Hello everyone,
In about three weeks, we are supposed to finalize our electrical planning on site. Unfortunately, our electrician is somewhat old-fashioned, which makes it difficult for me to collaboratively plan a future-proof electrical setup with him. Therefore, I am currently educating myself to ensure that the networking in our single-family home is fundamentally future-proof.
Basically, it’s about the LAN network... LAN wall outlets are relatively expensive, so proper planning is even more important.
About us:
- Mid to late 20s – couple without children. Planning for 2 children in the near future.
- Single-family house with a usable basement, 2 full floors, and fully equipped with concrete ceilings
- Utility room in the basement with air-to-water heat pump, ventilation system, photovoltaic system
- The router is planned to be located in the office on the ground floor
- The upper floor includes bathroom / bedroom / 2 children’s rooms
- No satellite dish or cable TV — we will use Internet TV exclusively!
Now, I am struggling to network our single-family home sensibly but as cost-effectively as possible.
I have the following questions:
1. Slightly off-topic: In the living room, I would like to have an in-wall conduit installed on the TV wall (the TV will be wall-mounted) so that no cables are visible. Is this sensible and affordable? I will get exact prices from my electrician if this makes sense at all. Would it also make sense to install power outlets at TV height? How do you plan the connections on your media wall reasonably? What should be considered?
Since we plan to use a Magenta TV box and thus IP-TV, a total of four LAN ports in the living room area would presumably be useful, right?
2. How many LAN outlets and especially where should LAN outlets be installed? Mainly: which cable? Is CAT6 sufficient?
→ Such a double LAN outlet certainly costs close to €200, so planning must be really sensible.
Is it really necessary to install 2 double LAN outlets in each children’s room? I always wonder: what is actually going to be plugged in there?
One port for the TV and one port for a multimedia device should be enough, right? So four connections would probably be overkill, correct?
The fact is: It will certainly take years or decades before our children actually use these outlets... Who knows what changes might happen by then? Therefore, could we not cost-effectively use empty conduits (empty pipes) instead?
Is it also possible to “branch off” from an existing double outlet afterward to add more ports for the room? What should be considered here? Or should we consider having an empty conduit prepared in another spot in the room so that a socket can be installed later?
3. How do you solve the “router problem”? Should the one router be placed in the office (ground floor) with LAN outlets in the existing bedrooms upstairs to ensure a stable LAN connection? Or is a router upstairs absolutely necessary?
4. How important are LAN outlets in the utility room? Should the router possibly even be located in the utility room? Because of the concrete ceiling between basement and ground floor, a second router would almost certainly be needed. How should this situation be handled with a basement?
5. What do you think about installing empty conduits for CAT cables in the kitchen / hallway etc. to enable later retrofitting? Is this relatively affordable in new builds?
I would appreciate any feedback so we can make the best possible plans 🙂
In about three weeks, we are supposed to finalize our electrical planning on site. Unfortunately, our electrician is somewhat old-fashioned, which makes it difficult for me to collaboratively plan a future-proof electrical setup with him. Therefore, I am currently educating myself to ensure that the networking in our single-family home is fundamentally future-proof.
Basically, it’s about the LAN network... LAN wall outlets are relatively expensive, so proper planning is even more important.
About us:
- Mid to late 20s – couple without children. Planning for 2 children in the near future.
- Single-family house with a usable basement, 2 full floors, and fully equipped with concrete ceilings
- Utility room in the basement with air-to-water heat pump, ventilation system, photovoltaic system
- The router is planned to be located in the office on the ground floor
- The upper floor includes bathroom / bedroom / 2 children’s rooms
- No satellite dish or cable TV — we will use Internet TV exclusively!
Now, I am struggling to network our single-family home sensibly but as cost-effectively as possible.
I have the following questions:
1. Slightly off-topic: In the living room, I would like to have an in-wall conduit installed on the TV wall (the TV will be wall-mounted) so that no cables are visible. Is this sensible and affordable? I will get exact prices from my electrician if this makes sense at all. Would it also make sense to install power outlets at TV height? How do you plan the connections on your media wall reasonably? What should be considered?
Since we plan to use a Magenta TV box and thus IP-TV, a total of four LAN ports in the living room area would presumably be useful, right?
2. How many LAN outlets and especially where should LAN outlets be installed? Mainly: which cable? Is CAT6 sufficient?
→ Such a double LAN outlet certainly costs close to €200, so planning must be really sensible.
Is it really necessary to install 2 double LAN outlets in each children’s room? I always wonder: what is actually going to be plugged in there?
One port for the TV and one port for a multimedia device should be enough, right? So four connections would probably be overkill, correct?
