By William Black, Vice President, Wire & Cable, Copper Development Association Inc., wblack@cda.copper.org

A great time to install structured wiring is when a home is being remodeled. For example, structured wiring can – and should – be installed when a remodeler is building an addition, redoing a kitchen or bath or creating a home office. After all, during a remodel, homeowners are investing substantial sums of money to improve their homes and bring them up to current standards. They are prepared for walls to be open, for dust to be flying and for some disruption to their normal routines.

Why not bring the communications wiring up to speed as well? A good business tactic for an installer is to partner with one or more remodelers. Even though every remodeler already has a relationship with an installer to do the necessary electrical work, this electrician may or may not be knowledgeable on communications wiring. If not, an opportunity may be there for you. Together, a remodeler and installer can transform existing homes in ways beyond what either could do alone. Nearly every large remodeling project could benefit from the employment of a communications wiring installer. The remodeling industry includes a large marketplace for structured wiring that should not be overlooked by installers.

A key to success is tailoring a solution to the homeowners’ lifestyles where they will realize value in terms of increased comfort, convenience, security and overall livability of their home. For most people, a home is the largest investment they will ever make in their lives. Whether installed as a special wiring retrofit or as part of a larger remodeling project, a communications wiring system that will handle the services available today and tomorrow is a good way to maximize a home’s value.

Homeowners are also eager to show off their home’s amenities to friends and neighbors, which will often lead to referral business, with little or no marketing expense on your behalf.

 New-home market versus remodeling

Most new residential technologies appear first in new homes and then gradually in existing homes. Some reasons are:

 

• The accessibility of the new-home market for new technologies and the desire of new-home buyers to have the latest and greatest products in their brand new homes.

 

• Once homeowners enjoy the comfort and convenience of new technologies and products, they will rarely live without them again, even if they move. This becomes particularly true today as retrofitting an existing home, either as a stand-alone project or as one part of a home remodeling project, has become more affordable and less intrusive.

 

• Once new homeowners start talking about their new toys, their friends and associates want them too.

As new technologies are deployed, tools and installation techniques are developed which facilitate faster and less costly installations. In the case of retrofit wiring, specialized tools have been developed which make retrofitting the entire house quick, affordable to the consumer and profitable to the installer. As more and more consumers experience the benefits that structured wiring offers, the demand for retrofit installations is increasing. The market potential for new housing units is roughly 1.5 million installations per year, while the remodeling market represents over 100 million existing homes in need of updating.

Presently, structured wiring is on its way to becoming a standard offering in new homes. For existing homes, the potential market is like a sleeping giant. Interestingly, this market crosses all age groups, lifestyles and incomes. Homeowners from all walks of life are eager to spend on upgrading their communications wiring systems. A demand for structured wiring exists in small, low-income homes as well as large mansions. In fact, young people living in small “starter” homes are often your best customers, having grown up with technology, and are unwilling to live without the latest gadgets.

From a retrofit installation standpoint, the products and features driving structured wiring are:

 

• Many remodeling jobs entail opening or adding walls, which is a perfect opportunity to bring not only the areas of the home being remodeled up to current wiring standards, but the rest of the home as well.

 

• Virtually all of the standard “open-wall” tools used by installers every day are needed, as are specialized tools that make fishing wires through existing walls fairly easy.

 

• During a remodeling project which entails open walls, access is often available to key pathways needed to run wires to otherwise difficult-to-reach locations in a home. Not taking advantage of this prime opportunity to upgrade a home’s communications wiring would be a disservice to the customer.

 

• The trades, tools and materials needed are already present on most remodeling projects.

Homeowners’ needs and expectations

Most homeowners need comfort and convenience. They expect their systems to be fairly straightforward to operate and control. Automated systems should make certain tasks happen based upon times or events, such as the disarming of the security system, or the pressing of a button such as a light switch. Most homeowners want their automated systems to be additive; that is, they want to add features without taking away any of the functionality or control that existed before.

Fortunately, a properly installed and configured structured wiring system will meet these needs and expectations. Regular analog telephones should work when a homeowner plugs them into a telephone jack, and it should be clear where to plug in the television in order to receive off-air TV, CATV or digital satellite signals.

In any remodeling project, homeowners expect minimal disruption to their normal routines. They would like installers and remodelers to treat them, their homes and their belongings with respect and care. A key consideration may be to keep current service such as telephone, CATV, etc. operational for as long as possible during the upgrade.

Structured wiring is a necessity for applications such as in-home networks, high-speed Internet access, shared Internet access among multiple computers and video signal distribution to multiple rooms in the house. Old-style, low-capacity, looped wiring will not work well for these applications and many others. Both telephone (DSL) and cable (cable modem) companies are rapidly expanding their networks and their delivery of broadband services.

In a remodeling project where other components of a home are being updated to modern standards and style, installing structured wiring modernizes the home’s communications system as well. Home theaters, home offices and home networks all require structured wiring.

Signs of demand

Customer demand is expressed in many ways. Buying products and services that are best used when a home has a structured wiring system is one indication of demand. Other expressions of demand include wanting to remodel a home to add modern conveniences such as home theaters, home offices, media rooms or whole-house audio systems. While the homeowner may not ask for structured wiring by name, he or she may express customer demand in an indirect manner.

