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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.
There were some questions that weren't answered during a recent CE Pro webinar, "Structured Wiring Can Still Be Profitable … Seriously."
It wasn't the fault of our two expert panelists, integrator Greg Simmons of Las Vegas-based Eagle Sentry and Leviton's director of business development Ian Hendler. It's just that there were a lot of questions and we could only get to so many in an hour.
The topic has triggered a nerve with the CE Pro audience. As the construction market soared through the early 2000s, so many integration companies earned disproportionate revenues from structured wiring alliances with builders. Things changed.
The housing market collapsed and popularity of wireless technologies deflated demand for structured wiring. Meanwhile, many of the homebuilders that are still building are cutting corners to save costs and leaving out the once-standard structured wiring.
CE pros want to adapt. They want to know how to get in front of builders. They want to know how their structured wiring installation processes need to evolve. They submitted a lot of questions.
While Simmons and Hendler couldn't answer every question during the live webinar, they didn't want to leave anybody hanging. Following are the two experts' responses to several leftover structured wiring questions.
I have read that structured wiring should cost about 1 percent of the total house value? Has that changed with the economic downturn?
Ian Hendler, Leviton: It is still around that for some new-construction in many markets (upper-end segments). Obviously, it will be less where builder inventories are under significant competitive price pressure.
What is the best way for someone new to the industry to approach builders?
Greg Simmons, Eagle Sentry: There is not a "best way" to approach a builder. There are two key people with whom you should establish a relationship.
The first is the purchasing director. This person is usually the decision maker. The second is the director of construction. This person has a lot of influence on the decision-making process.
Gaining the approval of both would give you the best opportunity to win the contract. One of the things that helped us at the beginning was joining our local homebuilders' association. Most cities and regions have one. They operate in cooperation with the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).
I have always had the mindset that we should be experts in the construction process as well as experts in our particular field.
Is Cat 6 over-kill for just voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) in a residential environment?
Hendler: Most customers (and their families) are running multiple applications on a residential network simultaneously. VoIP applications need either available bandwidth (provided by Cat 5e/6) and/or excellent QOS in the residential router/switch for optimal sound quality.
The "network" doesn't care if an individual is running multiple applications on his PC or multiple individuals are each running single LAN/WAN applications (file transfers, media servers, Hulu, etc.). They all consume bandwidth.
Cat 6 gives more bandwidth and allows for the use of less expensive networking gear/electronics (lack or minimal QOS required).
Ian, during the webinar you compared Cat 5e and Cat 6, but you didn't say anything about fiber optic. Will it be a real player anytime soon?
Hendler: No, not really. Installation in "bundled cable" is still done, but virtually none is "terminated" and active in the residential markets. Cat 6 is much easier to install and has the best "bandwidth to cost" ratio when factoring in required electronics and termination costs for fiber optic technologies.
When will you start seeing fiber-optic connectors on residential electronics gear? Probably in about three years.
When will wireless N be standardized and fully functional?
Hendler: Great question, but your guess is as good as mine. Maybe by 2010?
However, the real question is: How many of today's devices will actually be capable of being firmware upgraded to use this standard when ratified?
It wasn't the fault of our two expert panelists, integrator Greg Simmons of Las Vegas-based Eagle Sentry and Leviton's director of business development Ian Hendler. It's just that there were a lot of questions and we could only get to so many in an hour.
The topic has triggered a nerve with the CE Pro audience. As the construction market soared through the early 2000s, so many integration companies earned disproportionate revenues from structured wiring alliances with builders. Things changed.
The housing market collapsed and popularity of wireless technologies deflated demand for structured wiring. Meanwhile, many of the homebuilders that are still building are cutting corners to save costs and leaving out the once-standard structured wiring.
CE pros want to adapt. They want to know how to get in front of builders. They want to know how their structured wiring installation processes need to evolve. They submitted a lot of questions.
While Simmons and Hendler couldn't answer every question during the live webinar, they didn't want to leave anybody hanging. Following are the two experts' responses to several leftover structured wiring questions.
I have read that structured wiring should cost about 1 percent of the total house value? Has that changed with the economic downturn?
Ian Hendler, Leviton: It is still around that for some new-construction in many markets (upper-end segments). Obviously, it will be less where builder inventories are under significant competitive price pressure.
What is the best way for someone new to the industry to approach builders?
Greg Simmons, Eagle Sentry: There is not a "best way" to approach a builder. There are two key people with whom you should establish a relationship.
The first is the purchasing director. This person is usually the decision maker. The second is the director of construction. This person has a lot of influence on the decision-making process.
Gaining the approval of both would give you the best opportunity to win the contract. One of the things that helped us at the beginning was joining our local homebuilders' association. Most cities and regions have one. They operate in cooperation with the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).
I have always had the mindset that we should be experts in the construction process as well as experts in our particular field.
Is Cat 6 over-kill for just voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) in a residential environment?
Hendler: Most customers (and their families) are running multiple applications on a residential network simultaneously. VoIP applications need either available bandwidth (provided by Cat 5e/6) and/or excellent QOS in the residential router/switch for optimal sound quality.
The "network" doesn't care if an individual is running multiple applications on his PC or multiple individuals are each running single LAN/WAN applications (file transfers, media servers, Hulu, etc.). They all consume bandwidth.
Cat 6 gives more bandwidth and allows for the use of less expensive networking gear/electronics (lack or minimal QOS required).
Ian, during the webinar you compared Cat 5e and Cat 6, but you didn't say anything about fiber optic. Will it be a real player anytime soon?
Hendler: No, not really. Installation in "bundled cable" is still done, but virtually none is "terminated" and active in the residential markets. Cat 6 is much easier to install and has the best "bandwidth to cost" ratio when factoring in required electronics and termination costs for fiber optic technologies.
When will you start seeing fiber-optic connectors on residential electronics gear? Probably in about three years.
When will wireless N be standardized and fully functional?
Hendler: Great question, but your guess is as good as mine. Maybe by 2010?
However, the real question is: How many of today's devices will actually be capable of being firmware upgraded to use this standard when ratified?
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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.