What Retrofit Wiring Option Works for You?
Feb
17
Written by:
Jeremy Glowacki
2/17/2010 9:01 AM
We know all about the new home construction bubble going pop and that "retrofit" is our industry's best hope at the moment, but which technology makes the most sense when using an existing home’s wiring infrastructure to integrate multiroom audio and communication systems?
CEDIA’s Power Hour webinar next Thursday will shed a lot of light on the subject. It will be my privilege to introduce the session, handing over to Russound product manager Walt Zerbe, who will moderate the rest of the way.
Three Existing Wires are Available
Zerbe knows a thing or two about retrofit audio technologies, having helped his company launch its powerline-based Collage multiroom audio line to dealers this month. But he will have plenty of help from panelists from HomePlug, the technology alliance focused on using a home’s existing powerlines for audio distribution; MoCA, an alliance focused on sending multimedia content over coaxial cable; and HomePNA, a group interested in capitalizing on a home’s existing coax or Cat-5 wiring infrastructure.
The alliance representatives will compare and contrast these three options for sending audio and communication signals from room to room using a home’s existing wiring, to see when one might make more sense than the other.
“This session will be all about not having to rip a home’s walls apart to retrofit wires into it,” Zerbe said. “Here are three technologies. They all work over wires that already in the home, and they provide more value and more services, and enable us to put in multi-room audio systems using an existing infrastructure.”
Compare Notes with Your Peers
Throughout the webinar Zerbe will be asking poll questions that could provide some very useful information to session attendees. One will ask attendees what percentage of their current projects are retrofit installations. I can’t wait to grab that snapshot for myself.
The session will also present industry data focused on housing trends, including “starts” and permits over time. The data will compare new construction with retrofit permits, offering a glimpse of how the housing market is evolving.
Retrofit Makes Sense
“It all points to retrofit really being THE opportunity,” Zerbe said. “It’s never easy pulling wires and ripping walls apart, so here are alternative technologies that can make the job easier.”
I will be sitting on the session so I can write a follow-up report on what I learned. Keep an eye open for that, because you will be tested.
To register for next week's CEDIA PowerHour webinar, please visit www.cedia.org/powerhour.