Wiring Time - Need Some Advice

[markl007]

After months of construction it's time to get started on all the wiring. I'm excited to pull all the Cat6, RG6QS and speaker wire as this'll be the third house I've wired. Having never done alarm pre-wiring before I decided to contract that part of the work out.
 
My problem now is that both my alarm installer and my backup installer have both bailed on me and I need to get the alarm pre-wire done this weekend. This means that I'm going to have to do it all and with no experience with alarm stuff I'm worried about mistakes.
 
Right now I just want to get wire to the locations needed (before the drywall goes up and makes that much more difficult). I'll get a professional to terminate everything properly later.
 
My top priority is the wiring for the window/door contacts. I believe I just need to pull the wire from the equipment room to each location (22/2 wire correct?) and coil it up by each window/door. But if I have 3 windows in a row do I need to homerun a wire for each one or can I splice the wires together? (I'm ok if the alarm reports that a kitchen window is open; I don't care to know which one -- I'll just look).
 
Likewise I was going to have the alarm guy pre-wire for Somfy blinds. This I'm not even sure what kind of wire to pull (low voltage, but what?) I assume I just pull those to one (close) location and let the electrician handle the rest when the time comes.
 
Thanks for any advice,
-Mark
 

 

[picta]

For Somfy blinds/shades pull 16/2 for power and 22/4 for control, drill a hole through a window frame and pull the wire through. It is best to run individual wire for each window sensor, 22/2 is correct.

 

[markl007]

Thanks for the feedback. I spend the day pulling wire and managed to knock a lot of runs off. I have a few more questions though:
 
1) Some of my windows are double-hung. Do I need to run one home run 22/2 wire to EACH end of each window? Or can I splice them? (I've got 11 double-hung windows to do tomorrow).
 
2) I want to pre-wire for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. These will be in addition to anything required by code (and separate from them). I ultimately want to hook them into an alarm panel (either Elk or OmniPro II). As only part of the house is under renovation right now I will only be putting in wiring for about half of them. 

• Do I need special wire for them or is 22/4 sufficient?
• I believe I have to run one continuous loop for the smokes. Can the carbon monoxide sensors be on the same loop or do they need to be separate?
• Does it make sense to try to wire in such a way I can add more sensors to the same zone when we renovate the rest of the house? (If yes do I need to do anything other than leave an accessible wire?) Or should I leave those for a separate zone?

3) For the blind control do I run the control wire to the same location as the power or do I home run it to the wiring closet? Or do I need to do both?
 
Thanks for any advice,
-Mark

 

[RAL]

For the double hung windows, if you are going to install separate contacts for the upper and lower sash, you could splice them and run a single cable back to the panel if you want to.  I don't think it is worth having 2 zones per window.  But I hate the idea of not being able to get to that splice if need be, so my preference is to run separate cables from each contact to an accessible spot, such as up in the attic or down in the basement and then make the splice in a place where I can get to it if need be.
 
For the smokes, most jurisdictions require that you use 18 gauge fire rated wire (FPL or FPLR), which is red in color.  This type of wire provides better protection for the conductors against heat and flames.
 
For the CO detectors, you should be ok with 22 gauge alarm wire.  But it is best to check your local code or with the inspector if possible.

 

[picta]

For the blinds you can run power wire and control wire to separate locations, but for a clean install I would run both to your central location. You can then use a power distribution panel to power the blinds from a single transformer.

 

[Del91574]

Conventional CO detectors can NOT be on the same loop as fire alarm.
 
There's only a single exception is if you use combination detectors and module, of which, I only know of the System Sensor unit on the market presently.
 
If you are putting multiple CO's on a single zone, you'll need at least 6 conductors between the first and subsequent detectors.
 
If you are planning for a tandem ring system, do NOT install heat detectors on the same zone/cable as wired as smoke detectors.
 
FPLR is not required in residential. It is an allowable substitute as it exceeds a FPL cable. Fire alarm cabling does NOT need to be red in color, that is only the most commonly found variety. I have about 4 boxes that I'm working out of for jumpers at the moment that are white, grey, orange and green.
 
I would not recommend putting multiple fire zones, especially when tandem ring is involved, on a single residential panel unless your install is large enough to mandate such (<15 smokes or exceeding capabilities of the module or panel).
 
Plan on what sort of fire alarm (2 or 4 wire) and plan your pulls accordingly. If you can only rough half the house at the moment, you'll either need to plan on getting a wire to the last detector you can get a cable to or double the amount of conductors you're pulling on the second phase.