Nine subsystems, one cable route, one inspection plan. We specify, source and inspect the extra-low-voltage package for hotels, campuses and commercial buildings — and tell you which line is yours to install.
An ELV system is every low-current building system that is not mains power distribution: structured cabling, CCTV, access control, intercom, intruder alarm, fire detection, public address, IPTV and AV, Wi-Fi and network, room control, and the power backup that keeps them running. In China the hardware is competitive and the risk is not price — it is substitution between the approved sample and the shipped batch, cable short shipment, and certificates that belong to a series rather than to the model in the box. Our job is to fix the specification once, inspect per subsystem, and ship against your site programme.
These nine subsystems share containment, racks and cable routes, which is why buying them as one package is cheaper than buying them one at a time — and why one late line can stop the others from being commissioned. Each block below links to the detailed guide for that subsystem.
Copper and fibre backbone, horizontal runs, patch panels, trays, trunking and floor boxes. This is the subsystem that everything else depends on and the one most often bought last. We verify category rating, reel length and print legibility, because cable is where short-shipment and substitution hide.
Cameras, NVRs, storage, PoE switching and the VMS. For hotels we size storage against retention days and resolution rather than copying a generic number. Inspection covers image configuration, firmware version and ONVIF conformance.
Controllers, readers, credentials, electric locks, exit devices, turnstiles and the door hardware that goes with them. Door-by-door scheduling is where projects slip, so we price by door type rather than by unit count.
Building intercom, IP door stations, indoor monitors and the IP/SIP gateway that links them to the room phone or the app. Volume matters here: the per-room cost is small, the wiring per room is not.
Addressable detection, sounders, voice alarm and paging zones. These subsystems carry EN 54 obligations in Europe and are inspected against the certificate-to-model match, not against the brand name.
Head-end, encoders, set-top boxes, displays, meeting-room AV and digital signage. The integration risk is the middleware and the channel line-up, so we test a full head-end with real content before shipment.
Access points, switches with PoE budgets, controllers, routers and the UPS that protects the rack. We check PoE budget against the actual device list, because a switch that meets the standard can still be short on watts.
Room controllers, keycard holders, thermostats, sensors, curtains, lighting scenes and the guest-facing panel. The integration layer (BMS, PMS, GRMS) is where these projects are won or lost.
Online UPS, battery strings, DC power and distribution for the ELV racks. Runtime is a calculation, not a catalogue claim — we size it against the measured load and the required autonomy.
Two more lines belong inside the ELV scope even though they are often left out of the tender: the consolidated ELV supply itself — one shortlist, one sampling round, one shipping schedule — and the floor-by-floor design that decides where the risers, racks and containment actually go.
ELV is not a single product order; it is a sequence with a building programme attached. Six steps, in this order, because the specification has to be frozen before samples and the samples before the inspection plan.
You send what you have — BOQ, tender drawings, or design intent. If there is no BOQ yet we build its structure and mark the lines only you can fill.
Subsystem by subsystem: required standard, performance class, interface, quantity basis (rooms, doors, cameras, reels), and what is allowed to be an alternate.
Factories and integrators matched to the subsystem — cabling vendors are not camera vendors. We disclose the commission model instead of hiding it in the price.
A physical sample round for the items where paper specs hide differences: panels, cameras, controllers, room panels. Tested against the agreed configuration.
Subsystem-specific plans rather than one generic AQL sample: functional sampling plus configuration audit, reel and length verification, certificate-to-model matching.
Phased shipping against your site sequence — first fix before ceiling closure, head-end before commissioning — so arrival follows the building, not the container cut-off.
We are not going to publish a per-square-metre ELV price, because no honest number survives a real bill of quantities. What we will do is separate the quote so you can see the five blocks below and challenge each one.
| Cost block | What drives it | Who usually buys it |
|---|---|---|
| Active hardware | Subsystem count, camera/door/room counts, brand tier | Us — China supply |
| Passive cabling & containment | Building geometry, riser layout, category rating | Usually us; locally if the schedule is tight |
| Racks, cabinets & power | Rack count, UPS runtime, distribution design | Us |
| Programming & configuration | Integration depth (BMS/PMS), zone count, VMS seats | Your integrator — we specify and witness |
| Installation & commissioning | Local labour market, site programme, testing regime | Local contractor |
Rule of thumb from the tenders we see: the last two blocks are usually 30–45% of the total and they are not where our commission sits. If a quote does not separate them, you cannot tell whether you are comparing supply prices or installation prices.
