What is structured Wiring?
Structured wiring is a planned method of routing the communications cabling (video, phone, PC networking etc.) of your home through a centrally located distribution panel. By doing this; homes are extremely flexible and extremely capable of changing with future technologies.
Components of Structured Wiring
There are four (4) main components of a Structured Wiring system:
* Incoming Feed and Services
* Centralized Hub
* Distribution Cables
* Wall Plates and Termination
Service Entrance
We subscribe to numerous entertainment services. There is locally provided cable like Comcast or Time Warner, telephone service from the local telephone company, even fiber in some locations, Cable/DSL from the local telephone company, over-the-air TV signals from the local stations, cable/DSS satellite and even local cameras around the house. All of these services need to meet in one centralized location for processing and then further distribution to locations throughout the house.
The Connection Center
This is the location where the feeds and services come together. Then it is distributed to the various locations through the house. Structured wiring distributes a variety of data signals to electronics in the home, such as cable television, telephones, computer networks, and whole house audio systems. A structured wiring system is designed with "home run" cables from each room in the house back to a central distribution box.
The Cables
The electronic service wires are the highways that allow the information to travel within your home. Structured wiring systems run directly from the central hub to each individual service outlet. All wires leave the central hub and run outward. This is called “star wiring” or a “home run” system. The overall wiring scheme resembles a star-shaped pattern and is more efficient and reliable. RG-6 coaxial cable is used for cable and DSS satellite distribution. Category 5e (CAT-5e) cable is run to each location for your wired data network, for all the telephone systems, and to On-Q volume controls to control the source and volume of the distributed audio. If you plan on watching a 'Pay-for-View' movie or event on your Cable or Satellite receiver, you will need a telephone line plugged into the receiver to access the event. This is why we install a CAT-5e for phone at every Satellite outlet location. We follow EIA 570B standards by keeping the cables off of the ceiling rafters, by using large cable hanging hooks (J-hooks), or pull rings. These hangers reduce the tension on the cables and keep the structured wires away from AC lines to reduce the possibility of interference.
Wall Plates and Termination
The wall plate can be considered as the off-ramps that let the information exit the electronic highways in your home and arrive at the various locations throughout your home. These outlets are used by computers, televisions, telephones, volume controls etc. Most homes now only have a single coaxial outlet in each room for cable television. Structured wiring can offer you multi-port outlets that provide access to any combination of services (phone, data, video and audio, etc.) to meet the specific needs of every room in your house today and in the future. We follow the EIA 568A standard for residential installations and EIA 568B for commercial installations.
Advantages of Structured Wiring:
Configurability. With all of the cables running back to the Central Wiring Panel you can easily change how and what these individual cables are connected to and what they are used for.
Troubleshooting. Each of the cables can be individually isolated from the rest of them and tested for shorts and opens if need be.
No splices. Splices are taboo here because they are prone to failure and can pickup noise and interference and, quite simply, aren't needed here.
More consistent signal quality. With all cables running back to the Central Wiring Panel they can all be connecter to the same source and get the same signal level. You can easily avoid having some outlet passing through more splices or splitters than others.
What is included in Structured Wiring?
o Networks: Linking computers in the home together
o Video: DVD, TV, Satellite, Cable, Surveillance Cameras
o Audio: CD, DVD-Audio, MP3, Radio
o Telephone: Single or Multiple lines
o Remote Control: Infra-red, Radio Frequency 
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