plain, old telephone jacks.
Coaxial Cabling
While cable TV works fine over the "old fashioned" RG-59 coaxial cables, the digital
signals from direct broadcast satellite antennas (the small 18" antennas) operate in a
higher frequency band. Cable TV channels are in the band from 50 to 890 MHz, while
the output of the LNB (low noise blockdown) has channels in the band from 950 to 1450
MHz. Therefore, as a minimum, the cables connecting the antenna (LNB) output to the
receiver should be should be the newer RG-6 cables. Other coaxial cable runs in the
house could be RG-59, but RG-6 is preferred.

Example of Coaxial Cable Wiring -- The same house previously shown wired for
UTP is shown below wired for coaxial cable. Notice that there are 3 cables from
the attic. Two of the cables would be for a direct broadcast satellite system
(DBS), and these need to be RG-6 cables. The third is for an attic or rooftop
mounted antenna for local stations (although this need is disappearing, as the FCC
requires local stations to allow DSS providers to transmit local programming).
There are also important grounding requirements for the RG-6 cable that the
installer needs to take care of.

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 7

There is a cable to an entrance in the garage where cable TV might be connected. This
system is quite flexible depending on what kind of TV the occupants subscribe to.
In addition, notice a
coax from the front
door for security. (To Family
Closet
Master BR
be complete, the system
would have some low
voltage wiring - to Bath
deliver low voltage
power to the camera.)
Kitchen
The same is true of the Bath Nursery
nursery where a TV or
Office
monitor might be
installed.
Dining From
Attic
In addition to the Utility Bedroom
cabling shown on this
plan, the system also
needs coaxial splitters, Living
and in some cases may
need combiners and Garage
amplifiers. These Coaxial Cable
devices would typically
be located in the Single Cable
distribution panel in the
utility room. A basic Double Cable
system might have only
a single 1-to-4 splitter to allow splitting the cable TV input to 4 different rooms. The
distribution panel needs enough space to add combiners and amplifiers for the more
sophisticated systems. Also, a power outlet should be located near the distribution panel
to provide power for amplifiers if and when needed.

A coaxial cable section and an example

connector are shown to the left. The
connector snaps into a face plate that is
described under “Outlet.”

RG-6 Coaxial Cable Snap-In Coaxial

Connector

8 Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring

Distribution Panel
The distribution panel is the hub for all the
communications connections in the home. It provides
means for connecting the voice cables to the appropriate
incoming telephone line or lines. It provides the means to
tie data cables into a network hub or just to other data
cables. It should be large enough to mount an Ethernet
network hub when the occupants decide to buy one. It
should have enough space to accommodate coaxial
components like splitters, amplifiers and combiners.
Except for appearance and security, a section of plywood
would do the trick.

Structured wiring system vendors typically provide

distribution panels. An example is the panel "kit" shown
to the right. In this case, parts from Leviton and several
other manufacturers are offered as a kit by HomeTech HomeTech Solutions
Solutions. The panel also has a metal door to provide Panel Kit
some measure of security.

This panel includes a 2-in, 8-out coaxial splitter (upper left), a telephone distribution
block (lower left) and a data distribution block (lower right). The data distribution block
has three data connections from the network hub shown in the upper right. This hub
would normally not be included in a basic wiring system.

The panel shown to the left is offered by

OnQ and provides a selection of
components that can be included. A basic
system might include only a telecom block
and a basic video capability.

OnQ Panel and Options

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 9

Outlets
Continuing with the example system, which uses snap-in jacks, the configuration
includes faceplates that can accept anywhere from 1 to 6 jacks of any configuration. For
example, the six-hole plate could have 2 phone, 2 coaxial and 2 data jacks. The backless
bracket shown (manufactured by Caddy) allows easy connection of cables. It also
permits unterminated cables to be located in the cavity behind the bracket, then brought
out when needed.

Bracket 2-hole Face Plate 6-hole Face Plate

(Note: Various vendors provide different means for achieving flexibility and growth.
This example is not intended to imply that this is the only or even the best solution.)

System Flexibility and Growth

Structured wiring systems similar to the one shown above can provide flexibility for
growing and changing.
w The star layout allows quick and easy changes simply by doing a little rewiring at the
distribution panel. Although it is possible to find out where cables go using special
testers, it is a lot easier if the cabling configuration is thoroughly and correctly
documented so that the person doing the changes knows which cable goes where.
w Installing wiring not only where the buyer wants communications outlets now, but
also may want them in the future. The idea is to install plenty of cables for future
needs when the house is built, but install outlets only where the buyer needs them
now. This keeps initial costs down, while giving the ability to easily add outlets
when they're needed.
w A spacious distribution panel with power available nearby will allow addition of
coaxial splitters and amplifiers or an Ethernet hub.
w A cabling raceway from the distribution panel—typically in the basement or first-
floor utility room—to the attic will allow addition of cables as needed. For example,
a length of 2 inch PVC would do nicely, and then the cables can be dropped from the
attic to wherever needed.

