ᐅ Planning Electrical Systems for Future-Proofing

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 🙂

There are already several network threads here. These regularly discuss access points on ceilings. If you have not yet considered these in your ceiling planning, I would recommend selecting suitable locations and installing wall-mounted connection boxes near the ceiling in those areas.

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exto1791 schrieb:
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 practical 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 for your media wall effectively? What should be considered?

You’re looking at about $50. You can even cut a channel yourself into the rough wall and insert conduit, then plaster over it. Whether it makes sense to install outlets "high up" or just behind the media cabinet or similar—where LAN and other outlets for receivers are already located—is up to you. I wouldn’t recommend it, as it tends to be more of a hindrance.

exto1791 schrieb:
Since we plan to use a Magenta TV box with IPTV, having around 4 LAN ports in the media wall area makes sense, right?

That means two double sockets. Totally fine.

exto1791 schrieb:
2. How many LAN sockets should be installed and especially where? And which cable type? Is CAT6 sufficient? --> A double LAN socket can cost close to €200, so planning carefully is important. Is it really necessary to install two double LAN sockets in each child’s room? I always wonder: what would even be plugged in there? 1 port for the TV and 1 port for a multimedia device should be enough, right? So 4 ports would be oversized, correct?

In my opinion, one double socket per room is enough.

exto1791 schrieb:
Is there maybe a way to later branch off an existing double socket?

Just connect a switch and you’ll have plenty of ports.

exto1791 schrieb:
How do you handle the "problem" with the router?

I’d keep the router in the technical room. From there, distribute all cables (patch panel and switch needed).

exto1791 schrieb:
What do you think about installing empty conduits for CAT cables in the kitchen, hallway, etc., to enable retrofitting later? Is this relatively inexpensive in new builds?

I’m not a fan of that. But if you do it, have the cables pulled at the same time. They can be placed behind blank wall plates (also flush-mounted). And finally: have cables installed for an access point on each floor so that every level has adequate Wi-Fi coverage.

11ant schrieb:

There are already several network threads here. These regularly discuss ceiling-mounted access points. So if you haven’t considered them yet in your ceiling planning, I would recommend selecting suitable locations and installing wall boxes close to the ceiling nearby.

For those of us not familiar with the technology:

How should I imagine such a ceiling-mounted access point? Is it basically like a repeater plugged into a power outlet? Should I think of it as a cable being run from the network room into the ceiling of the ground floor, so that I can install a device there that broadcasts the Wi-Fi signal?

In other words, if the router stays in the network room, can I easily achieve the same Wi-Fi data rate on the ground floor and upper floor by using access points?

So it makes sense to keep the router in the network room in the basement? Just provide Ethernet outlets in the rooms and use access points for Wi-Fi?

exto1791 schrieb:

For those of us without technical knowledge:

How do I imagine an access point mounted on the ceiling? Is it basically like a repeater plugged into a power outlet? Should I think of it as running a cable from the technical room up into the ceiling of the ground floor so that I can install a "device" there that broadcasts the Wi-Fi signal?

In other words: if the router stays in the technical room, can I easily achieve the same Wi-Fi data rate on both the ground floor and upper floor by using access points on each level?

So does it make sense to keep the router in the technical room in the basement? Just provide Ethernet outlets in the rooms and use access points for the Wi-Fi?

Yes, separate the "router" from the access point for yourself. The latter is what distributes the Wi-Fi, ideally one centrally placed on the ceiling on each floor. (Routers can usually do this too, but they are often inconveniently located.)

It is probably also useful to think of routers and switches separately, because with many network outlets and access points powered via PoE, you will likely need a separate switch.

In our living room, we even have four cable conduits:

1x centrally for the TV
2x on the left and right sides for speakers mounted next to the TV
1x from front to back to connect the speakers behind the sofa

The additional cost was not really significant.

exto1791 schrieb:

How do I imagine such an access point on the ceiling? Is it basically like a repeater plugged into an outlet?

The term "repeater" wouldn’t be quite accurate here, but for non-experts—who often just call the IAD a "router"—let’s say it’s close enough. The small antenna sticking out of your Fritz-like box in the laundry room won’t cover much of your house. That’s why you “clone” its functionality into separate units that you place in more favorable locations. These are cigar box-sized devices, shaped like little UFOs, mounted on the ceiling like smoke detectors (or sometimes on the wall). The wall-mounted versions are usually installed fairly high up—you’ve probably seen hundreds of them unnoticed in nursing homes and hospitals, and they’re hard to distinguish visually from their siblings responsible for DECT phone systems. As I mentioned, I recommend taking a look through the handful of existing network threads here (I recently explained why I have paused my linking service), since I’m not a fan of duplicate content.

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https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/