Home Automation

Power delivery USB C that supports 100w minimum to every room. PoE cable to every room. Switches with energy monitoring.

Use CAT6 or even 6A. CAT8 is the latest standard, but it's probably too expensive?

Also consider running fiber optic between floors as a backhaul since 10G fiber switches are cheaper than cooper ones.

Cameras are fine on 5E, but may as well CAT6.

Run multiple random ceiling drops for APs and other home automation devices / sensors.

Put a dual Ethernet at each end of a room. You might think you’ll not need them but you probably will.

Conduit to every room if desired, and honestly, I would pull fiber if I did it again.

Make sure you have a conduit going from the entry point to your main IT closet, and from there to the attic and the crawl/basement, and a centrally located closet on each level.

Are there any solutions that are more like running a bus around every room, as opposed to wiring a ton of circuits? I certainly would love to have all the wiring people are suggesting. But at some point it seems like guessing what you'll need and installing 2x and then covering it with drywall is backwards.

Removable wainscotting? NNN-conductor bands that run a loop around the floor and ceiling of every room? How can I make my walls into breadboards while also looking acceptable and meeting code?

price was not an object

With that condition, I would install 1/2 in. to 2 in. EMT conduits everywhere because no amount of planning is enough so it's better to have readily available ways to run extra wires and cables. Cat6 is future proof unless you want to host a datacentre out of your home. I would start my cable schematic from the home server room and deck it out instead of whipping something up. The earlier you start planning your homelab (and think about all the different security scenarios), the earlier you can learn from your mistakes.

I would run Cat6A not cat 5E. At least 5 runs to each room. I would run the largest reasonable gauge cable and have each rooms receiver in a closet along with the networking gear. I’d future proof running 2 fiber runs to each room.

Prepare for electric car changing station and heat pumps.

Run Ethernet to your doorbell

I would also run a pvc pipe conduit from attic to basement.

Don't forget the garage or attic.

I'd go nuts with conduit.

1. I added a wall outlet & network drop for a portrait mount 32” tv in the kitchen. We have that connected to a DAKBoard and it’s easily the most used/commented on item in the house. It holds Family calendar, weather and the like.

2. Ceiling mount Sonos speakers in the kitchen, dining, master bath and master closet connected to Sonos amps. Rock solid and sound great

3. Lutron switches and shades. It’s been over three years and not one problem

4. Cat 6 to every tv location, exterior camera and AP

Edit: have everything terminate in the basement with at least 12 outlets on its own breaker and have the cable coax or whatever your isp connection is terminate there as well.

Not necessarily related to home automation but outlets behind every toilet if you ever plan on installing bidets

Conduits with at least two pull wires all home run to a central, well ventilated and well powered battery backed up closet or equipment room.

If I had it to do over again, I'd get a nice equipment room at the end of those conduits. That's my biggest gripe now. I have everything a rack that lives in the top of a small closet. No room to work on it if something gets an upgrade, and no room for non racked items. I had to run a line to another part of the house for that, and it's a hassle.

Get a nice 19" rack system to bolt everything down that's rack mounted. Double points if it's on a swivel (so you can work on the back side) or has a swing door. You can get rack mount UPS, but they're pricier that what you get for a stand alone UPS. I'd also put a mounting wall (usually a peg board) and some shelving in there, too.

Whatever you put in there will be obsolete before you finish hooking it up, so make room for upgrades.

As for what to do now, I like the idea of double ethernet + doable coax to location. Also, I like having built into the wall speakers, so I agree with your idea there, too. If you're going to do a mesh system, then consider getting another line to terminate in each corner of the house, in the ceiling. You can POE a mesh unit on the ceilings, getting you some really good coverage.

My list:

• cat 6 to every room, preferably 2 per box, 4 per room
• conduit, I like the idea of a corner box and conduit to the attic
• wire contacts for every window and door for alarm. ( Do each contact homerun so they are sperate and can run as separate zones)
• speaker wire from either a wall patch or back to a central location.
• empty conduits to your.uility pads outside to a closet or garage for connectivity. I pulled fiber to minor for a bit of.lightening isolation.
• decide on wap locations and camera before build
• my favorite out outlets outside and in the soffits for Christmas/ holiday lights on their own GFCI breaker and run them to a switch in the garage. On ra 2 I have holiday mode that I turn on and bang Christmas lights are timed.

Couple suggestions

1. Skip the cat5e and use 6 min not enough price saving
2. For your windows just wire assuming motorized shades
3. Consider wiring for or installing a house wide generator during your build, I retrod mine and it wasn't horrible but if your going to do it anyhow nail it while it's open.
4. Don't be afraid of dedicated power circuits. My panel is huge, my office has a separate circuit for one wall, vs the rest of the room vs the lights. All my lights are separate from the outlets in a room and all rooms are on their own. 20 amp outlets in the garage for tools. Anything pops it doesn't take out half the house.

Don't skimp on ethernet. Even if not needed for data transmission, it can also be used to power low voltage devices via POE. (Example, wall mounted LCD panels for smart house).

