Data connectivity details are starting to appear on the specifications for new homes

It’s now a year on from the English Partnerships Guidance Note on data services and connecting new homes. This, along with the advent of the Code for Sustainable Homes, means the number of new developments offering at least the infrastructure to allow the installation of a structured wiring system has been rising steadily.

Yet, it’s still far from commonplace to see live networked data sockets on the spec sheet of a new home.

With an increasing call for effective home office networking with multiple phone lines, as well as the simple requirements of the home owner to enjoy multi-room satellite television and internet, it stands to reason that the basic TV and telephone socket provision is set to be consigned to the past.

The advice given by English Partnerships is that data sockets ought to be installed at “useful locations throughout the dwelling”, and that there should be a user-friendly method of connecting network equipment.

Quite rightly, developers are starting to think about the demand for home networking. As well as the English Partnerships advice, the BRE Environmental Assessment Method awards credits for the effective provision of home office infrastructure. With the cost to install the cabling itself kept to a minimum by incorporating it into construction, architects are increasingly specifying structured wiring systems as part of the build.

The government’s Code for Sustainable Homes sets out clear parameters on how new homes should be graded. From functionality and user satisfaction to provision of better overall facilities and even the advent of smart communities, there are clear standards of best practice, and it seems that structured wiring certainly ticks a good few boxes.

Smart homes made simple – an all-in-one wiring kit

Trying to pick the most appropriate products from an extensive home automation range can make for a complex and expensive installation. This needn’t be the case.

The Digital Plumbers wiring kit provides the full home-networking infrastructure straight out of the box: a combined internet, TV, music and telephone system throughout the house and at a price to suit the cost-conscious specifier, says Digital Plumbers.

For the average house comprising seven or eight rooms, the core Digital Plumbers package, including all cabling, wall sockets, data points and distribution panel, is obtainable for around £1200.

At the heart of the Digital Plumbers system is a single, integrated distribution panel – the hub of the system, which has been made simple enough for all electrical contractors to install swiftly.

The dedicated cable infrastructure wired back to this box uses Digital Plumbers’ MediaFlex, a durable composite cable consisting of twin coaxial and Cat 5e wires, allowing for single-cable runs and, with the system’s best-practice ‘star wiring’ single-socket fixings, enables homes to be future-proofed for any new technologies.

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor

Postscript

Chris Janes is sales and marketing manager at Digital Plumbers