Home Automation

Fiber parallel to CAT6

I wired the #%^*^# out of my house, a few years before wifi got fast and cheap.

I only use two of the speaker wire runs and one Ethernet run.

Power shades are solar now. I didn’t use the wire I ran

I coax Av’s 3 cat 6 to each tv drop

One suggestion I haven’t seen is a 30 Amp outlet for the location of your server/media room. Most of the good UPS brands have moved to NEMA L5-30 (120v) or L6-30 (240v) for their higher-end lines. Have your contractor run a single 10/3 Romex to that room and wire it for 120v by essentially just caping the extra conductor in the panel and box so that you can change over to 240, in the future, if needed.

Whole-home vacuum systems are really nice and would be a nightmare to retrofit.

Unless your home is very compact, it would be VERY wise to wire your home speakers with 14/2 twisted pair.

The only thing I would add that isn’t already being said is to have wires ran to the exterior of the house for good outside lighting on the side of the house, garage, and backyard. (My house has almost no exterior lighting and it’s pathetic).

Don’t prewire, run blue Carlton conduit (aka “Smurf tube”) instead. Then you can pull whatever whenever and can change it as needed.

Consider running additional cable for the lights to allow for 0-10V dimming. This will provide superior dimming performance. Ra2 Select can support 0-10V dimming.

Build a dedicated "server room" with its own circuit (s).

Wire CAT6 to patch panels, not directly to the switch.

Ev chargers

Do you have a multi room speaker setup already, maybe wireless through sonos, homepods or similar? If you do and never use the multiroom feature, then wiring up for speakers in each room will be similarly unused IMO.

I would run cables for contact to inside doors as well. I use sensors on closet doors, laundry room etc and get so tired of changing batteries! If they were wired I could just sense open close from something.

Agreed with others having one place all cables are run to (Ethernet, contact etc) makes management much easier. But label label label

Cat 6 cables instead of Cat 5e. Cat 6 supports 10 GigE. You'll want 10 Gbps for streaming 8K HDR video in the future.

Pull 2x Cat 6 cable "home runs" to every room from your low voltage box. The Ethernet ports give you flexibility for TV streaming or backhaul for mesh Wifi routers.

Attic or roof mounted TV antenna for OTA broadcast TV, with power amp and coax splitter in your low voltage box.

Pull 2x coax cable home runs from low voltage box to every room. 1 for distributing cable or broadcast TV and 1 for distributing CCTV video from security cameras.

Run power and coax or Cat 5e/Cat 6 cables for high-end outdoor video camera surveillance system. (I have cheap Blink battery powered cameras that connect via WiFi. They work, but a "real" surveillance system is what I really want.)

Pre-wire main TV viewing room and/or home theater room for 7.2.4 surround sound. (Left Front, Center, Right Front, Left Rear, Right Rear, Left Surround, Right Surround, 2 sub-woofers and 4 Atmos ceiling speakers.)

Prewire electrical outlets, HDMI cable ports, and Ethernet ports for 3x wall mounted TVs and/or projector in home theater room. (Man cave for football, March Madness, etc.)

Media closet in home theater room with rack for AV gear, termination of HDMI cables, etc, with extra electrical power outlets.

Pre-wire home office with 8x electrical power outlets and 4x Ethernet ports.

Pre-wire garage with 2x Ethernet, 2x coax, and 8x electrical power outlets. Run 220 V power to garage for HVAC (if you want climate controlled garage) and charging station for EV cars. Pre-plan where you will want workbench, music, or TV in the garage.

Pre-wire kitchen for under cabinet lights.

Make sure any chandeliers mounted on cathedral ceilings have a motorized transport so you lower the fixture for dusting or changing light bulbs.

Wire main living areas for whole house audio with ceiling mounted speakers for entertaining or parties. Extend system to the back porch, patio, or deck with outdoor speakers.

Run lights and electrical outlets if you plan to build an outdoor kitchen for grilling, smoking, etc, or want an outdoor beer fridge.

Have an electrical power outlet mounted under every window on the front side of your house. Put these on the same circuit to a "Holiday" light switch. These are for electric candles.

