Category Archives: Computer Network Installation

What Do I need To Do to Wire My house To Work From Home?


What Do I Need to Wire My House to Work From Home?

Working from home became the norm for many people due to the pandemic. While some employees are moving back into offices, many are staying at home and fully adopting the remote work setup.

If you’ve been given the opportunity to continue your remote work setup, you may be wondering if your home is properly configured for it. Should I wire my home to work from home? That’s a valid question to ask.

A bad work from home setup can cause you to lag behind others in terms of productivity. Optimizing your remote work office would be ideal.

Included in this article are tips for optimizing your work from home setup. Stay tuned so you can learn more about implementing those important upgrades.

Install New Cables

When discussing potential upgrades that can turn a home office into a better workplace, you may start thinking about getting a new monitor, new peripherals and perhaps even a new desk. What we often gloss over is the need to improve connectivity.

If you’re looking for a way to significantly boost your home’s connectivity, investing in new cables makes a lot of sense. New cables can vastly improve the flow of information in and out of your home. You can also future-proof your home by installing those new cables.

So, which cables should you look to install?

We recommend looking for CAT-5e and RG6 cables. Those are the cables best suited to meet the data demands of today and tomorrow.

You may need some additional jacks to support your new cables. Installing a distribution box for your new connections is also a good idea.

Hire a residential electrical contractor to handle the installation and arrangement of your new cables. Leave this job up to them to ensure that it is done correctly.

Improve Your Home Wi-Fi

There’s nothing worse than having your internet connection drop out in the middle of a meeting. Having something like that happen is embarrassing. On top of that, the other people in the meeting may also have to wait for you to get back and that means you’re essentially wasting their time.

Losing your internet connection can also lead to missed deadlines and an overall drop in your working efficiency.

You cannot afford to have poor Wi-Fi if you are working from home. Ideally, the internet speed for your home office should be around 50 Mbps.

If your internet is well below that level, consider using Ethernet cables to remedy that issue. In situations where Ethernet cables may not suffice, you can set up mesh Wi-Fi networks instead. Those mesh Wi-Fi networks make it possible for you to get a strong connection in just about every corner of your home.

Switching to a new internet provider may also be necessary in some scenarios.

Utilize Multi-Port Hubs

Wires can end up all over the place if you’re working from home. To minimize the amount of clutter at your workstation, you should consider getting a multi-port hub.

A multi-port hub allows you to organize the cables and wires you’re using while working. It also makes connecting or disconnecting different peripherals way more convenient.

Don’t discount how much a multi-port hub can improve your home office setup. Dollar for dollar, it could end up being one of the best purchases you make.

Remote working can be a great option, but you need to prepare your home for that. By implementing the upgrades we detailed above, you can turn your home office into a more conducive space for productivity.

Why You Should Work with Professionals for Computer Network Installation

Are you working on setting up or upgrading a computer network at your business? The larger that network is, the more important it becomes to work with a professional. There are electricians and IT experts capable of handling your wiring so you can get the most efficient and reliable service possible across your entire network.

Electricians are your best bet for high-quality computer network installation in Alexandria, VA, because they’re trained and experienced in running cable throughout buildings in ways that will not be noticed or detrimental to the aesthetics or quality of your interior. A lot of cable company representatives will simply staple cables to the walls, which can quickly get messy, especially as the network runs through multiple rooms and entire buildings.

Here are a few examples of reasons why you should work with an electrician to install your new network cabling at your office.

Greater organization

Electricians understand cable management and organization. After all, they run electrical cables through entire homes and commercial buildings almost every day they’re on the job. Experienced electricians avoid creating jumbled messes of wires and cables, and are able to come up with clean, organized systems that allow everything to fit neatly in its place, and transition from one room to another without a mess.

Establish dedicated circuits

One of the best ways to avoid interference or issues with tripping circuit breakers is to install dedicated circuits for your computer network devices. You should always work with a licensed professional electrician when installing entirely new circuits.

This is a process often performed for certain appliances like laundry machines and refrigerators. It only makes sense to do it for large computer networks as well, especially when you have numerous devices in place.

Prevent issues with interference

Electricians aren’t just experts in cable management and installation—they also understand the science behind electricity, how electrical interference can happen and how to avoid it. If interference occurs, it could result in some significant damage to your network, and can cause issues with resetting, slow speeds, problems with wi-fi or Bluetooth connectivity and dropped internet connections.

Electricians will analyze the types of wire and cable jackets to make sure it goes well with the network and that the computer cabling will be able to provide you the reliable, high-speed connection you need.

Correct wiring

Electricians will know exactly which type of wiring or cable you will need for your network. Usually this will be a low-voltage wiring, which allows excellent energy efficiency combined with fast speeds and reliable power. Low-voltage wiring also has a much lower risk of overheating and creating fire hazards.

Interested in learning more about the benefits of working with a professional electrician for your computer network installation? We encourage you to contact the team at Walsh Electric for more information about computer network installation in Alexandria, VA. We would be happy to answer any questions you have for our team and to provide you with further information about the services we offer!