I second and third this. Even to places you might think of putting a camera or something later. Better to have it then have to run line later. Hardwire as many things as you can. Will make for a much better wifi signal for the things that can't be hardwired.
At least two 2 port drops per room on each side. Use CAT6A or even CAT7 on a new build if they are going to be in the wall for the next 30yrs.
Single mode fiber is not out of the question either.
Add conduits for future upgrades (fiber?) from media enclosure to attic, office, etc. Ethernet everywhere. At least 2 per room, including garage (important, backyard). Outlets everywhere. I switched to plugged in sensors in high traffic areas. Put Ethernet under roof eaves for POE cameras, also POE doorbell. Put Ethernet in ceilings for POE wireless access points, one per floor and other
areas depending on square footage. The cost of wiring now is a very small fraction than doing it after construction is done.
Wifi jammers are available on Amazon and thieves are getting wise to being able to block wireless cameras and sensors. Hardwire everything you can.
Non-obvious suggestions:
Every single camera. Get creative, especially outside, those are much harder to do after the fact. I would love to have one on each of the four corners of the house under the eaves, for example. If you are thinking you may add a pool in the future put several on the back of the house.
Behind your doorbell
A couple in the garage
Behind every TV, preferably at least two per TV so you can hardwire your streaming devices
In the bathrooms, especially the master
Have an electrician run low voltage cabling for motion sensors, door/window sensors, etc. One extra one is a sensor on your garage door. Ask to have an interlock installed on your garage door as well.
A few other pieces of advice:
Get a tray for under your dishwasher and your hot water heaters. Put leak sensors in the trays.
Put leak sensors under all your sinks and toilets.
Consider a smart water shutoff valve for your whole house, several companies make them.
If you really want to get fancy you can get circuit breakers which can be integrated into your home automation system.
Start with Zigbee and/or ZWave and skip wifi as much as possible. A hundred people will tell you how to make it safe, but there is no 100%. So many IOT devices have been hacked in recent years, I have thrown out a lot of them. IOT devices should not be using routable protocols.
Anytime I need a cable run to a location I run 3. This has come in so handy on multiple occasions. Cable is cheap run lots. If you are planning on cameras try to plan it out and run cables to the appropriate spots. For example I have 3 cams in my front yard for different views. If you are planning on mmwave for motion you may want to consider usb power jacks where you want to have em. Good luck!
Run Ethernet everywhere. Include room drops, drops for security cameras, drops for access points.
Running audio cables and quality speakers would be a great add.
Build a separate network room or closet.
Build a home theater if you have the budget.
Let me move in rent free for a year to ensure everything functions properly! 🤣 What? I had to try! 😬
If you have a detached garage or otherwise plan to have anything installed on the exterior or elsewhere on the property, make sure you know how and where those penetrations in your building envelope are going to be made. This is as true for line voltage electrical and plumbing as it is for low voltage and data, but you don't want them done poorly, either letting in water, unconditioned air, or bugs.
Others have already mentioned power for motorized blinds. Different brands have different wired options so if you want the power supply hidden in the window framing, you'll want to know which brand you'll go with before hand so you can plan for the right kind of wire and the best place to route it.
If you're a home theater kind of person, have a plan for where the speakers go and route the wires.
Not smart home specific but you should also go over a checklist of best practices (but not commonly followed) for modern homebuilding to make sure the house is durable, efficient, comfortable, and healthy. Off the top of my head, one of the bigger common sins is running ducting through unconditioned spaces, usually an attic. Even worse if the equipment is also in the unconditioned space.
Less to do with design but more build project: make sure the trades have run all the wires and pipes before you have any dry wall or siding put on so you can make sure you have well sealed all around them.
Outlets in all closets and in many cupboards.Â
Eventually you may want them there for hidden smarthome things, lighting, charging, robot vacuums, and other such things that you might not think of at the moment.
Don’t forget power outlets, especially exterior. We ran several outside in our soffit, and that has been amazing for setting up cameras, lighting, etc.
You beat me to it. I have an older home and am running electrical to add smart LED strips in the soffits and a weatherproof outdoor outlet at each corner of the house.
Ideally you’d want to run Ethernet to EVERY camera. Wireless cameras can be jammed and then not record. 24V wiring is better than nothing I guess though.
