Extending Wiring

[tmbrown97]

Home Runs are the way things are going these days - no reason to daisy chain wires in the walls anymore; plus it gives you more flexibility... when it comes time to upgrade your panel, having CatX/Ethernet-capable wires will likely come in handy for the next gen POE Touchscreen.

 

[sda]

FWIW, and in case anybody needs a reference in the future, I used the Leviton 40066-M50 split 66 blocks, which are rated for Cat5 according to Leviton's spec sheet.
 
The bozos that put the original alarm system in this house, whatever it was, ran 22/10 to each keypad location.   That's about the only thing they did right.

 

[Del91574]

I can't say I can completely agree Work.
 
In the case of the M1, when you consider multiple home runs for the data bus....remember, the M1 can only run 4K total length end to end, so when you look at that as far as home runs with multi-conductor cable, that is only 2K in a multiple homerun, which is very easy to hit on any install with any sort of distance or multiple bus devices. 
 
It may not happen in a McMansion or tract home, but the larger installs, it's definitely something to keep in mind when planning cable runs out.
 
@ SDA, the older systems (assuming that's what you had) usually required a conductor for each key on the keypad in addition to whatever any LED or display needed. Bad back in the day for retrofit, but helps out now.

 

[tmbrown97]

DEL - I don't disagree - in a commercial or larger residential install, that limit is a very important consideration.  Even in smaller homes with outbuildings, etc.  That said, in a modern day tract home, homeruns are much easier and better future-proofed.

 

[foxtail22]

One of the features that the ELK supports is the ability to have your zone expander cards remotely located from the ELK controller.  The zone expander cards and keypads use the 4 wire RS485s based data bus to connect the zone cards and keypads to the controller.  In your case, you could install zone expander cards in the present location to connect to all the zone wiring already running to that location.  You can then run a 4 wire cable from that location to the new location where you want to locate you ELK controller and connect them up.  ELK sell plastic clam shell boxes to house the zone expander cards if you do want to move the metal box to the new location.
 
In new construction, this remote connection approach can save a lot on both wire cost and labor by locating the cards near the sensors vs. home running them all to a central panel.

 

[Del91574]

I'm going to disagree with the above in respect to new construction.....
 
That's the quickest way to get yourself into trouble and pigeonhole yourself into a topology or panel. The point of a prewire is to run cabling and install devices in a manner that would be labor and cost prohibitive on a retrofit (YMMV slightly). In the overall scheme of things, the cheapest part of any project is always going to be the cable.
 
As for relocating, the best solution is to not move the panel, but if you're dead set on moving it, then you need to either do it right and plan access to the junction (or move the cable junction to an accessible location) or the second option of installing zone expanders...then you need to consider the remote power draw and ancillary connections.