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Cost Estimates
The costs vary in different parts of the country and by what goes into the system. One
large-volume builder who offers a structured system similar to the layout above says a
system similar to the example costs from $900 to $1200 installed, depending on where in
the country it is built. Various articles written over the last few years give costs ranging
from $500 to $2000. A NAHB Research Center employee who installed this system a
few years ago says a basic system (a bit less than the example) could be installed for
$500 cost to the builder.

Appendix A provides a rough estimate of hardware costs for a system like the example
shown previously. The LIST, retail price of the hardware is about $415 to $665
depending primarily on the equipment provided in the distribution panel. In this costing,
Category 5 cabling is used for both phone and data runs. The system is ready for up to a
1000 Megabit/second network to be installed.

Although labor costs weren't pinned down, it is possible to make a rough estimate of
labor hours. An article written in May 2000 by John Pryma, posted on Custom
Electronics Professional magazine's website (www.ce-pro.com) gives estimates for times
to install and terminate Cat 5 and coaxial cables. Without going into detail, the times
provided in this article, when applied to the example system result in about 11 hours. An
additional 2 or 3 hours to install the distribution panel gives a total of 13 to 14 person
hours of labor would be required to install the distribution panel and the outlets. An
NAHB Research Center employee who bid and performed this type of work estimates
that 7 to 9 man hours better represents the labor required.

WIRING FOR AUDIO

Many homebuyers are interested in a home theater audio distribution. This involves
simply installing wiring in the family room or home theater room to accommodate stereo
surround sound speakers. Some homebuyers are interested in whole-house audio—
providing music around the house and perhaps outdoors. There are two different levels
of audio (other than intercom) that a homebuyer might be interested in: decent quality
music distribution and "audiophile" quality for the serious (or fanatical) listener. It will
probably be impossible to satisfy the latter Category with any kind of prewiring, as they
may want 8 gauge, oxygen-free wire, etc. If a customer wants it, they'll know what they
want.

A home theater layout is shown to the

right. It might use appropriate outlets (see
next page) or it might include framing for Entertainment
built-in speakers, which are becoming Center
increasingly popular.

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 11

The basic idea of whole-house stereo is to provide
two pairs of wires for stereo speakers wherever
they may be needed in the house. If installed for
insurance, the wires may be left unterminated.
AWG #16 stranded wires ($0.04 per foot or less)
are adequate for the often-used 8-ohm speakers at
distances up to 50 feet. For extra insurance, AWG
#14 pairs would be a little better. If terminations
are provided, connectors called 5-position terminal
posts are often used. The OnQ outlet shown here
has a pair of these terminal posts for each of the
two stereo speakers, and also has a telephone jack
and a coaxial outlet.

Prewiring for whole house audio requires decisions about the location of the source of
speaker audio. Will amplifiers be located in a central utility room or family room
entertainment center? Will the CD player, tuner, DVD or other player be located with the
amplifiers, or will shielded audio cable be required to connect from the place where the
player is located to the place where the amplifiers are located?

An audio wiring system should also address how the stereo system is to be controlled.
Some "fancy" systems put infrared receivers in various rooms that are wired back to the
amplifiers and audio player so that occupants can control the system from anywhere. As
a minimum, it's nice to be able to control volume from any room that has speakers.

WIRING FOR SECURITY AND HOME AUTOMATION

Should "low voltage" wires be installed to allow for future installation of security or
home automation systems? The short answer is -- only if it is free or almost free.

Security
Prewiring for security is not very costly and many structured wiring installers will want
to provide it on the bet that they can convince the buyer to install a security system later.
If the installer is willing to do security prewire for a reasonable cost and will provide the
documentation that locates the wiring, then you may be helping your customers by
offering it.

However, it is a real stretch to convince your customers that they will be in trouble if they
don't prewire for security. First, if the homeowner selects a security firm other than the
one who installed the prewires, the installer will not necessarily want to find and use
them. Second, a security technician from a different company may recommend that the
system be zoned and configured in a way that the prewires do not support. Third,
security system providers offer wireless systems that work well and aren't prohibitively
expensive (although wireless sensors are large, unattractive and require periodic battery
changes).

