There are many new luxury homes on the Sea Islands of the Lowcountry that have been built with the structured wiring budgets of over $500,000.  That sure is not a minimum!  These budgets included both the wiring and the neat stuff that the wires make possible:  security video cameras, surround sound in several rooms, home theaters, motorized gates, and super-large hard drives devoted to storing thousands of hours of music or even movies.  Remember, however, that the wiring and the appliances are actually two separate packages, the planning of one making the second possible.  With these deluxe integrations, the wiring cost is actually minimal compared to the gizmos your client might want to incorporate into their lifestyle.  Because people of all ages and economic levels have become familiar with and now expect access to various technologies, all homes should have a minimum structured wiring system installed.

I will share with you the minimum, bare bones, plain Jane wiring package that we did recently for a man building a spec homes of 2,500 to 3,500 square feet in the $250,000 to $400,000 price range.  He knew that to build these homes without structured wiring was doing his prospects a disservice that would become evident when they went to sell the house in five years.  However, because structured wiring is all about your client's current and future lifestyle, we really hate to make such estimates without first talking to the new homeowner.  We have developed a questionnaire for builders and architects to go over with their clients when it is not possible for us to meet with them.  Again your first choice should be to have your client meet with a qualified structured wiring/home integration specialist.  I know that you do not have your clients meet with the roofer or the HVAC contractor, but for lifestyle decisions like interior design and landscape architecture, an expert is often called to consult with the client.  Home integration is exclusively about lifestyle!  Our questions are designed to learn how important security, music, energy savings, computer networking or lighting is to their perceived lifestyle.

The minimum wiring plan should include three components.  The first is critically important to the future capability of utilizing new technology, and it is the component most often left out:  a termination panel to receive all services from outside the home must be included.  These services include telephone, cable TV, broadband or satellite.  This panel does not need to be extremely sophisticated in the minimum package, but it must be large enough and placed in an area that will make it possible to add new hardware in the future.  This is the place where surge protection, cable amplification and voltage regulation are installed in the basic package.

Once the plan includes this control point, it is time to consider distribution of structured wiring, either with individual wire types or a bundle of wires.  In the very high-end systems, this bundle could include up to 12 very sophisticated conductors, but in this minimum package, it would probably just have for or five wires to handle the basic four amenities.  These amenities include telephone, audio only, cable for digital video and computer networking, and a basic security system for burglar alarm and fire.  Be aware that the same wire or type of wire can serve multiple applications in this basic system.  As a rule of thumb, we would make audio available in four rooms, telephone (and the services related to telephony) in almost every room, and video and high speed Internet in the most logical three areas.  When this is planned executed correctly, there is a great deal of flexibility for the homeowners' future needs.  As an example, this wiring system would make it possible for them to convert to high-definition local TV in the future.

The last components are terminated boxes and plates with multiple connectors.  Do not be talked into letting a contractor just put a group of wires behind the walls to be utilized later.  Sure, it is cheaper, but it is a terrible disservice to your client for at least three reasons.  The promised diagram or map of these hidden wires is often inaccurate and is sure to be lost by the home owner; the future installation of appliances like a new wall-mounted, thin TV screen will be much more expensive; and termination with the correct plate and connectors is the only way that the wiring package can be correctly tested.

So that is the minimum package that should be installed in all new homes in the year 2005.  Your client has certain expectations about the roof, the exterior paint and siding, and now they expect that the house is capable of being "technologically correct."  My advice is that $4,000 to $5,000 should be budgeted for this minimum package in the homes described above:  2,500 to 3,500 square feet in the $250,000 to $400,000 price range.  It is an investment that will have a major effect on your client's enjoyment of the home that you deliver to them.

This is the third in a series of articles by Mike Riley, who has over 30 years' experience in home electronics.  Progressive Integrations, Inc., is owned by Mike and Yvonne Riley and is located at 3424 Maybank Highway, Johns Island, SC  29455.  Contact us if you would like a consultation.