The fact is: It will certainly take years or decades before our children actually use these outlets... Who knows what changes might happen by then? Therefore, could we not cost-effectively use empty conduits (empty pipes) instead?
Is it also possible to “branch off” from an existing double outlet afterward to add more ports for the room? What should be considered here? Or should we consider having an empty conduit prepared in another spot in the room so that a socket can be installed later?
3. How do you solve the “router problem”? Should the one router be placed in the office (ground floor) with LAN outlets in the existing bedrooms upstairs to ensure a stable LAN connection? Or is a router upstairs absolutely necessary?
4. How important are LAN outlets in the utility room? Should the router possibly even be located in the utility room? Because of the concrete ceiling between basement and ground floor, a second router would almost certainly be needed. How should this situation be handled with a basement?
5. What do you think about installing empty conduits for CAT cables in the kitchen / hallway etc. to enable later retrofitting? Is this relatively affordable in new builds?
I would appreciate any feedback so we can make the best possible plans 🙂
xMisterDx schrieb:
But not in terms of size, because wireless is becoming more popular...Yes, but not because the technology is that great, rather because they want to reach all the people who are not building new homes.xMisterDx schrieb:
The same discussion as with LAN/WLAN... our office for 400 employees is WLAN-only...Also yes, but definitely not with Fritzbox repeaters, rather with something more "professional." Sure, you can set up a decent wireless network at home, but that also costs money and requires some planning during construction.X
xMisterDx28 Jul 2022 18:40Honestly, I have a hard time believing that a significant number of new buildings are equipped with KNX systems for 25,000 to 30,000 EUR. As I said, I know a few cases, but they don’t do more than what I can manage with wireless systems for a fraction of the cost.
You can see it here in the forum as well. Many people either can’t or don’t want to afford that and therefore opt for wireless solutions even in new builds.
It’s like everything else. Not everyone buys a kitchen for 30,000 EUR, even if internet forums often make it seem that way.
You can see it here in the forum as well. Many people either can’t or don’t want to afford that and therefore opt for wireless solutions even in new builds.
It’s like everything else. Not everyone buys a kitchen for 30,000 EUR, even if internet forums often make it seem that way.
X
xMisterDx28 Jul 2022 18:47Araknis schrieb:
Yes, but not because the technology is really that great, rather because they want to reach all the people who are not exactly building new homes.
Also yes, but definitely not with Fritzbox repeaters, rather with something "proper." Of course, you can set up a decent Wi-Fi network at home, but that also costs money and requires some planning during construction.My company also has more to hide and is a bigger target than I am...
Araknis schrieb:
Yes, but not because the technology is that great, rather because you want to reach all those people who aren’t building new homes.
Also yes, but definitely not with Fritzbox repeaters, rather with something “proper.” Of course, you can set up a decent Wi-Fi network at home, but that also costs money and requires some planning during construction.The benefit of setting up a really good Wi-Fi network is obviously much greater now, since every other device—not just home automation—uses the Wi-Fi network. We are currently planning with UniFi and multiple SSIDs (smart home, client devices, etc.). The only effort involved is running a Cat7 cable on each floor in the hallway ceiling. Maybe one more cable to the outside. Overall, this is much more manageable and also less expensive than full KNX wiring. In the future, the access points can easily be replaced if a new Wi-Fi standard is introduced.
Of course, wireless will never be as reliable as a fixed wired connection, but nowadays this is almost negligible. As I said, in my current apartment, everything is wireless, and I experience outages at most twice a year. With Thread and Matter, this will improve even further.
X
xMisterDx8 Aug 2022 12:22jrth2151 schrieb:
The added value of setting up a really good Wi-Fi network is much greater now, since about every second device—not just home automation—uses the Wi-Fi network. We are currently planning with UniFi and multiple SSIDs (smart home, end devices, etc.). The effort is just laying one Cat7 cable on each floor in the hallway ceiling. Maybe one more going outside. Overall, this is much more manageable and also cheaper than full KNX wiring. In the future, the access points can easily be replaced if a new Wi-Fi standard emerges.
Of course, wireless will never be as reliable as fixed cabling, but nowadays that is almost negligible. As I said, in my current apartment everything is done wirelessly and I have outages maybe twice a year at most. With Thread and Matter, this will improve significantly again. If that makes you happy, then it’s fine...
There are people who drive classic cars, would never get into a smart car with dozens of assistants, and just enjoy life...
However, I would never think to call those people naive or stupid.
But that seems to be the norm here. If you don’t want KNX, then you don’t know what you’re talking about, right? 😉