I'm about to start building and I listed out all 128 runs of cable -- highlights:

• I'm not doing speaker runs. Maybe I'll regret this, but voice assistants and whole-home audio just isn't my family's jam.
• Every place I put an outlet, pull two runs
• Just about every wall has a jack, minimum two per room
• Dual runs for security cameras to at least all four corners of the house; I also have several interior cameras as well
• Smurf tube
• Sensors for windows & doors, even interior doors
• Runs for access points
• Runs for hardwired sensors
• Runs to utilities (water shut off, power monitoring, water heater, even behind the washing machine)
• Runs for water leak detection
• A lot of the locations I'm pull cat to are NOT for ethernet, not at the outset anyway. My philosophy is that maybe someday down the line there would be some novel reason to have an ESP32 at the end of the run for a door sensor -- until that time, though, wire is wire and I can just use the ethernet cord for a dumb reed switch loop, no big deal.

And here it is in a visual drops location format

KNX wiring

Smurftube in each corner and center of the ceiling of each room. As well as next to at least one outlet box on each wall.

Cat6E on the roof peaks and edges of the roof for cameras.

Neutral wires in all the light switch boxes.

Why CAT5e? Go CAT6. You don't need CAT6 now, but you may in the future. The cost difference is not that bad.

You also may want outlets on the eaves of the roof for Christmas lights.

While you'll have speaker wire, might as well run wire for an Dobly Atmos setup. You might now use it, but you may in the future. Make sure to run good quality and proper gauge wire a well. Might as well run the wire for a dual subwoofer setup. Again, you'll probably won't use it, but maybe in the future.

Make sure to have an outlet where the CAT5 panel runs into a well. I had to hire an electrician to install one. That said, my house did not come with a panel and did all the work afterwards.

Run conduit. That way it standards change you can run new cabling through it with minimal effort. That's the most valuable thing you can do.

Cat6 to every room, network closet on each floor, well planned wi-fi APs and the rack in the basement. Beyond that....low voltage (12 to 24) to each window and door, maybe even an extension of the Cat6 to keep things unified, POE has come a long way. Ultimately my goal is to hard-wire as much as possible to reduce the wireless load. Security cameras are all hardwired POE types etc.

Oversize any in slab conduits for the future. Same if your feeder comes underground.

3/4 plywood under drywall where tv is going, media box with outlet, 2" Smurf tube from behind TV to couple locations where your AV gear might end up over the years to boxes with brush plates

Conduit or pipe between basement and attic for any future expansion.

Outlets in outside soffits for Christmas lights

Pre wire for smart doorbell

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.

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.

Do at least 16/2 to the speakers.. .cat6 to ceilings for WAPs

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.

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

More outlets than you think you'll need. 25 to 50 percent more.

At least on 4 plug outlet in any room that holds a TV or office.

Large outlet in the garage for welder/RV. Or, even better, a sub panel.

Smurf tube from basement/telco closet to attic, run more cable/fiber down the road. 2-4 cat6 per room.

Don’t go too crazy with speakers. I’m running 2 speakers in the ceiling in the living room, hooking it to a Sonos amp which will act as surrounds for an Arc soundbar, the future is soundbars sadly.

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.

Not sure if mentioned yet. If possible, decide how you want to install security cameras around the house, both exterior and interior. Wired is way better than solar or battery.

Power in window sills for electric candles is one o my ideas I have not seen posted.

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.

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

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

You talked about cameras - how will they be powered? Do you need an electrical outlet for each camera? An Ethernet jack? Look into 'Power over Ethernet', where DC power is provided by the Ethernet cable. It requires PoE cameras and extra equipment at the switch, but eliminates AC power runs for the cameras.

When running conduit between floors or attic to under house, consider using as large a conduit as practical to make it easy to add/replace cables. Mice like wires . . .

Not automation related:

Do you want to plan for a burglar alarm?  You can run an unconnected cable from the attic into the wall at a convenient location(s), even if you don't want it now.

Assuming you live in the U.S., city building codes and National Electric Code will specify minimum electrical wire size, outlet spacing/requirements, and requirements for wet locations like bathrooms.

Consider using 'arc fault' circuit breakers if they are not already required by code. Intermittent connections are a serious source of fires.

If you want to install ceiling fans (now or in the future), use 'Fan Rated' junction boxes. Not needed for all fan sizes, but nice to know the fan weight won't limit your choices.

Garage - do you want to put one (or two) EV charging stations in it?

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.

Ev chargers

The one area that I'm not seeing mentioned is outside. Think about landscape lighting (front and back), sprinkler control, wiring for a driveway sensor, mailbox sensor, gate sensor, etc.

You may also want to think about wiring for the holidays, especially if you ever plan to do a light show and want addressable LEDs, permanent tracks along the eaves, projector(s), power/wiring for a mega tree and other props, etc.

If price was not an option, I would pull network cable to every place I pulled power cable.

If you are considering a pool, most automation controller have Ethernet port; so I would plan a run where equipment pad would go. Good time to plan outlets for your landscape transformers on smart switches too.

Doorbell nowadays can be hardwired with POE; so plan for Ethernet wire instead of traditional 2 wire.

Not wire specific but now is also a good time for a central vacuum with tubing that feed back into the wall (chameleon or hide-a-hose).

Put in conduit

A couple cat 6 to each tv location, in case you ever want to do video distribution can’t hurt.

I ran HDMI and CAT for TVs. Don't forget access points.. Cat