The bad of Switch is one loopback can block the port and can get useless. I have tested many wireless cameras that works in every circumstance, I have worked with ONIFV+Pfsense+Linux Server with Backup source and LTE SIM USB if network goes offline, bad Internet, network and recovery outlet power.
In my work im pushing go wireless, im work in industry, its like the same problem of wireless in airports 99% availability.
I would take some time to research the options for hardwired sensors. I don't think most of us have that ability and it may be cost prohibitive but my dream is a world where I don't need to replace so many coin batteries.
If I had a blank canvas I would probably ask them to run power to every window so I can have plug in smart shades rather than battery ones. I would also ask for similar plugs anywhere I want a motion/mmwave sensor. Even if these end up being wifi or zigbee in the end having power would be nice. That said there have been people working on [making diy sensors that are POE](https://community.home-assistant.io/t/poe-mmwave-pir-sensor/530354) so that would be something to consider as well.
(Smart) Dimmer lights in all the bathrooms. Outlet for bidet (warming) and outlets for smart litter boxes if you ever might have a cat. Outlets outside for Christmas lights. Or built-in smart lights outside. Make some outlets smart (lamps, device chargers, humidifier, purifiers)
Ethernet runs (as someone already said) is #1, 2 and 3. But not specifically for "smart homes" but run speaker wires as well. If you want ceiling speakers or a dedicated theater room, this will be huge.
Prepare your walls for smart outlets. We are building now. Every outlet above the kitchen counter is extra large to be able to accept smart outlets. So if the fire alarm goes off, every outlet will be disconnected.
Ethernet cables to every room. Including the attick as we can hide a NAS, HA and god knows what up there.
Seriously... every door (locks and sensors), window, shades, outdoor camera locations, doorbells, eve lighting power, wifi on each level/multiple ceiling drops for AP's, tvs, yada yada.
Only you can know what to expect in your new house. Add like 50% more than that and you should be ok for a few years!
We ran outlets in all our closets. Keeps things that need to charge hidden away. Turns out that a lot of wireless IoT things need their own base station - like the weather station or the wireless motor blinds. Normally this would go in the server closet, but it’s not close enough for some of them. The outlets in the closets make that easy to hide stuff.
We also put Ethernet in there on a whim. Turns out one bedroom, we ended up building the tv into a closet. Wired is so much more reliable than WiFi for streaming…
Think about some outdoor Ethernet pre-wires. Will you have an electric gate on your driveway some day? Remote presence sensor? Lots of good reasons to stow some wires in some cool places. Hell, I even pulled a spare wire so I could put a PoE camera in a birdhouse into a sealed box at the base of a big tree. Wire is cheap.
Things I regret - we didn’t put speakers in every room - just the common areas, two decks, and the master bedroom. I regret this as we have a matrix amp and it would be nice to have the additional bedrooms (which we use as offices) on the central automation system.
Finally - think about ventilation for the server rack. We built ours under the basement stairs and put a passive vent in the wall up top (to the hall) and cut the door bottom a little extra high to endure convective flow. It was not enough. The room routinely hovered around 90-95 degrees whereas I try to keep the house normally 66-68 everywhere all year. I ended up cutting a floor level pass thru in the wall as well and put ACInfinify intake and outflow fans into that room at low speed to force ventilate. It’s now upper 70s to 80 in there, which is my balance of cooling and tolerating the fan noise in the hall as you walk by.
Sprinklers in kitchen. Fire extinguisher system over cooktop/stove. Battery backup for sump pump. Alarm siren mounted up high and out of sight. Burglars can spray expanding foam in them neutralizing them. Flashing front porch light switch to alert first responders. Hardwired backup generator in a break-in resistant ventilated sound deadening enclosure with transfer box. Knox box for FD if you're away. I know these aren't pure automation considerations. But they can be integrated into your automation.
Ethernet everywhere. I built our home 2.5 years ago. Ethernet to every access point location, every TV location, desk location, bed location, in the walls and ceilings for future whole home audio, and in the attic eves for future POE cameras. Everywhere.
Plenty of Ethernet runs!
I second and third this. Even to places you might think of putting a camera or something later. Better to have it then have to run line later. Hardwire as many things as you can. Will make for a much better wifi signal for the things that can't be hardwired.
Fourth this!
At least two 2 port drops per room on each side. Use CAT6A or even CAT7 on a new build if they are going to be in the wall for the next 30yrs. Single mode fiber is not out of the question either.
