If you’re planning on constructing a home anytime soon, here’s a little something you should know: By building certain technologies into the structure of your residence, you can roll their costs into your mortgage. That goes for the box—the structured wiring panel, or hub,—where all the wiring of your house comes together. Manufacturers of structured wiring systems offer a host of add-ons to support computer networks, multiple telephone extensions and surveillance cameras. More recently, third-party manufacturers have started to create unique systems designed specifically to fit comfortably into a structured wiring panel. The SWAN (Structured Wiring Audio Network) from Audio Design Associates (ADA) and the AV550SC Backup Power Block from TrippLite are two examples.

Starting at $4,200, the SWAN is centered around two pieces: a four-zone amplifier and a four-zone preamplifier that distribute music to speakers throughout the house. Additional components, including an ADA dual tuner module (for a combination of HD AM/FM, XM Sirius or regular AM/FM radio) can be tucked into a wiring panel as well.

Protecting all that precious audio gear, as well as all other electronic devices in your house, is the job of TrippLite’s $229 hub-friendly battery backup. The unit protects anything that’s connected to the structured wiring system from electrical interference and surges and keeps them running during a blackout. If your home’s modem and router are located in the wiring panel, the AV550SC lets you reboot them by pressing one button.

For more info, go to www.ada.net and www.tripplite.com.