Installation manual

For more information call your Leviton representative or the Leviton Technical Hotline at 800-722-2082
© Copyright 2001 Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc.
7 System Design and
Placement—Laying Out the
Basics
In years past, low-voltage cable and wiring meant tele-
phone lines, intercom systems, and door chimes.
Structured wiring today means ethernet connections,
multiple phone and dedicated data lines, multi-location
stereo, and more. It’s increasingly important to careful-
ly design your system and write up a plan for cable,
device, and distribution center placement. With the
median size of newly constructed homes in the U.S. ris-
ing to at 2,000 square feet in 1998 (suggesting both
more and larger individual rooms) and with condomini-
ums and apartments becoming increasingly “tech
wired”, your plans will include plenty of structured
cable. This section will deal with the basics of your low-
voltage wiring plan.
7.1 Laying Out the Basics on the
Floor Plan
A well-prepared floor plan done in advance of your
installation will save you headaches later. It isn’t
enough to simply call for installing one phone jack or
cable TV termination per room. Your plan, or a design-
er’s plan, must be thoroughly discussed with your
client. This plan should include:
• The specific locations for each type of device (phone,
audio-video, computer data, etc.)
• The types of cable that will be run to these locations
and cable routing
• Allowance for future expansion as your customer’s
needs change
• Allowance for changes as the role of various rooms
change (a bedroom becoming a home office, for
example)
• When a DSL modem is anticipated, allow for three (3)
category 5 or 5e jacks in a location, and when a
Cable modem is anticipated, allow for three (3) coax
and two (2) category 5 or 5e jacks in a location.
If your client is unsure of a specific wall location for a
device, then suggest that two or more be installed to
cover all possible choices. You can’t predict furniture
placement and you’re better off running more cable, if a
budget permits, than coming back later to add to the
run. The minimum grade cable you should run is
Category 5. Mark all your proposed locations with blue
masking tape or similar material and do a walk through
with the homeowner prior to installation. When your client
is satisfied with your plan, you can decide the best sys-
tem installation to the plan requirements.
Be sure to plan “beyond the basics.” The Category 5
or 5e UTP and RG-6 coaxial cabling of the Essential
and Enhanced infrastructures will cover three applica-
tions: telephone, data, and coaxial video (CATV) distri-
bution. Additional applications such as multi-room
video, multi-location stereo, and home monitoring all
require additional dedicated wiring.
Remember that low-voltage structured cable requires
gentler handling during installation. When developing
your floor plan, be sure that you have sufficient access
to pull the cable without damaging it.
Installer’s Tip: Your Leviton Technical Support repre-
sentative can always assist you with any installation
problems that occur outside of the scope of this
manual. Call the Leviton Technical Support line at
(800)-722-2082.
7.2 System Choices and Options
Leviton Integrated Networks Structured Media subsys-
tem offers a complete convenient array of distribution
panels and devices to manage your client’s telephone,
data, and multi-room audio/video requirements.
Options range from basic phone, internet, and cable
TV to more advanced applications such as home the-
atre and home offices. These subsystems, as
described in chapter 6, always start with include the
one of the following Structured Media Centers:
• Series 100
• Series 140
• Series 280
• Series 420
These subsystems also include the Media Versatile
Panel.
continued on page 7-8
SYSTEM DESIGN
7-1
7
SYSTEM
DESIGN
System Design
and Placement-
Laying Out the
Basics