The times are fast changing. We we're once in the age where the only wirings you'll need for your house are for electricity, cable TV, and phone lines. We we're once in that era, but technology, as it always does, has found another way to make our way of living far behind schedule.

We might not feel it today, or maybe we already have, but all these electronic plumbing are becoming more and more of a necessity in every house.

What you'd need to install in your home depends on the kind of lifestyle you have, or the neighborhood you're in. You might need to network your computers, which is highly advantageous to avoid having to buy separate printers, scanners, and other stuff for different computers. You can also share high-speed internet connection using the same networking equipment.

Local area network (LAN) cards are installed in your computer, similar to your sound and video cards. Cables are then connected from the computers into a network hub. Hubs usually can connect eight computers at the same time but there a lot of hubs that can serve far more than that number. You can work with your computer in the masters' bedroom and print your output in the printer at the study. No need to bother with transferring your files from computer to computer.

It is now common for houses to be set up with cameras to know what's going on around the house. This gives you a lot more flexibility and security and you won't have to go back and forth just to check if the food in the kitchen is already burning, or if the baby is still asleep, or who's at the door. You have the option to view all the rooms in one computer at the same time. You can call up a security company and let them install security cameras in every corner of the house.

Today's technology also offers you to have control of everything right in the comfort of your favorite seat. Everything from the lights to the doors, from the curtains to the entertainment system - all of these you can control with a touch of a single gadget. All you need are the right devices and proper wiring and you can have the benefits of a fully automated house.

Some manufacturing companies offer installation services for their products. Take advantage to understand their process and learn how they connect your appliances so you'll know what's running behind the walls of your house.

These are some features in some hi-tech mansions. But as everything is starting to become globally adapted, so are our homes. All these are becoming standard fixtures in many houses. We cannot avoid it if we don't want to get buried under constantly developing technology. We'll all eventually end up browsing through catalogs looking for items to wire your home, just so we could catch up with the future.

A typical room would need to have two sets of wiring - one for telephone and data cables and another for TV cable, security cameras and the like. Like your electric wirings, all these run through a central distribution panel by which you can control and switch the connections whenever you need to.

You should choose the quality of the cables and wires you will be using. Many of these cables work just fine but are often left behind by others in terms of the rate at which it delivers signals and information to your sets. Use higher quality materials to anticipate the future standards. 56 kilobits per second (kbps) is currently the standard in most connections but there are emerging products that can deliver up to 4 megabits per second. Keep in mind that information just keeps getting bigger and bigger in size. There might come a time when it will take days to download a movie using your old 56-kbps modems!

These electronic plumbing are much cheaper and easier to install during the construction of your house than after. You will have to spend a little more if you're planning to rewire a finished house. Installing them after finishing your house will be a lot more difficult and expensive. You will have to find the cheapest routes around your house where you will not have to create too many holes in the walls.

During construction, install only those you will need but provide enough conduits to anticipate additional wirings and cables for future needs. As has been said, the rate at which technology becomes obsolete is getting higher as everyone is adjusting to the global scene. Rewiring your home too often is a big waste so you'll have to look up and plan ahead.

Some of the terms and gadgets you will have to face when dealing with installation will most probably not ring a bell to you. Neither would you always know the mechanisms and where to run a set of wires and how to connect it to the main board. Its best to have someone in this area of expertise to wire your home. Someone from the telephone company might be able to help you with this, and so is someone from the computer company, electricians, and unit manufacturers. They may know how to put it all together but each one of them may also be to a different inclination. Try to solicit help from designers and contractors whose expertise is a closest match to your needs and preferences.

Getting in the flow of the emerging trends today is not as simple as it looks. It might be that everyone is just trying to follow the bandwagon, or charging up for some unnecessary expectations.

But in reality, high-technology today will eventually, inevitably become obsolete and the best solution to this problem of constantly upgrading your systems is to anticipate the future and set your house up for what it may offer you. You just have to know the right preparations to make and the right people to call for the job. Remember that every situation warrants a different approach to this and its best to consult the designer and builder of your choice.