Barry Driscoll is in the basement installing a state-of-the-art surge protector from Square D. Barry hooks up a main surge protector for the whole house that will take care of all the appliances, electronics, and anything else that could be damaged. It also protects the telephones and cable TV that run throughout the house. This eliminates the need for individual surge protectors on separate appliances. This can be installed in a retrofit as well as in new construction. Barry is also installing an arc fault detector. These units that are now required by the new national electrical code for branch circuits in bedrooms protect against fires from arcing caused by damaged wires (if you hit a wire while hanging a picture), deteriorating electrical insulation, stressed electrical cords, or misapplied or damaged appliance use. The arc detector was designed to detect overloads, short circuits and arc faults and open the circuit and stop the arc fault and its high intensity heat before a fire is likely to ignite.

Bob and Tim Woods from the Internet Home Alliance meet in the kitchen. Tim details the Home Director structured wiring installation in every room, allowing the homeowner to stay connected to both the Internet and in-home control functions throughout the house. On the Panasonic flat screen LCD TV you can watch normal cable television or monitor outside security cameras. All the structured wiring is connected to the outside world thought a Panasonic Gateway. Woods also demonstrates a wireless Web tablet on which the homeowner can control home audio, heating & cooling, lighting, security, and telephones.

In this segment Bob meets Eddie Fisher, the master electrician on the Brooklyn project's infrastructure team. The team of five electricians from AC/DC Electric is rewiring the building from basement to roof deck. Fisher's team is pre-wiring the building for telephones, computer and cable TV. New York City building codes often require the use of materials and techniques not often seen in residential construction. Codes enacted in the summer of 2003 in New York City require a separate power line from the main electrical box to each GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) circuit. Also required by code in this building is the use of BX, or metal-shielded, cable. BX is a rigid, flexible metal conduit with a wire bundle, consisting of individually insulated conductors covered by a flexible spiral-wound layer of metal. BX will typically last longer than vinyl-clad cable and may prevent some inadvertent damage in the future.