ᐅ Power outlets or power strips

MillenChi schrieb:

Briefly on the topic of networking. We usually install 1 Gbps capacity per cable. That’s 128 MB/s.
Most switches don’t have a significantly higher total throughput. Not to mention whether the source can actually deliver that much data.

A real switch costing around $100 (so definitely not the Wi-Fi TV router box from the provider) currently offers between 20 and 50 Gbps gross transfer rate. A few devices can easily use full speed simultaneously.
Still, I agree with MillenChi: often you don’t need that much. And for current multimedia stuff, usually even 100 Mbps is enough (especially since internet speeds often aren’t faster anyway).

But we also want to build somewhat future-proof. And I think it’s important that many devices can get, for example, 500 Mbps internet speed. (4K streams with surround sound, game downloads on PC and PS7...)
If at the same time the kids are “downloading stuff from the internet,” the husband is watching Bundesliga via Sat-over-IP on a tablet, and the wife is editing photos and videos on the NAS, everyone’s happy when it all runs smoothly.

And one thing is clear: data traffic within the home network certainly hasn’t decreased over the past years.

That’s why I have 4 cables in the living room, 2 in the offices, and one in the bedrooms. Also one each where speakers are (or will be) located and where Wi-Fi access points will go. And—just because I can—I installed fiber optic cable to the parents’ house! ;-)

seth0487 schrieb:
Providing a separate outlet and a LAN socket for every device would clearly mean too many sockets on the wall for my taste.

No one is stopping you from covering empty boxes with plaster. The idea that being generous with electrical installations automatically means you have to “decorate” all alternative wall locations with multiple sockets is an unnecessary household worry.

In my view, every triple extension cord is a mark of failure—proof that a designer should have been reprimanded for being stingy with in-wall sockets. An extension cord is basically a surface-mounted installation without nail clips.

With multimedia setups, there is usually furniture designed to integrate a sub-distribution panel. From this point of view, it’s normal to have additional sockets hidden inside that furniture—but a socket where you already know connections will be multiplied should logically be treated like multiple sockets. That means a triple socket in the wall should be fed from at least two separate circuit breakers.

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11ant schrieb:
In a multimedia setup

11ant schrieb:
That means the triple socket in the wall should be connected to at least two separate circuits

As far as I know, no typical household multimedia installation requires more than a single 16A circuit breaker. Fixed room lighting is usually not connected to the outlets behind the TV cabinet, etc. (even a good 7.2 system with 165W per channel only draws about 240W from the mains).

And when I think about it, our 6-gang power strip recessed behind the TV (where we have many small devices like Apple TV, game console, etc.) would basically be like actual in-wall sockets 😱

Just counted—behind the TV wall alone, I would need 8 sockets just for power_O

At least two Cat7 cables are installed to a duplex outlet in every room, with an additional one in the larger rooms, resulting in a total of 28 ports. On the "TV wall" and behind the workspace, we have planned four outlets each. In every other room corner, there is a double outlet, and near the room doors, a single outlet. On the long walls, there is also a double outlet placed centrally. In the kitchen, of course, there are numerous outlets above the countertop. Especially here, distribution boxes are not an option, which everyone seems to agree on.

Overall, I tend to say that the use of "distribution boxes" indicates planning errors; however, this does not apply to workstations or multimedia installations.

Of course, you can set certain principles. The question is what they cost. Having more than two outlets behind the TV is one thing, but proactively installing similar setups on other walls is uneconomical. Paying for 200 outlets and using only 50 is a waste of money. Especially in places where power strips are hardly noticeable, like in the lowboard under the TV, where all the equipment is hidden anyway.

A cluster of unused outlets on the wall also looks unattractive.

Caspar2020 schrieb:
As far as I know, no standard household multimedia installation would require more than a 16A fuse.

I am in the group of "power amplifiers in the welding transformer class," who claim to be able to tell whether the preamplifier and power amplifier compete for current load.

Cable fires often occur due to cables being under constant full load.

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