As technologies advance, and the way it interacts with your lifestyle and home changes, so too should your home wiring. With an increase in smart technologies requiring seamless connections, and with more people working from home requiring fast stable internet, your existing wiring may not be cutting it.
Many homes in Australia can receive high speed broadband internet. This speed is great for running a home office, watching 4k movies on Netflix, playing online games, and providing fast connection for all your smart devices. But your home wiring could be letting you down.
A wiring upgrade isn’t just necessary for internet either. With an increase in computers and devices, comes a need for more power sockets to power your devices. It may be tempting to just use a variety of extension leads and power boards, but safety issues aside, this won’t cut it in the long term.
So how can you upgrade your home wiring and what do you need to know about when attempting to? There are differences between new and old homes, so we will go into that here.
New homes
Newer homes tend to be easier to adapt to new technologies. This is because these homes often have enough amperage running through the home. All that is needed is more outlets, better lighting, and some internet cabling. Some of this work may be easy to DIY, however, it is important that all work that has been done by yourself meets the electrical code. Work that is “close enough” simply won’t cut it. Buildings can catch fire if electrical work has not been properly completed. It is always a good idea to contact a reputable residential electrician.
The majority of homes built over the last 20 years have 200-amp service. This is perfect for the vast majority of uses in a home. If you require the use of heavy-duty tools that draw a lot of current, you may require more. However, most home offices simply require enough outlets to accommodate multiple computers, printers, and more. Due to this many newer homes may need the following upgrades.
More outlets
The first thing you should consider adding is enough outlets to cover the devices you need and more. Upgrade your existing single outlets to a dual outlet, or adding another adjacent to it will increase the number of devices you can use. The challenge here is getting the electrical wire from an existing outlet or switch to the new electrical box. For the new connection, the wire will often need to pass through the wall framing to reach the new boxes.
While the process is not complex, there is a knack for getting the wire to where it needs to go. Often it will require cutting holes in the sheetrock or plaster, drilling holes into the framing, and pulling the wire through. Sometimes larger holes maybe required for improved access. Because of this, repairs will be required on the wall.
USB ports
A popular addition to many new outlets are USB ports. Since many of our devices use USB to transfer power, many homeowners have decided to forgo adapters altogether and include USB ports in their power outlets. With this, you can plug directly into the outlet with your cable, providing a clean appearance. It is important to note here the changing technologies. With the standard USB port design slowly on the way out, and the new USB type C port on the way in, it may be a better idea to install outlets with the type C port.
Increased lighting
Some rooms simply need more lighting to transform them into spaces you love spending your time in. This is true for basements, attics, and even your home office. There are many ways you can add additional lighting. You could add a new lamp or plug in lights directly into outlets, or you could install more ceiling lights. If you do not have experience installing new ceiling lights it is best that you call an electrician, as improperly installed lights can cause a fire hazard.
Internet cabling
Wiring up your property for internet has many advantages, even today in a Wifi dominated world. We will go further into the benefits of wiring up your home for your internet access later on in this article. Many newer homes already have internet wiring pre-installed. Adding more ports in this situation will be a relatively simple job for a qualified electrician. If your house is yet to be wired up it is vital that you contact an electrician to achieve this as it can be complex for DIYers.
Older homes
There are many challenges posed by older homes. Because of this, you should not DIY an older home’s wiring. There are many complex elements which can easily go wrong if not installed by a professional. These can include adapting prior modifications which were not completed properly, or using older hardware like a knob and tube system. Each component will need to be inspected by an electrician to determine whether they meet the minimum standards to continue to be used.
Another issue many older homes face is grounding. Some of these homes do not have their wiring properly grounded. If this is the case, when you open up a switch or outlet you will see two wires. You may need an experts advice if your wiring is not properly grounded.
With all the different standards differences, and modernisation requirements in older homes it is often best to scrap the old stuff and start with new materials. At the end of the day this would minimise risks, and reduce future costs. This way you can have your wiring completed and signed off by a professional electrician to code.
How can new wiring improve internet?
Wiring up your networking at home can offer a massive boost to the robustness, stability, and even speeds of your network. Running each of your devices on a wireless network, when they don’t need to be, can cause a lot of interference. On top of this, your neighbour’s wireless network could also be interfering with your own. This is because of overlapping signals and traffic on the wireless network. All of this can cause loss of speed, instability, and reduced internet quality.
To improve your network it is a good idea to move devices which do not need to be connected wirelessly, off the wireless network. These devices can include desktop computers, TV’s, game consoles, streaming devices, and more. As these devices generally remain stationary, and in one spot, they can be connected via a wired connection.
Having a bunch of wires running around your home would look unsightly, which is where in wall networking comes in. A professional electrician can install fibre optic cabling throughout your home which will provide an express lane from your router straight to the devices connected to the wired network. These devices will achieve higher, more consistent speeds on average than your wireless devices. As well as this it will reduce traffic on your wireless network, increasing its speed and reliability.
Conclusion
The key thing with updating the wiring on your home is to ensure that it has been completed up to code. Any work completed “close enough” to code is a safety risk. To ensure you home is wired correctly, whether your home is old or new, reach out to a qualified electrician.
Upgrading your home wiring is a great way to ensure your home remains up to date for your uses. Even though it may not have the largest visual impact, wired network upgrades will have a positive visual impact, the quality life improvements are worth it.