12 Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring

Home Automation
Prewiring for home automation is not necessary. If a home automation market develops,
low speed data communications for appliances, heating and air conditioning and lighting
will be doable without requiring additional wiring. The discussion below further
examines this recommendation.

If home automation is going to succeed, it has to work in over 90 million existing homes
as well as in new homes. Power line carrier (PLC) is the obvious choice for home
automation in these houses. Power line carrier communicates over the standard ac wiring
in a home by superimposing communications signals on the wires.

PLC has been available for well over ten years in the form of X-10, an approach that
works fairly well for turning devices—lights for example—on and off. X-10 remote
devices are available at Radio Shack for well under $10 and simple controllers are
available for under $25. Leviton offers a similar technology embedded in light switches
and electrical outlets. Newer PLC devices can operate at frequencies up to 14
Megabits/second, and although currently expensive, they will be low cost when the
market develops. PLC is an especially useful technology for communication with most
household appliances because most are plugged into ac power, so that power and wires
for the communications are already there. It's a natural.

In those cases where PLC is not practical, signals can be reliably transmitted through-the-
air using RF, as security systems have been doing for years. Now manufacturers are
already offering RF communication devices that can operate at speeds of 2
Megabits/second; a rate that is adequate for almost any home monitoring and control
function imaginable.

The bottom line is that, although Category 5 cable can be used for home automation
functions, it is unnecessary to provide Category 5 outlets at all the places in the house
where an appliance will be plugged in or a sensor might be required. Install the Category
5 cable to support telephones, computers and peripherals, and be comfortable with the
idea that home automation providers can find a way to communicate. One ex-structured
wiring installer suggests that a few 2-wire #18 cables and 4-wire #22 cables be run
through the 2-inch PVC, basement-to-attic wire chase recommended previously.

WHAT ABOUT FIBER OPTICS?

Do you need to install optical fiber cabling to provide your customers with "insurance"
for future communication needs? The short answer is - you don't need to install fibers.
The reasons supporting this position are summarized below.

Optical fibers have physical properties that make them extremely attractive for
communications. Certain types can provide very wide bandwidth or high data
transmission rates which are further multiplied in newer systems using a method called
wavelength division multiplexing—using a number of lasers, each a different color, to
ransmit many signals on the same fiber. Fiber optic systems also are impervious to stray

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 13

electrical signals from other sources and do not create electrical interference. Also,
signal strength in fibers decreases very little with distance. These properties make optical
fibers ideal for many long haul and local transmissions. They form the "backbone" of our
telephone system and will soon provide the "backbone" of the Internet.

Telephone companies are currently performing fiber to the home trials. They clearly
want to get into the TV business using fibers, and provide even higher rate Internet access
and data to the home. It is reasonable to assume that they will be successful over the next
5 years, and that fiber to the home will be available in many localities. The critical
question is -- does fiber TO the home mean that the home will need to have fibers to
distribute the signals IN the home? That seems very unlikely.

The kinds of fibers that can provide very high data rates are VERY small—about 1/8 the
diameter of a human hair. These fibers are very difficult to terminate -- to connect to
outlets or connectors. Although much progress has been made in making installation of
fiber systems easier, it is still safe to say that much more expertise and care is required
than for a copper system like the Category 5. Also, the lasers required to drive these very
small, high data rate fibers tend to be expensive.

Also, the people who sell systems that work over copper twisted pairs aren't standing
still. As mentioned earlier, 10BaseT Ethernet systems that provide 10 Megabits/second
rates over Category 5 wires cost just a few hundred dollars. If that isn't enough speed
(and it is still 4 or 5 times the speed of the best available current Internet connections)
there are 100BaseT Ethernet systems available. The 100 Megabits/second offered by
these wires could easily support digital TV signals. And the industry is currently
developing 1000BaseT that will run at 1000Megabits/second (a gigabit/second) over the
same Category 5 cable. That's enough bandwidth for 15,000 normal (uncompressed)
digital telephone channels, and 10 times the bandwidth our company currently uses to
network 80 professionals.

It really doesn't seem reasonable that telephone companies will be delivering data/video
to the home that requires fibers to be installed in the home. They will want to be able to
sell services to all of their customers, and without requiring them to have optical fibers in
the home. A good guess is that they will find ways to do this, very likely over existing
wiring in the home (plain old telephone wires or coaxial cable).

