Structured Cabling for the Smart Office

You’ve likely seen news stories about the “smart home” of the future.  You may even have a smart home feature like the Nest thermostat installed already. But what about your office? Established office and retail spaces should have the structured cabling in place to take advantage of many of the new automation technologies coming to market. Sometimes retrofitting of the existing cabling is needed to take full advantage of the new systems.

While WiFi is great for many applications, when it comes to high quality AV applications, hard wiring is still superior.  In areas where you have projectors or monitors meant for display it’s important to have both Cat5 and coax cable run.  Likewise, alarm systems for security, smoke, and carbon monoxide are best hardwired with a cellular backup feature. There are numerous options for automating functions like lighting and surveillance cameras that involve a combination of structured cabling and wireless technologies.  

You may also want to rewire if you have suspicions of unsafe wiring. You should have your wiring inspected at least once every five years to ensure that your equipment stays in good working order. If at any time you notice any scorch marks on plugs or sockets, hear the sound of arcing (buzzing or cracking), or anything unusual you should have your wiring inspected or repaired immediately.

If you’re interested in wiring or rewiring your business to handle all your security and automation needs, call BCS at (757) 497-3100 to talk to one of our structured cabling specialists.