According to a recent survey by the Remodelors Council of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), structured wiring is among the top three requested amenities during major remodeling projects.

Installers can create demand by educating customers on the systems, products and features available to them at an affordable price. The installer is often better qualified than the remodeler to provide current product information and estimates. For example, many customers think whole-house audio and home networks are only affordable in high-end homes. Often, they are pleasantly surprised about how affordable these options are nowadays. However, they usually don’t know what is needed behind the walls to enable and support these technologies, services and products. This is where the installer can provide help and guidance to the homeowner by matching products and systems to the lifestyles, needs and habits of homeowners who are remodeling their homes. Consumer awareness is being created through news and magazine articles, through word-of-mouth by people who have structured wiring, by trade organizations and industry groups such as Copper Development Association (CDA), Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association (CEDIA), equipment manufacturers, distributors, dealer/installers and by builders who are offering structured wiring in their homes.

More and more consumers are being made aware that structured wiring is necessary to take full advantage of technologies available today. Of course, as with other remodeling projects, one way that consumer awareness will be generated in your local market is through referrals from other satisfied clients.

To be successful with structured wiring, as with many modern conveniences, installers need to stimulate demand by mentioning its benefits and relatively low cost to homeowners and remodelers. Many homeowners know what services and conveniences they want, but have no idea that their homes are not wired properly to accommodate them. You can create demand by educating your customers on the systems, products and features available to them at an affordable price.

You have the perfect opportunity to paint the picture for your customers and provide them with a modern communications system. Remember, the business may be yours for the asking, and a remodel is a perfect time to install structured wiring.

You have little to lose by explaining the benefits of structured wiring to homeowners when they are getting their homes remodeled and letting them know that the perfect time to install structured wiring is while their homes are being remodeled. Once they realize how easy and affordable it is to install structured wiring, the applications that it will enable and the overall benefits they will receive, including increased resale value, they will often demand structured wiring and thank you for offering it to them.

Entertainment, high-speed Internet and shared access among multiple computers certainly provide a high level of customer satisfaction. Once a customer experiences high-speed access, he or she is unlikely to ever go back to dial-up service.

Home theaters, distributed audio providing music in multiple rooms and distributed video (being able to watch the DVD on any TV in the house) offer wonderful in-home experiences.

Other systems that provide peace of mind, comfort and convenience include security systems, lighting and energy control systems and cameras for security, baby monitoring, etc. Every remodeling customer’s needs and wants are different, so it is up to you to lay out the available options and benefits and tailor the products to meet both today’s and tomorrow’s needs.

Remodeling customers could put off installing structured wiring until a later time. On the other hand, it’s easy to include structured wiring now, while they are in a spending mode, and looking to upgrade other aspects of their homes.

Typically, the personnel needed to install the wiring are already on-site. Installers will be called in to move, replace, modify or add some aspect of a home’s communications system as part of the remodeling project. Why not propose upgrading the rest of the home’s communications system at the same time?

And structured wiring will add to the resale value of a house. Put a positive light on it. Since penetration of structured wiring into the existing home market will take many years, as compared to the new home market where it’s happening quickly, a house wired to modern communications standards will stand out as a better value than its contemporaries without structured wiring, even though it may be 80 years old.

Behind Closed Walls: The Art of Retrofitting

The key areas of concern are performing a needs assessment for the homeowners, developing a system design to meet these needs and carefully planning the installation to avoid costly obstacles, shortage of materials and unforeseen problems. With the proper training and tools, wiring those portions of an existing home where the walls are closed is straightforward and not much more difficult than wiring the open walls. You can easily bring the entire home’s communications system up to current standards during virtually any major remodeling project.

The installation of structured wiring is not yet widespread among remodelers. But, remember that it is rapidly becoming standard in new homes, and owners of existing homes are going to want the same features. You can be ahead of the curve if you feature it. A growing number of remodelers are embracing structured wiring as a standard offering because it meets their customers’ needs. A huge market is just beginning to be serviced.

With the proper installation training and tools, it is fairly easy to install structured wiring in almost any house. Marrying the old style and architecture with new, modern products and technologies is a goal in any restoration. When properly installed, structured wiring is largely hidden from view, and may often replace unsightly telephone or coaxial wiring that has been added over the years in a piecemeal fashion by tacking it to baseboards, exterior walls, and other temporary solutions.

CDA offers two videotapes, Infrastructure Wiring for Existing Homes and Infrastructure Wiring for New Homes, that cover many of the basics including a tutorial on the wires and tools used, the fundamentals of residential networks and installation planning and several real life installations in different types of homes.

In addition, CDA offers the Installers Edition of its CD-ROM “Structured Wiring for Today’s Homes,” which is available free upon request. Companion CD-ROMs are available for homebuilders and remodelers. Installers could procure extra copies of the remodelers edition to give to the remodelers for whom they subcontract.

Additionally, excellent training is available from manufacturers, distributors, training consultants and consortiums, and at virtually all of the industry shows and expositions.

Retrofits Made Easy >>