Install low voltage lighting for the outside of your home.

Install permanent flood lights for your front door and/or to illuminate your house for the Holidays.

Install additional permanent outdoor power outlets for Holiday decorations. (Need to think where you might want these near trees, landscaping, soffits, etc.)

Flood lights with motion detection for your driveway and the backside of your home. This is to deter burglars.

Smart light switches for the whole house.

Remote controllable motorized blinds.

Remote controllable ceiling fans.

Smart thermostats.

Remote controllable garage doors.

Video door bell.

Remote controllable front door lock.

Remote water leak sensors under every sink, dishwasher, refrigerator, water heater, HVAC system, sump pump, etc.

Remote controllable main water shut-off valve.

220V circuit on the outside back side of ypur home for any hot tub or spa.

Remote controllable irrigation system.

Solar panels on roof.

Backup battery electrical storage system in basement.

Automatic computer controlled electrical power transfer switch for battery backup.

Cat5e for motion/presence sensors if you plan any.

In addition to everything summed up elsewhere, run some low voltage wire to the ceilings above where you're going to put beds and couches, and to the bathroom/toilet closets for mmWave presence detectors.

These are great responses so I'll answer in a different way.

found I can do a lot with wifi. My biggest limiter in my few houses has all been power. I would put power in stupid places. Inside cabinets to charge things. Inside closets for things like steam wands. Next to toliets for heated seats/bidets. Under eaves of both stories for holiday lights or future jellyfish. Trenched power in the backyard for an amazing experience. On top of the fireplace mantel. Dedicated 20amp circuit for a home rack. In a dedicated kitchen appliance cubby for your blender/kitchenaid. On the wall where a TV will go. In the perfect spot for a robot vacuum.

I ran power for blinds and that’s been incredible. I also wired up all the doors (edit: with door sensors like these), inside and out (didn’t do all the interior doors, wish I did now).

Wish I had ran wiring to corners of rooms to put mmWave sensors in.

Did data everywhere, wish I had done more to my desk in the office and more to the outside soffit corners of the house to put multiple cameras in. Also wish I had ran one to the doorbell.

If I could have figured out window sensors that would have been sweet. I love that almost everything is hardwired, the smart locks are battery powered and it feels like I’m changing batteries all the time.

22/4 - I've found it useful at time to have spare wire pairs at sensor locations. Also be sure to get pure copper, my 12yo copper coated aluminum wire is corroding where its used near aluminum window frames. ( bad monoprice batch years ago? )
Specify exactly where you want the sensors to be; remember doors are framed w.pretty solid headers etc. in some cases I use Micron Ion plunge sensors and a wireless setup on our ElkM1

2 Cats so you don't have to deploy a switch. AC power near cats so you can deploy a switch.

Cat up high where you might want your security cameras. cost no object? overlap field of views. use Axis products. run extra Cat for POE IR floods.

Cat to crawlspaces for sensors.

Review your planned security systems keypad needs. may be Cat cable with a serial protocal, so more Cat5

Lots of power in your head end. ventilation in your head end. I have an exterior exhaust fan on a shelly for this.

Cat6 if not 6a minimum instead of 5e.

There are lots of posts about this same question.

If money was no object I’d just have a company come install it all and leave an extra Smurf.

smart water shutoff valves. If money were no object, more than one in "zones."

places to plug in/mount home control panels (like the ipad ones a lot of us use)

smart fan/light combos or fans.. smart can lights or other built in overheads should be easily controllable and/or compatible with the Lutron switches.

humidity sensors in the bathrooms that you can use to control fans

non-wireless internet connectivity (at least give yourself an option) in every room, at least for the TV/Streaming services area.

If you are a two story house, plan on a wiring space in the basement to run everything too.

Near there have a few conduits run to the attic from the basement. You will need to plug them with firestop but it makes it so easy to add wires to the attic or upstairs.

Typically near the air return is a decent downstairs to upstairs path

If you are not a fan of wireless, two drops to each spot you think you will need it, and then two to the opposite side of the room

We built our House and I ran Cat 6 with 2 outlets to a lot of places, but found I needed a lot more in a couple of places.

