Guides to the systems behind the walls.
What we have learned specifying, installing and certifying low-voltage systems in multi-family, commercial and residential buildings. Written for the people who have to make the decision.
Building-wide Wi-Fi design starts with the cabling
Why building-wide Wi-Fi design is a cabling problem: access point placement, PoE runs, concrete and glass, band choice, and what to specify at pre-wire.
8 min read →Cat6 vs Cat6A: how to choose for your building
Cat6 vs Cat6A compared on bandwidth, 10GBASE-T distance, pathway fill and PoE heat, with a plain rule for deciding which pathways justify the upgrade.
8 min read →Commercial security camera system design for usable footage
How pixels per metre, lens choice, PoE distance, retention sizing and secure remote access decide whether your camera footage is usable when it matters.
8 min read →How to choose a low-voltage contractor: a buyer's checklist
The questions, scope items and checks that separate low-voltage contractors, so developers, GCs and property managers can compare bids that match.
8 min read →Low-voltage pre-wire for a multi-family building before drywall
What developers and GCs have to decide, coordinate and rough in for low-voltage on a multi-family project before the walls close and the cost multiplies.
8 min read →Planning a fiber backbone riser in a multi-family building
How the 100 m copper limit drives telecom room placement, and how to size a fiber backbone riser, strand count and pathway for a building's whole life.
8 min read →Planning a low-voltage retrofit in an occupied building
How to survey, sequence and phase a low-voltage retrofit in an occupied building without leaving suites unsecured or draining the reserve fund.
7 min read →Replacing an aging enterphone with a video enterphone system
What changes when an analogue lobby panel becomes a video enterphone system: phone-line migration, in-suite stations versus apps, courier access, PoE.
8 min read →Replacing fobs with an apartment building access control system
How an apartment building access control system works, what fobs, cards and mobile credentials really cost a strata, and what a retrofit takes.
8 min read →Restaurant POS cabling and network for retail fit-outs
How to plan restaurant POS cabling and network drops, Wi-Fi, and cameras during a fit-out, and where low-voltage fits in the landlord's fixed schedule.
8 min read →What Control4 home automation actually does
What Control4 home automation controls, why pre-wiring during construction costs far less than a retrofit, and when a home should not be automated.
7 min read →Planning a project?
Tell us about the building and we’ll scope the low-voltage systems in one coordinated pass.