Connect Shop with hub and Cat5

[OUAnthony]

I have a shop that is detached from my house...about 75 feet away. Someone told me that wiring connecting the 2 buildings would need to be grounded upon entrance to each building, otherwise there would be a potential fire hazard or surge hazard or something that would destroy property or hardware. Is it true that I need to ground any communication/alarm wiring between the main house and the shop?

My plan is to run 3 or 4 lengths of cat5 (1 for alarm hub and 1 for internet, and 2 for backups) inside some buried PVC pipe between the 2 buildings...with waterproof connections/etc so water/bugs/etc don't get in. Is one run of cat5 enough to connect a hub to the main panel? Will the wire handle the current, etc?

Thanks for any feedback. This is my first home (remodeling it) and first time installing an alarm, so I'm sure I will be a frequent visitor.

[Ok Alarm Guy]

I'd recommend a thicker gauge of wire but I think you'll be ok with cat5 being that it's only 75ft away. How many zones are you planning on having in the garage and what? Personally I don't think you need to ground it outside, you can run a ground wire to the main alarm control panel in the house would be sufficient.

[Old EW Tech]

Welcome to the forum.

Elk specifically states: “Do NOT connect any of the terminals, especially the Neg. terminals to earth ground. Early production boards had an earth ground terminal. This terminal is no longer used on circuit board revision I or later.”

If you are in doubt about any additional grounding requirements that may be applicable in your area, check with the responsible AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction: Building / Electrical Inspector, Fire Marshal, etc).

... Is one run of cat5 enough to connect a hub to the main panel? Will the wire handle the current, etc?

CAT 5 is recommended between the hub and Data Bus devices (see pages 7, 9, 11 & 12 of the Installation Manual), so you should be just fine in that regard.  The hub should be located at or near the panel and the CAT 5 run to the module.

75 feet is a relatively short distance; however, whether or not CAT 5 is adequate for current handling depends upon the load.

[OUAnthony]

I am sorry...when I first typed my questions, I hijacked someone else's thread...assuming our situations were identical. They really aren't (the admin was smart enough to realize that and move my response to its own thread).

Anyway, I actually do not have an alarm system yet. Currently I have my house gutted...it's down to the studs. I am running 22/2 and 22/4 for all window/door/motion/etc sensors. I am running cat5 for keypads/panels/etc. While I'm doing this, I thought it'd be a good idea to run cable from the house to the detached garage. I mentioned the grounding of the wires at building entrances, but maybe I was thinking of surge protection at building entrances? I've heard and read about differences in electric potential between 2 buildings (due to variations in moisture/wind/etc)...which could cause a current that could damage electrical devices on either/both sides of the buried wire...especially if lighting should strike nearby. So if I go with Elk, I understand that I am not to ground it. What about surge protection? I was looking at a ITW SurgeGate POE. Would I need one in each building, or just one total, or is this overkill altogether?

Also, would it be better to run a few lengths of 22/4 over to the detached shop and connect them to the main house panel instead of using a hub? Or would there then be issues with power degradation if I do that? If I were to go with 22/4 runs instead, then I'm assuming the grounding/surge issue would be the same as if using cat5?

If I do go the route of using a hub, could I disable/enable the alarm for just the shop and not affect the monitoring status of the house (or vice versa)? I won't enter the shop too often, so I'd like to keep the system active for it pretty much 24/7. The shop is 30x30...with a bathroom, 2 overhead garage doors, 2 normal doors, and 4 windows. I was thinking one photo sensor across the opening for the 2 overhead doors, and normal door/window sensors (doors and windows on one zone) for everything else...and maybe a glass break sensor mounted in the middle of the garage. I might also add a smoke detector or something...So all-in-all, I'm thinking 3 to 5 zones. Having the ability to add more in the future would be nice, in case I convert the shop to a guest house. It has natural gas, adequate electrical, and plumbing...so it's tempting.

Although there is a furnace in the shop, I don't plan on keeping it heated...so the temperature will sometimes fall below 32. I have read on here about purchasing equipment that will function in extreme temperatures...so I will make sure to do the research for that.

Finally, any suggestions as far as brand/panel goes? My goal is to have a system that I can arm/disarm from my iPhone (using an app, connecting remotely to my computer, or dialing straight in...whichever is available). I also plan on using X-10 or other similar technology as required to make this remote connection possible. I do not have a land line, but I do have a broadband connection that is very stable, and I am will to get a GSM backup...although my goal is to have the lowest possible monthly fee. In addition to the alarm system, I also have a couple of IP cameras hooked up and monitored by an iPhone app called iCam. It notifies me when a motion event occurs, and I set it up so that it would capture motion events to my computer's hard drive...and back the images up immediately to an off-site server. Having that as a backup to the alarm will be very helpful. I plan to have the IP cameras, my computer, my router/modem, and alarm all hooked up to a UPS in case of power outage.

I rewired the electrical in my entire house, which was built in 1955...and lacked ground wires. While that was labor intensive, it was fairly easy in terms of hooking it all up. This alarm/home automation/computer integration has my head spinning though. I appreciate any/all advice on what to do or not to do, etc.

Thanks again to the admin for moving this to my own thread. You were wise...this is obviously transforming quickly into a monster. haha

[Old EW Tech]

If electrical power surges are a concern, you might want to consider having Whole-House Surge Protection installed at the service entrance by a licensed electrician.  Additionally, we have used the ELK-950 Single Telephone Line & Low Voltage Surge Suppressors with good results.

Since the system itself is not grounded, Step-Voltage Blowout damage from nearby lightning strikes is reduced; however, damage to any electrical appliances can still occur under given conditions.

If you are anticipating 3 – 5 zones in the outbuilding with possible future expansion, I would suggest using a hub (located at or near the panel) with an M1XIN in the shop.

That said, depending upon the number of modules installed in the house and how they are connected to the Data Bus, you “might” be able to simply daisy-chain a keypad and the expander in the shop with 22/4 cable (see Data Bus Connections in the Installation Manual).  In any event, a couple of CAT 5’s running to the shop would be more than adequate for any eventuality.

Yes, you can make the shop a separate partition (with a keypad or arming station located in the building) and have the ability to operate as independent systems.

Either the M1G or the M1EZ8 with the M1XEP Ethernet Interface should provide you with remote computer access and both controls support X-10.

Visit Elk’s website (link on the forum’s Industry Links Page) and view the Product Demonstrations and Online Demos.