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Structured Wiring: Experts Answer Your Questions
Pros weigh in on if Cat 6 is really better, how to market to builders, the pros and cons of A-Bus and more.
Greg, I assume you have thousands of installs. Do you have any compelling products to go back and sell retro solutions?
Simmons: The wireless access points have been a popular retrofit product. Some of our older installation clients have requested advanced networking capabilities. We have many requests to return to the home to set up the customer's wireless network. The 42-inch enclosures also give us ample room for expansion.
As wireless systems grow they will talk on the same frequency. Will this cause problems?
Hendler: Yes, many of the new wireless devices will be on the same RF band as existing 802.11g WiFi devices. This band is 2.4-gigs and has WiFi 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, Bluetooth, most digital and analog cordless phones and ZigBee devices on it.
Although there are allegedly 11 WiFi channels (1-11), only three are "non-overlapping": 1, 6, and 11. If you live (as I do) in an area with many WiFi signals, this can cause significant performance, speed, reliability, and range issues with devices that use this same 2.4-gig band. For example, multi-dwelling units (MDUs) and hospitality markets have issues if they try going "all wireless" without significant spectrum analysis.
Bonus answer: Some newer multimedia devices are also capable of communication on the 802.11a protocol; these work at 5.8-gig. Although there is not much RF interference — yet — in this band, it has much less range and signal penetration through walls/objects compared to 2.4-gig-based networks or 900-MHz Z-Wave products.
The lower the frequency, the better the penetration is through objects, but the lower the bandwidth available for applications. Today's wireless voice, data, and video products require at least 2.4-gig spectrums bandwidth. This is why all WiFi gear and almost all digital/analog cordless phones are now exclusively in the 2.4-gig and 5.8-gig spectrums.
In contrast, residential automation and control applications, such as Z-Wave based lighting, window treatments, door locks, thermostats/HVAC and universal remote controls are extremely low-bandwidth applications. As low-bandwidth (9.6 to 40 kbps, typically) mesh transceiver devices they can use the lower bands of the RF spectrum such as the 900-MHz range, which has superior range and signal penetration through typical residential construction materials and household objects.
As an additional benefit, multimedia applications can't use this low bandwidth for high-quality video and audio signals. Thus, the 900-MHz spectrum is not crowded like 2.4-gig is today and 5.8-gig is becoming.
Can you comment on lower-cost technologies like A-Bus, and whether you anticipate costs for home automation getting more approachable?
Hendler: Early adopters will often pay for increased performance or new functions, but the "mass market" has a relatively increased sensitivity to cost and typically wants more simplicity than the early adopter.
That being said, manufacturers typically look at the early adopters to drive a product launch and then iterate the product (often more than once) for the mass market.
A-Bus wiring is a good value for cost-effectively enabling multiroom audio systems in new construction. In retrofit environments, mesh-based Z-Wave products are a very good value for home automation across many residential subsystems.
Greg, during the webinar you suggested that integrators "break out" the structured wiring in their company. How and why?
Simmons: I meant that you should create a department or division so it can be broken out in your financial statements and records. It has been beneficial for us to see the "structured wiring division" stand profitably on its own.
It will help you verify that your price structure is correct. We have separated our departments by "alarm," "intercom," "central vac," "audio/video" and "structured wiring."
Note: The lack of volume during the economic downturn has made it challenging to be as accurate with each department because we've had to have employees cross over to other departments.
What do you see the industry doing to educate the builders about the new technology available and these trends?
Hendler: Check out the Consumer Electronics Association's TechHome Rating System. This has recently been revised and updated and is focused on educating the builder and the consumer about technology options and infrastructure.
Would you recommend making Cat 6 our new standard for Data wiring, with Cat 5e becoming the step down?
Hendler: If you can sell the increased value of the available bandwidth for applications that are important to your customers and you are comfortable terminating it, there's no downside to Cat 6 and there is high upside potential. Go for it and differentiate yourself in your market.
Simmons: The wireless access points have been a popular retrofit product. Some of our older installation clients have requested advanced networking capabilities. We have many requests to return to the home to set up the customer's wireless network. The 42-inch enclosures also give us ample room for expansion.
As wireless systems grow they will talk on the same frequency. Will this cause problems?
Hendler: Yes, many of the new wireless devices will be on the same RF band as existing 802.11g WiFi devices. This band is 2.4-gigs and has WiFi 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, Bluetooth, most digital and analog cordless phones and ZigBee devices on it.
Although there are allegedly 11 WiFi channels (1-11), only three are "non-overlapping": 1, 6, and 11. If you live (as I do) in an area with many WiFi signals, this can cause significant performance, speed, reliability, and range issues with devices that use this same 2.4-gig band. For example, multi-dwelling units (MDUs) and hospitality markets have issues if they try going "all wireless" without significant spectrum analysis.
Bonus answer: Some newer multimedia devices are also capable of communication on the 802.11a protocol; these work at 5.8-gig. Although there is not much RF interference — yet — in this band, it has much less range and signal penetration through walls/objects compared to 2.4-gig-based networks or 900-MHz Z-Wave products.
The lower the frequency, the better the penetration is through objects, but the lower the bandwidth available for applications. Today's wireless voice, data, and video products require at least 2.4-gig spectrums bandwidth. This is why all WiFi gear and almost all digital/analog cordless phones are now exclusively in the 2.4-gig and 5.8-gig spectrums.