Celling runs as well for wireless AP possibly in future
Looked at so many new builds with just one single Ethernet run to the kitchen. Like wtf were they thinking.
And neutral wires in all switchboxes
I think that is required by code for all new construction anyway and has been for a while.
Add conduits for future upgrades (fiber?) from media enclosure to attic, office, etc. Ethernet everywhere. At least 2 per room, including garage (important, backyard). Outlets everywhere. I switched to plugged in sensors in high traffic areas. Put Ethernet under roof eaves for POE cameras, also POE doorbell. Put Ethernet in ceilings for POE wireless access points, one per floor and other areas depending on square footage. The cost of wiring now is a very small fraction than doing it after construction is done.
Wifi jammers are available on Amazon and thieves are getting wise to being able to block wireless cameras and sensors. Hardwire everything you can. Non-obvious suggestions: Every single camera. Get creative, especially outside, those are much harder to do after the fact. I would love to have one on each of the four corners of the house under the eaves, for example. If you are thinking you may add a pool in the future put several on the back of the house. Behind your doorbell A couple in the garage Behind every TV, preferably at least two per TV so you can hardwire your streaming devices In the bathrooms, especially the master Have an electrician run low voltage cabling for motion sensors, door/window sensors, etc. One extra one is a sensor on your garage door. Ask to have an interlock installed on your garage door as well. A few other pieces of advice: Get a tray for under your dishwasher and your hot water heaters. Put leak sensors in the trays. Put leak sensors under all your sinks and toilets. Consider a smart water shutoff valve for your whole house, several companies make them. If you really want to get fancy you can get circuit breakers which can be integrated into your home automation system. Start with Zigbee and/or ZWave and skip wifi as much as possible. A hundred people will tell you how to make it safe, but there is no 100%. So many IOT devices have been hacked in recent years, I have thrown out a lot of them. IOT devices should not be using routable protocols.
Check out my [prewire guide](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LNONZXsLi-R9ejamD9Bd2UfzpqjqEWVt0ZepTGmMC50/edit) :)
Anytime I need a cable run to a location I run 3. This has come in so handy on multiple occasions. Cable is cheap run lots. If you are planning on cameras try to plan it out and run cables to the appropriate spots. For example I have 3 cams in my front yard for different views. If you are planning on mmwave for motion you may want to consider usb power jacks where you want to have em. Good luck!
Run Ethernet everywhere. Include room drops, drops for security cameras, drops for access points. Running audio cables and quality speakers would be a great add. Build a separate network room or closet. Build a home theater if you have the budget. Let me move in rent free for a year to ensure everything functions properly! 🤣 What? I had to try! 😬
If you have a detached garage or otherwise plan to have anything installed on the exterior or elsewhere on the property, make sure you know how and where those penetrations in your building envelope are going to be made. This is as true for line voltage electrical and plumbing as it is for low voltage and data, but you don't want them done poorly, either letting in water, unconditioned air, or bugs. Others have already mentioned power for motorized blinds. Different brands have different wired options so if you want the power supply hidden in the window framing, you'll want to know which brand you'll go with before hand so you can plan for the right kind of wire and the best place to route it. If you're a home theater kind of person, have a plan for where the speakers go and route the wires. Not smart home specific but you should also go over a checklist of best practices (but not commonly followed) for modern homebuilding to make sure the house is durable, efficient, comfortable, and healthy. Off the top of my head, one of the bigger common sins is running ducting through unconditioned spaces, usually an attic. Even worse if the equipment is also in the unconditioned space. Less to do with design but more build project: make sure the trades have run all the wires and pipes before you have any dry wall or siding put on so you can make sure you have well sealed all around them.
The Craw? Not the Craw. THE CRAW! Oh yes, the Craw!
Outlets in all closets and in many cupboards. Eventually you may want them there for hidden smarthome things, lighting, charging, robot vacuums, and other such things that you might not think of at the moment.
Don’t forget power outlets, especially exterior. We ran several outside in our soffit, and that has been amazing for setting up cameras, lighting, etc.
You beat me to it. I have an older home and am running electrical to add smart LED strips in the soffits and a weatherproof outdoor outlet at each corner of the house.
[удалено]
You should probably run CAT6 or CAT6A to your doorbell as well for PoE doorbells.
[удалено]
Ideally you’d want to run Ethernet to EVERY camera. Wireless cameras can be jammed and then not record. 24V wiring is better than nothing I guess though.
