Components of a "Structured Wiring" System
There are three main components in a "structured wiring" system:
Component #1 - The Central Hub
A service center will be built inside your home to receive all outside services such as cable, telephone, DSS Satellite, internet, etc. The central hub will resemble the breaker box that receives electrical power from your utility company. The hub will distribute various electronic services to locations throughout your home.
Component #2 - Wires
The electronic service wires are the highway that allows the information to travel within your home. They are different from electrical wires. Electrical service wires are daisy-chained, which means every electrical outlet shares wiring with each adjacent outlet in a daisy chain pattern. This is a poorly structured system due to the fact that if one outlet has a problem, all the outlets that share the wires in that daisy chain can be affected. "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.
Component #3 - Outlets
Outlets can be considered as the off-ramps that let the information exit the electronic highways in your home and arrive at your computers, televisions, telephones, 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.
Benefits
A structured wiring package means that multiple data distribution options are readily available in the home. This is where the second cable (RG-6) and data (CAT-5) lines become important. The first cable line carries a signal from a control box to the wall plate—for example, a satellite TV signal. The second cable line can then be used to carry a signal back to the control box. For example, this might be the output from a DVD player. With the appropriate hardware, this DVD signal could then be amplified and sent back over all outgoing cable lines on an unused channel number on every television. The DVD could then be watched on any TV in the house simply by tuning to the previously unused channel.
Where this technology really shines is when setting up a home computer network. A single CAT-5 twisted pair line can be used to both send and receive computer data. An advanced control box, commonly known as a router, will be able to decipher the data, and send it to the correct location. Thus, data coming in over a high-speed Internet connection will be sent to the correct computer, allowing for multiple users to share a single Internet connection with no interference. Similarly, data can be sent from one computer and correctly routed by the control box, whether it is an e-mail message to be sent to a friend overseas, a file to be printed on a color printer in the upstairs office, or simply an instant message to your spouse working downstairs.