Where my main PC is needs about six. 1-PC 2-Printer 3-NAS 4-HA/Proxmox 5-Security camera WAN 6-Laptop. Because my security cameras feed directly to the recording box, I have another 4 for the camera feed. If I switch to Blue Iris and a better PC for HA, I can get the camera feed via the network.

For my main TV I need 1-TV, 2-PayTV, 3-Nvidia Shield, 4-video feed to garage (HDMI via Cat6)

Yes I could use wifi for many of those, but ethernet is much faster/stable.

CAT6E CMR STP CMR so you're future proofed....

It's really not much more than standard CAT6 and so much better long term...

Honest question after reading the responses here: why run cat 6 when wifi 7 will reach gigabit speeds? I read that real world wifi 7 speed tests were clocking in at ~5Gbps. My internet provider doesn't even offer anything faster than gigabit.

CAT6 for Internet for everywhere you want a TV or a computer. Have the LAN go to wherever you will have Internet come into the house, then mount a GB Switch to join all the LAN jacks together.

You should talk to Cyberdyne Systems. I hear they have a great T unit.

Seconding most of what's being said.

Cat 5a is not worth the cost savings vs 6a at this point.

6a to ceiling in strategic locations for wireless access points.

Fiber to every room.

I'd run the smurf to the corner of the room most likely to house a TV or computer.

Depending on your tech use, a separate 20 amp circuit to your main server/network hardware location.

Take pictures of all of it before the drywall goes up. Make an album on paper to pass along to future owners.

Run conduit if you do cat5e so it can be replaced in 20 years easily.

5e? 6a minimum not much price difference. We all already running multigig to AP's. Really go with a recessed and keystones with smurf tube back to your wiring closet.

Where are the TV's and displays. They need some Cat6a as well. Data and don't forget hdmi over twisted pair.

22/2 for Door/Window sensors why not /4 in case you need a second contact run or something powered. I did conduit to the window and doors it's an easy place to access already used one to get an extra camera run. Takes care of the power shades as well.

Occupancy sensors for closets, powder room etc. They’re very affordable if it’s already wired. Step sensor at the top and bottom of the stairs/stair lighting. We also hardwired all of the apple/smart tvs.

Christmas and Halloween decorations require a lot of plug-ins - both indoors out. Spread some plugs throughout the landscaping too. I wish I had more plugs by our windows and at the front door for decorating.

neutral wires to the light switches! (oh, and CAT 6 out of every orifice)

I'm doing something similar but price IS an object. I'm not using Cat5e. I'm using Cat6.

Cat6 almost as profligate as power outlets: bedside, at A/V locations, homerun to a low-voltage closet.

HDMI to A/V locations.

In-wall speakers and a central audio system if you're so inclined. That may also call for additional Cat5 (e.g. Russound)

I'd have cable trays all through the attic and walls with access panels over them. Central mechanical room with all the network hardware and a rack. Future proofs in the event that cat5/6 goes obsolete in the future. Shelves for APs in the attic where needed.

The proce difference between cat6 and cat5e is something like $20 a spool. Just use cat6, it'll afford ypu more flexibility in the future.

Low Voltage Cable Runs:
Skip the Cat 5e. Go with Cat 6. Run at least 2 lines per box. Where you will have a TV or media center run 4-6 lines. To future proof. Place a line to anywhere you may want a camera in the future. Also factor in some ceiling boxes with Cat 6 in centralized locations if you ever go to a system that will use ceiling mounted access points for use with Ubiquity or other access points. Even if you don't terminate the runs make sure they are marked on both ends, so you know which cable is what for future termination.

Premise: Whatever wire/fiber/romex you pull today will be obsolete tomorrow. Premise: Price no object (right?) Then: Conduit (spacious conduit) to every wall and space (e.g. attic), all home-run to a utility center in the basement or at least to distribution spaces on each floor, then a large trunk conduit to a central place.

That way, whatever you pull today, you can later pull it out, add more and/or upgrade without having to adapt old cable to new signaling.