Wiring your new or existing home to accommodate a home office makes sense for now and for the future. If that sounds too far fetched, ask yourself how many people you knew 10 years ago with a home computer vs. how many you know that have them now (and, in more and more instances, have more than one!)

Oh, OK, "home office" does conjure up a vision with additional paraphernalia – fax machine, copier, computer printer, multiple telephone lines, etc. But, by any name of the game, access to communication services is the key. Current access to basic communication needs - phone, fax, modem and/or Local Area Network (LAN) connections - is primarily via telephone type lines. But, looking to the future, having outlets that accommodate cable, satellite signals (which can be run over cable) or fiber optic isn’t a bad idea. All this means you need wall plates with the kind of outlets that will give you access to these "services". The point being, wherever you have such an outlet/s, you have the capability to plug in a "home office" in a matter of a few minutes!

This is all possible with what’s being called "whole house cabling" – which basically means that the outlets just described need to be connected to lines that run between them and where the services come into your home – typically a basement or garage. Really, this is not rocket science. But you do have choices and you do have decisions.

The New Home

For those building a new home, wiring numerous locations to provide outlets for voice/data/fax is really a no-brainer. Think about it – would you buy a new house that only had one electrical outlet per room? Why buy one that won’t allow you the same flexibility for plugging in a telephone, fax or computer line anywhere – or, at minimum, in 4 to 6 locations throughout the home? The decisions for those building a home become how many voice/data outlets in every room? If not in every room, then in what rooms? And, what about fiber optic?

Working with an experienced installer can be helpful in making these decisions. In regard to the number and locations of outlets, a few of the basic considerations are: Do you have, or foresee having, more than one computer in your home? Will you want to connect them with a LAN to share common peripherals (e.g. a printer)? How many phone lines can you imagine having and for what purposes (voice vs. data)? Will you want to answer any line from any phone? Is there cable Internet access available in your area and do you want to take advantage of that? Looking over your plans with your installer with these and other questions in mind will be the most helpful. If you are incorporating an office with a number of workstations (i.e. a real office) you’ll want to plan that room particularly well.

As to the fiber optic question, fiber will, eventually, be available to all of us. But it’s a bit like putting 1,000 volts into your home – you can do it, but there’s not much need for it. The bandwidth of copper cabling is capable of 1 Gigabit/second, which is the equivalent of 160 HDTV stations plus upload/download data capability plus voice communications all running simultaneously. This should easily accommodate home & home office needs well into the future. Fiber is most applicable for, say, an apartment or office building where there are a multitude of lines coming in. But it’s your call, if you care to spend the extra money to put in 3 or 4 lines in the walls, it will be there if and when you want it.

The Existing Home

If you’re remodeling or building an addition to an existing home, adding in voice/data outlets is a wise idea. The considerations are basically the same as those above on new construction. Retrofitting an older home is also perfectly possible, but it generally takes longer to install (i.e. it will cost more.) Typical issues might be: not all the outside services come into the home at the same location or there are already a gazillion wires in your cellar that may or may not be connected to anything. Again, an experienced, thorough installer can be very helpful in a retrofit situation. Among the things you might consider: Should you clean up what you have and create one location in your cellar/garage for the services you want coming in? (You may even want the service companies to rerun to that location.) And how can the wiring be run? (There are numerous ways – from snaking through the walls (not always possible) to hiding it under moldings to chiseling out a channel (in cement/brick walled housing.)) As the number of parenthesis indicates, retrofitting can be more involved. But, with some planning, the work can be staggered to coincide with your immediate needs and your pocketbook.