One seemingly unavoidable eyesore that tends to mar a perfectly decorated room is the sight of electrical wires. Picture your beautiful living room equipped with the latest flat panel TV and a 5.1 home theater system – unfortunately, your rear speakers would have to be connected to the front with wires.
In the wake of all the advanced technology in electronic appliances, it seems ironic that nothing much has developed in the design of these appliances when it comes to the external wiring aesthetics. To be sure, there are already a number of devices in the market which are capable of wireless data communication and even wireless electric power transmission. But these are few and possibly only some could actually afford them.
Most devices are still connected by copper to sources of power and data. For those of us who tend to get tied up in knots at the sight of spaghetti at the back of our desktops, TV sets and game consoles, we can try to provide a semblance of order to the chaos through the use of so-called
“wire organizers”.
These are products which wrap together two or more wires along their length much like the wiring harnesses found in car electrical systems. This has the advantage of reducing the visible wire count but effectively doubles the diameter of the bound wires. In practice, these items could be plastic spirals, nylon cable ties, or plastic tubing depending on personal preferences. The wires are still there but hidden in plain sight. The plastic spirals have the advantage of easy installation and removal.
If you have the budget, there are some high-end speaker systems which can be connected remotely to the source device. Since the system has no wires which can limit the distance and location of the speakers, the audiophile can re-arrange their locations as she pleases without worrying about tripping over hidden wires. This setup is most advantageous for 5.1 or 6.1 sound systems.
For wires on the floor, you can conceal them under your carpet, or tuck them securely under rugs. Or, buy floor cord covers which now come in different colors and textured designs that can match your wood floors.
As to data transmission, there are now devices which can be plugged into home electrical outlets to convert digital signals and carry them across existing electrical power wires and over to other digital devices inside the home. This works well with computer networking and communications setups inside the home with no additional wiring to worry about. The only consideration is the cost of the converter units. Aside from this, the home itself can also be configured to receive external broadband signals over power wires.
Perhaps the best time to think about concealed wiring systems is when you build a new house. The next best time is when you decide to remodel your home. Short of these two, you may need to tear down wall sections, lift floorboards or dig into concrete to provide channels for conduits. This will take time and money.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, June 12th, 2012 at 6:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.
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