STRUCTURED WIRING VENDORS/MANUFACTURERS

This section provides contact information for some of the better-known structured wiring
system manufacturers and/or vendors. The web addresses listed typically describe the
equipment they offer and provide lists of installers and of builders who offer the systems
to customers.

OnQ
OnQ Technologies, Inc is a privately held corporation formed by the management and
employees of the former AMP Building Systems Division.

14 Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring

The OnQ system offers structured wiring, including enclosure (distribution panel) and
cabling and components for telephone/data cabling and video cabling. An Ethernet hub
and stereo audio distribution components are also available. In addition OnQ offers
controls for lighting, security and other home automation functions. They offer a number
of packages and upgrades.

OnQ is the product used by both Centex Homes and Estridge. The OnQ website also lists
Ryland Homes, Shea Homes, Pulte Homes, and K. Hovnanian as builders who offer
OnQ.

Phone: 800-321-2343
Website: http://www.onqtech.com provides lists of distributors, installers, and builders by
state and also provides an overview of their products and a catalog.

Home Director
Home Director, Inc. was formerly the Home Networking Business unit of IBM. The
Home Director structured wiring system provides for video, telephone and data
distribution. It includes enclosures and outlets. Components for video distribution
include amplifiers and splitters. An Ethernet hub for data networking is also available.

Among the "authorized builders" listed on the Home Director site are Shea Homes and
Centex Homes (at least in California).

Phone: 919-461-5000 or 800-426-7144

Website: http://www.homedirector.com gives an overview of the Home Director system
and options and also provides a list of qualified installers by state as well as a list of
authorized builders.

HomeStar
HomeStar is a structured wiring system offered by Lucent Technologies. The system
includes phone/data cabling and video cabling, a service center (distribution panel), and
associated wall outlets of various types. They have three distributors:
1. ADI at 800-233-6261 (or http://www.adilink.com)
2. GE Supply at 800-310-2237 (or http://www.ge.com/supply)
3. CSC Communications Supply Corporation at 800-468-2121 (or
http://www.gocsc.com)

Phone: 800-344-0223, Ext. 8001

Website: http://www.lucent.com/networks/homestar

Leviton Structured Media Products

Leviton Telcom offers distribution panels, cables, splitters etc. and a wide area of
multimedia outlets for Category 5 and coaxial cable distribution. In addition, their
"Learning Center" (look at the right hand navigation bar on their site) leads to a

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 15

downloadable, pdf document "Wiring Strategies for Voice and Data Systems," that
provides an excellent tutorial on structured wiring.

Leviton does not offer an installer network. They sell their structured systems through
distributors (e.g. Branch Electric). It is however, possible to find installers who use
Leviton. Contact information for one of them (HomeTech Solutions) is provided below.

Phone: 800-722-2082
Website: http://www.levitontelcom.com

HomeTech Solutions
Located in Cupertino, California, this company is a distributor and in some cases bundler
of structured wiring and home automation products. They offer Leviton structured
wiring products along with products from other reputable manufacturers. They sell to do-
it-yourselfers, but also work with contractors/installers and offer trade pricing.

They have an excellent set of tutorials available on their website that cover the gamut of
video, audio, voice and data distribution. Depending on how a builder decides to develop
and offer structured wiring, HomeTech Solutions may be a viable candidate.

Phone: 408-257-4406
Website: http://www.hometech.com/home/index.html

STRUCTURED WIRING INSTALLERS

Local firms
Currently most installers are local home automation and/or security system
dealers/installers or electrical contractors. Many of the vendors/manufacturers provide
lists of qualified installers of their systems, as mentioned in the preceding section. For
local builders, this probably works well. However a production builder with many
locations may prefer to have an agreement with the vendor/manufacturer and have them
arrange the installation.

National firms
At least two national security firms are in the structured wiring installation business.

Brinks National Builder program offers OnQ structured wiring systems through their
security operations across the country. They also offer home theater, whole-house audio
and intercom. Shawn Lucht, Vice President of National Accounts at Brinks, said he
would be happy to discuss Brinks capabilities and work on establishing a national
account with production builders. He can be reached at 972-871-3534. Additional
information about this program can be found at www.brinks.com/builders and at 877-
773-9473.

In January of 2000, ADT announced their PowerHome program. They offer the Lucent
HomeStar system as well as security, home theater and other systems through the ADT

16 Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring

operations nationwide. To discuss ADT capabilities and potential national accounts, call
Daniel Geiger at 303-306-5903. His email is dgeiger@adt.com.

In addition, two organizations that maintain lists of members, including installers, are
described below.

Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association - CEDIA

An international trade association of companies specializing in planning and
installing electronic systems for the home - typically media rooms, single or
multi-room entertainment systems, home automation and communication
systems, and integrated whole-house subsystems providing control of lighting,
security and HVAC systems.

CEDIA has a list of installers. They also accredit installers and Melissa
Nickolaus at extension 118 can give you a list of installers in your area.

Telephone: 800-669-5329 or 317-571-5602

Website: www.cedia.org

Home Automation Association

The description, directly from the website is "The Home Automation Association
(HAA) - the trade association of the home control industry - was founded in 1988
and marked the recognition of the home control industry. HAA currently has over
300 company members including manufacturers, distributors, dealers, installers
and service providers of home automation products."

The association addresses structured wiring and home automation. The website
gives some excellent links on wiring standards under the Wiring America's
Homes section. The HAA membership directory (available online) includes
manufacturers, installers, consultants and distributors.

Phone: 202-712-9050
Website: www.homeautomation.org

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring 17

 APPENDIX A

HARDWARE COST ESTIMATES

This appendix provides a very approximate cost calculation for the example wiring
system shown in the body of the report. The purpose is to give some rough feel for the
price of the hardware to "calibrate" the total installed cost numbers we have heard and
read about.

The underlying assumptions and sources for this costing exercise are as follows:
w List prices are used. Most of the prices are from a supplier called HomeTech
Solutions (contact information in the body of the report), who resells
components from Leviton and other manufacturers. The prices here are, in
fact, consumer prices and don't reflect wholesale or volume discounts.
w Cable prices are list prices for 1000 foot rolls from Stark Electronics.
w All cable runs are assumed to be 50 feet for the example 2000 square foot
house.
w All cabling shown in the example is assumed terminated with jacks at the
outlets, except the coaxial runs to the attic. That is, there are no cables just
lying in the walls for future expansion.

Category 5 Copper Cabling - Voice and Data

Voice Cabling - 6 Runs

Item Unit Price ($) Per Run ($) 6 Runs ($)
Outlet jack 2.89 2.89 17.34
Frame (faceplate) 1.59 1.59 9.54
Mounting Bracket 0.69 0.69 4.14
Cable (per foot) 0.09 4.50 27.00
Total 58.02

Data Cabling - 4 Runs

Item Unit Price ($) Per Run ($) 4 Runs ($)
Outlet jack 4.75 4.75 19.00
Frame (faceplate) 1.59 1.59 6.36
Mounting Bracket 0.69 0.69 2.76
Cable (per foot) 0.09 4.50 18.00
Total 46.12

RG-6 Coaxial Cabling

The example wiring layout has 3 two-way cables and 7 single cables. The 3 two-way
cables can be treated like 6 singles (although they would share a faceplate and mounting
bracket), for a total of 13 runs.

Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring A-1

Coaxial Cabling - 13 Runs
Item Unit Price ($) Per Run ($) 13 Runs ($)
Outlet jack 2.69 2.69 34.97
Frame (faceplate) 1.59 1.59 20.67
Mounting Bracket 0.69 0.69 8.97
Cable Connector 0.20 (1 for each end) 5.20
0.40
Cable (per foot) 0.12 6.00 78.00
Total 147.81

Distribution Panel
There is a wide range of distribution panels that could be used for the system, as well as a
range of things that can be included.

Mininum Distribution Panel -- To keep the initial cost as low as possible, a "bare-bones"
panel with flexibility for growth can be installed. The distribution panel might contain
only a simple connector block connecting up to eight phone lines from a single input and
a splitter for connecting up to 4 coaxial cable runs from a single cable input. The cost of
these two pieces of hardware is about $30. A Leviton metal enclosure 24 inches high,
that fits between the studs lists at $119. This $150 package would just leave all data
wires and spare coaxial cables hanging (tied off inside the box).

Competent Distribution Panel -- A distribution panel that would meet the majority of the
homebuyers needs would provide an improved, amplified 2 to 8 splitter, a more flexible
connector block for the phone lines and a connector block for data cables. This package
would list at about $400.

Total Hardware Cost

The estimated list price for structured wiring hardware or components is shown below.

Item Minimum Panel ($) Competent Panel ($)

Telephone/voice cabling 58 58
Data cabling 59 59
Coaxial cabling 148 148
Distribution panel 150 400
Total 415 665

The above estimates doubtless missed some small items like cable ties/brackets. Possibly
10 percent more miscellaneous parts. However, wholesale and volume discounts should
result in numbers that are considerably lower than those given above.

A-2 Special Report: Residential Communications Wiring