In contrast, residential automation and control applications, such as Z-Wave based lighting, window treatments, door locks, thermostats/HVAC and universal remote controls are extremely low-bandwidth applications. As low-bandwidth (9.6 to 40 kbps, typically) mesh transceiver devices they can use the lower bands of the RF spectrum such as the 900-MHz range, which has superior range and signal penetration through typical residential construction materials and household objects.
As an additional benefit, multimedia applications can't use this low bandwidth for high-quality video and audio signals. Thus, the 900-MHz spectrum is not crowded like 2.4-gig is today and 5.8-gig is becoming.
Can you comment on lower-cost technologies like A-Bus, and whether you anticipate costs for home automation getting more approachable?
Hendler: Early adopters will often pay for increased performance or new functions, but the "mass market" has a relatively increased sensitivity to cost and typically wants more simplicity than the early adopter.
That being said, manufacturers typically look at the early adopters to drive a product launch and then iterate the product (often more than once) for the mass market.
A-Bus wiring is a good value for cost-effectively enabling multiroom audio systems in new construction. In retrofit environments, mesh-based Z-Wave products are a very good value for home automation across many residential subsystems.
Greg, during the webinar you suggested that integrators "break out" the structured wiring in their company. How and why?
Simmons: I meant that you should create a department or division so it can be broken out in your financial statements and records. It has been beneficial for us to see the "structured wiring division" stand profitably on its own.
It will help you verify that your price structure is correct. We have separated our departments by "alarm," "intercom," "central vac," "audio/video" and "structured wiring."
Note: The lack of volume during the economic downturn has made it challenging to be as accurate with each department because we've had to have employees cross over to other departments.
What do you see the industry doing to educate the builders about the new technology available and these trends?
Hendler: Check out the Consumer Electronics Association's TechHome Rating System. This has recently been revised and updated and is focused on educating the builder and the consumer about technology options and infrastructure.
Would you recommend making Cat 6 our new standard for Data wiring, with Cat 5e becoming the step down?
Hendler: If you can sell the increased value of the available bandwidth for applications that are important to your customers and you are comfortable terminating it, there's no downside to Cat 6 and there is high upside potential. Go for it and differentiate yourself in your market.
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5 Comments (displayed in order by date/time)
Bouyakasha, Ian. Dat boy schooled ya…ya herd
This post has very helpful information.Great work.thanks. Landscaping Directory International
Jeff,
Just to clarify something on your post, which isn’t entirely correct either. CAT6 is capable of handling 10Gb over a distance of <55 meters (180 ft) in a good installation (minimum alien cross-talk) or 37 meters (121 ft) in a hostile alien crosstalk environment such as when many cables are bundled together. For this reason Cat6 cabling is a good between CAT5e and CAT6a.
Jay Kilby - Suttle
When eliminating a cat 5 data pulled what is the hourly rate a company charges you
Page 1 of 1 comment pages
There is a lot of network-related misinformation in this article.
First and foremost, CAT6 offers no more bandwidth than CAT5/5e when using 100Mb or 1Gb network technology. Installed properly, each is certified for 1Gb out to 100 meters. For example, if the customer’s gear is Gigabit-capable, each standard will operate exactly the same, no difference, benchmarks the same.
What CAT5e and CAT6 provide is additional “headroom” so that if, for example, the installer is horrible at termination or decides to exceed the distance specification, there is some chance that the wiring will still pass a certification test. CAT6 does help to ensure that termination is consistent since the termination jacks are such that it’s more difficult for the installer to do stupid things such as removing the twists in the pairs before termination. Of course, we’re also assuming that the installer is using matching termination panels and jacks i.e. if the wire is CAT6, the patch panel and jacks need to be CAT6. If they don’t match, the benefit is significantly reduced.
If you’re looking to “future-proof” the install, then CAT6a and not CAT6 is the logical answer. CAT6a is certified for 10Gb (ten gigabit) out to 100 meters, CAT6 is not. That said, it’s difficult to fathom a home user needing 10Gb, let alone there ever being an affordable consumer-grade 10Gb switch. Enterprise 10Gb is $2000 or more per port, so it’s not realistic in the consumer space at this time.
CAT5/5e is plenty good for consumer installs assuming it’s installed properly. I’ve seen lots of photos of “showcase” installs that look pretty, but on closer inspection, the network termination is horrible. Too much insulation removed, pairs untwisted, no strain relief, etc. What customers should be asking for, and installers providing, is a certification report showing that the installed system passes. Even the photo posted with this article is suspect. There should be a strain-relief bar to take the weight of the cable off of the termination blocks. As installed, that cable will pull on the terminations and may cause problems over time. Even the zip-ties look too tight. At the point the outside jacket is being crushed, you’re altering the performance of the cable.
If the network cable is installed correctly, then with a decent-quality gigabit-capable home router that supports QoS, VoIP and other time-sensitive applications will work perfectly.
Wireless - Saying that 802.11a “operates in 5.8-gig spectrum” is misleading. Depending on channel selected by the device, the operating range is 5180 MHz to 5825 MHz. It’s only on channels 161 and 165 that 802.11a actually operates in 5.8 Ghz. The answer for consumers is to install dual-band (2.4Ghz and 5Ghz) wireless access points that support 802.11n as well as legacy a/b/g. This allows those devices with 802.11a/n capable radios to use the less crowded 5GHz spectrum. For 5GHz-capable 802.11n devices, they can operate at up to 300Mb/s, and are competitive with wired systems.