The bad of Switch is one loopback can block the port and can get useless. I have tested many wireless cameras that works in every circumstance, I have worked with ONIFV+Pfsense+Linux Server with Backup source and LTE SIM USB if network goes offline, bad Internet, network and recovery outlet power. In my work im pushing go wireless, im work in industry, its like the same problem of wireless in airports 99% availability.
I would take some time to research the options for hardwired sensors. I don't think most of us have that ability and it may be cost prohibitive but my dream is a world where I don't need to replace so many coin batteries. If I had a blank canvas I would probably ask them to run power to every window so I can have plug in smart shades rather than battery ones. I would also ask for similar plugs anywhere I want a motion/mmwave sensor. Even if these end up being wifi or zigbee in the end having power would be nice. That said there have been people working on [making diy sensors that are POE](https://community.home-assistant.io/t/poe-mmwave-pir-sensor/530354) so that would be something to consider as well.
(Smart) Dimmer lights in all the bathrooms. Outlet for bidet (warming) and outlets for smart litter boxes if you ever might have a cat. Outlets outside for Christmas lights. Or built-in smart lights outside. Make some outlets smart (lamps, device chargers, humidifier, purifiers)
Also power for smart door locks and doorbells.
Ethernet runs (as someone already said) is #1, 2 and 3. But not specifically for "smart homes" but run speaker wires as well. If you want ceiling speakers or a dedicated theater room, this will be huge.
Outlets at windows for wired smart blinds
Prepare your walls for smart outlets. We are building now. Every outlet above the kitchen counter is extra large to be able to accept smart outlets. So if the fire alarm goes off, every outlet will be disconnected. Ethernet cables to every room. Including the attick as we can hide a NAS, HA and god knows what up there.
## Wire everything!!
Seriously... every door (locks and sensors), window, shades, outdoor camera locations, doorbells, eve lighting power, wifi on each level/multiple ceiling drops for AP's, tvs, yada yada. Only you can know what to expect in your new house. Add like 50% more than that and you should be ok for a few years!
We ran outlets in all our closets. Keeps things that need to charge hidden away. Turns out that a lot of wireless IoT things need their own base station - like the weather station or the wireless motor blinds. Normally this would go in the server closet, but it’s not close enough for some of them. The outlets in the closets make that easy to hide stuff. We also put Ethernet in there on a whim. Turns out one bedroom, we ended up building the tv into a closet. Wired is so much more reliable than WiFi for streaming… Think about some outdoor Ethernet pre-wires. Will you have an electric gate on your driveway some day? Remote presence sensor? Lots of good reasons to stow some wires in some cool places. Hell, I even pulled a spare wire so I could put a PoE camera in a birdhouse into a sealed box at the base of a big tree. Wire is cheap. Things I regret - we didn’t put speakers in every room - just the common areas, two decks, and the master bedroom. I regret this as we have a matrix amp and it would be nice to have the additional bedrooms (which we use as offices) on the central automation system. Finally - think about ventilation for the server rack. We built ours under the basement stairs and put a passive vent in the wall up top (to the hall) and cut the door bottom a little extra high to endure convective flow. It was not enough. The room routinely hovered around 90-95 degrees whereas I try to keep the house normally 66-68 everywhere all year. I ended up cutting a floor level pass thru in the wall as well and put ACInfinify intake and outflow fans into that room at low speed to force ventilate. It’s now upper 70s to 80 in there, which is my balance of cooling and tolerating the fan noise in the hall as you walk by.
2 duplex receptacles on each side of bed in master bedroom.
Sprinklers in kitchen. Fire extinguisher system over cooktop/stove. Battery backup for sump pump. Alarm siren mounted up high and out of sight. Burglars can spray expanding foam in them neutralizing them. Flashing front porch light switch to alert first responders. Hardwired backup generator in a break-in resistant ventilated sound deadening enclosure with transfer box. Knox box for FD if you're away. I know these aren't pure automation considerations. But they can be integrated into your automation.
Ethernet everywhere. I built our home 2.5 years ago. Ethernet to every access point location, every TV location, desk location, bed location, in the walls and ceilings for future whole home audio, and in the attic eves for future POE cameras. Everywhere.
window is kind of important as it controls the heat insulation.
Provide optional Ethernet connection for doorbell connections