These are the obligations we write into the specification before sampling. The list is subsystem-specific: applying the wrong one is how a shipment gets stopped at the border.
| Subsystem | Standard / regulation | Why it matters at inspection |
|---|---|---|
| Cabling | ISO/IEC 11801 · TIA-568 performance categories | Category and class must match the printed legend on the reel you receive |
| Cameras & VMS | ONVIF conformance · IEEE 802.3af/at/bt | Interoperability and PoE budget are tested, not assumed |
| IT & AV equipment | IEC 62368-1 · EMC and LVD directives | Safety file and CE/UKCA declaration must name the shipped model |
| Wireless devices | RED 2014/53/EU (+ EN 18031 for cyber) | Radio and security requirements are both in scope now |
| Materials | RoHS 2011/65/EU · REACH | Declarations are checked against the model list, not the catalogue |
| Intruder alarm | EN 50131 series | Grade and environmental class drive which devices can be used at all |
| Fire detection & PA | EN 54 series (Europe) | Devices carry their own approvals; a system certificate is not enough |
| Smart / connectable | UK PSTI Act 2022 regime | Password and update obligations apply to products placed on the UK market |
| Inspection method | ISO 2859-1 (GB/T 2828.1) | Sampling plan and accept/reject numbers are agreed before production |
Which obligations apply depends on the destination market and the exact product, so treat the table as the starting checklist, not as legal advice. We confirm scope per model during the specification step and flag anything that cannot be cleared in time.
ELV sourcing is spread across several Chinese clusters, and matching the subsystem to the right cluster is most of the work. We hold supplier shortlists in each of these and inspect on site before anything ships.
ELV stands for Extra Low Voltage. In building practice it means every low-current system that is not the mains power distribution: structured cabling, CCTV, access control, intercom and video door entry, intruder alarm, fire detection, public address, audio-visual and IPTV, Wi-Fi and network, room control, and the UPS or battery plant that keeps them alive during an outage. In other words: mains electrical wiring carries power to equipment; ELV carries signal, data and control between equipment. A hotel or commercial building usually has eight to twelve ELV subsystems, and they share containment, racks and cable routes — which is why buying them as one package is cheaper than buying them one at a time.
There is no per-square-metre number that survives contact with a real BOQ, because the cost drivers are the subsystem count, the room or door or camera count, the brand tier you specify, and how deeply the systems must integrate. What we can tell you is where the money goes: active hardware (cameras, controllers, readers, switches, servers, room controllers) is the largest block, followed by passive cabling and containment, then cabinets and power, then programming, configuration and commissioning. Cabling and containment are usually underestimated — they are set by the building, not by the brand. Send us your BOQ or drawings and we return a line-by-line budget with the China-side supply price and the integration scope separated, so you can see which part you are buying and which part you are installing.
Both, but the package is where the value is. For a 200-500 room hotel we typically handle the subsystems shown on this page as one consolidated order: a single supplier shortlist, one sampling round, one pre-shipment inspection plan, and one shipment schedule tied to the site programme. That matters because ELV works are usually on the critical path — if the cabling does not arrive, the ceilings cannot close. We have run this pattern on a 500-room hotel ELV project in Africa; the case study on this site sets out the sequence and what went wrong when a subsystem arrived out of phase.
The hardware can, provided you specify it and inspect it. The compliance that matters depends on the subsystem: CE or UKCA marking with the applicable directives for anything sold into the EU or UK (EMC, LVD or RED for wireless products, RoHS and REACH for materials); IEC 62368-1 as the safety standard for audio/video and IT equipment; EN 50131 for intruder alarm equipment; EN 54 for fire detection; IEEE 802.3af/at/bt for PoE; ISO/IEC 11801 and TIA-568 for structured cabling performance classes; ONVIF for camera interoperability; and for the UK, the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure regime applies to connectable products. We put the required standard list into the specification before sampling, and the inspection plan checks that the certificates match the models actually shipped — the most common failure we find is a certificate for the series, not for the model in the carton.
Four things, in this order of usefulness: (1) the BOQ or bill of quantities, or the drawings with a device schedule; (2) the room count by type (guest rooms, suites, meeting rooms, public areas, back-of-house), the door count by type, and camera positions; (3) any brand or standard you are contractually tied to, and whether alternates are allowed; (4) the site programme — when the first fix, ceiling closure and commissioning dates are. If you only have a design intent and no BOQ yet, send that: we can build the BOQ structure from your drawings and tell you which lines we need from you before pricing.
ELV inspection is not a single AQL sample, because the risk is not uniform. We split it: cameras, readers, panels and switches get functional sampling with an ISO 2859-1 plan and a documented configuration audit against the approved firmware and settings; cabling gets reel-count, print-legibility and length verification because cable is where short-shipment hides; racks and enclosures get dimensional and finish checks against the drawing; and any subsystem with a burn-in requirement runs for the specified period before it is packed. The inspection report lists the models, serials or batch ranges and the test results, so your integrator can reconcile it against the delivery on site.
Subsystem by subsystem, we return a supply price, the standard we will hold the factory to, and the inspection plan that proves it. Usually within one working day.