4 Tips When Installing Data Cabling in a Home Office
With more people preferring to work from home nowadays, a home office is increasingly becoming part of house design. However, a modern home office cannot be complete without data cabling, which is the vehicle that links your office to the rest of the world. Notably, attention to the smallest detail is crucial when installing cabling in a small office to avoid a spaghetti finish that is a nightmare to maintain. Here are some tips and tricks to get you started.
Design With Flexibility in Mind -- The ultimate goal of cabling a home office is to offer flexibility in the computer network so that it can meet present and future needs. For example, wall outlets are integral when installing cabling; therefore, the data points must keep up with the ever-changing telecommunication industry standards. Also, the wall outlets should allow for the integration of voice and data connections. As mentioned earlier, the ports should be sufficient to meet future needs; hence, one outlet on each wall should be adequate, but it is always a good idea to include a dormant outlet on each wall for future scalability.
Hanging Cables -- Cabling pros recommend that wires should not swing because of the physical stress exerted on the copper core. After a while, the weight of the cables will distort the copper core through stretching and affect functionality adversely. As such, you are likely to experience a decline in signal strength as the wire deteriorates. Eventually, your connection will be disrupted causing many inconveniences. A cable tray helps to hold such cables by supporting the cable rack. Since the home office configuration will not require many wires, it is highly unlikely that the weight of the cables will supersede the ability of a tray to offer support. However, one rule of thumb is to buy a cable tray that matches the weight of the cables.
Data Vs. Electricity Cables -- The low voltage in a data cable generates a magnetic field that helps in transfer of data from one point to another. This magnetic field might be interrupted when the cable runs parallel with electrical wiring in the office. Therefore, an installer should deploy data cabling perpendicularly to electric wires to prevent interference during data transfer.
Testing the System and Labeling Cables -- When installing cabling, it is better to test each wire independently rather than waiting until the end when you have several wires to deal with. It is easy to pinpoint an area that needs repair or replacement when you check the cabling at the onset. Besides, remember to color code the wires for future reference when troubleshooting.