Is Smart Wiring really necessary? Is it worth spending $3 – $15k on smart wiring?   Is Smart Wiring really necessary? and what is it? Today, just about every new house comes with a smart wiring package, supposed to make your house “future-proof“. That statement may have been true 10 years ago but today it is NOT. We explain why. What is a smart-wired or smart wiring home?     You see many houses being advertised as “smart” or “smart-wired” (smart-wiring) these days. Being “smart” does not mean that the house can think for itself or turn the lights on and off as you enter or leave a room (see a definition of smart home)… Smart in this case refers to the fact that it has been “hard-wired” with TV Aerial (coaxial), Foxtel (coaxial), Telephone and Ethernet (Networking and Security) cabling back to a central “junction box”, “smart-wiring panel”  or “hub” usually located in a cupboard, garage or utility room. From the central hub, cables are run to various points in the house and terminating in wall plates such as the following. The true definition of smart wiring is defined here as a system that enables the combination of many different types of wires used around the home into a single location, which allows for the integration of many different smart home systems and sensors throughout your home, and the capacity to add more at a later date if you want to do so including lighting, security, internet communications, security systems and audio-visual or home entertainment systems. Having the ability to turn lights, air-conditioning or the oven on via your smart phone or schedule is a component of “home-automation”. A smart home may feature smart-wiring to help you achieve home-automation but it is not the same thing. The IT Guys (WA) can assist you in smart-wiring your home and offer alternatives that can save you a great deal of money. Contact us on 08 6118 2601 or email us at support@itguyswa.com.au for a FREE assessment. What does a Smart-Wiring Package give me? When building a new house, you may be given the option of adding a “smart-wiring” package at an additional cost. This will supposedly provide internet access through the home and is usually sub contracted to a smart-home sub-contractor specialist. To be honest, the builders electrical sub-contractors can do this work themselves but prefer to subcontract the work out as many electricians do not like installing and especially “terminating” Ethernet Wiring. Unfortunately, your builder will unlikely offer you a number of alternative smart-wiring-contractors. In Western Australia, one company in particular appear to have a strangle-hold over the major building companies. (For legal reasons we are not allowed to mention the companies name) Most major builders will NOT allow other smart-wiring contractors onto their sites during the building phase, leaving you with only two choices. Install their inferior and outdated smart-wiring package at great expense and then update it when you move in, or Save your money. Give us a call and install the correct package once you have moved in. A large multi-floored house can have high-speed WI-FI and cabled internet starting at only $500 + cabling (see below) If you are being sold such an “add-on” make sure you know in detail, what you are being quoted on by your builder, renovator, electrician and/or “smart-home” installer. Do not be pressured into accepting their proposal straight away. Ask for full details of what you are getting and then come and discuss the suitability of their proposal with us. For $78 bring your plans and/or the installers proposal to our office (or email them to us if you cannot make it to our office) and we can advise you on the suitability of their proposal. You can make payment over the phone by credit card. Ask yourself these questions…. How are Smart-phones, iPads and modern notebooks and laptops with no ethernet port supposed to pickup internet through the house when no wi-fi access points (WAPs) are supplied in the proposed package?? Some of these Smart-Wiring companies are living in the past, still installing outdated technology (hard-ethernet-wiring) and not making any provision for wi-fi coverage. Below we offer a number of Wireless (Wi-Fi) Smart-Wiring-Solutions. Wireless Smart-Wired-Home solutions for extra large sized homes with multiple floors Wireless Smart-Wired-Home solutions for large sized homes Wireless Smart-Wired-Home solutions for medium sized homes Wireless Smart-Wired-Home solutions for small home Wireless Smart-Wired-Home solutions for small unit or apartment Building or Renovating? Make yours a Smart-Wired Wi-Fi enabled Home Do I need ethernet points in the wall, to connect my TV? Possibly, if you do not have strong wi-fi and/or your TV is not Wi-Fi enabled. (Apple TV or Telstra TV can get around this issue as they are wi-fi enabled) Any TV purchased in the last few years will most likely be a “Smart-TV” and will connect to the Internet and streaming services such as Netflix, Stan, Amazon, iView etc via Wi-Fi or hard-wired cabling. A Smart-TV uses either a hard-wired Ethernet connection or built-in Wi-Fi to connect to a home network for internet access. Most models today have built-in Wi-Fi, but check that it does before you buy a new one. Non-Smart TV’s can also use streaming services such as Netflix over the Wi-Fi by purchasing “Apple-TV” or “Telstra-TV” but if you wish to watch standard free-to-air TV or “Fetch-TV”   you will need to have hard-wired TV co-axial cabling and hard-wired Ethernet cabling to an outlet near your TV. If you are using external speakers such as the Sonos or Bose Playbar or Soundbar check to see if they will connect to your music system. You may need to connect them to your network using an Ethernet cable but most can do so using an Optical-Audio cable between your TV and the Soundbar. This allows the sound-bar to operate as an external TV speaker as well as a part of your music system. FETCH-TV boxes also need to be connected to your network using an Ethernet Cable (earlier models). … Continue reading Smart wiring – Is it really necessary?