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 🙂
X
xMisterDx28 Jul 2022 13:14Okay, I can see this really isn’t for me 😀
I’ll have to get up from the couch for the rest of my life whenever it gets dark and I need light...
I’ll have to get up from the couch for the rest of my life whenever it gets dark and I need light...
xMisterDx schrieb:
Okay, I can already tell this really isn’t for me 😀
I’ll have to get up from the couch every time it gets dark and I need light... Aside from that, there are also good alternatives to KNX that can be retrofitted. I know I might get some criticism for this, but we handle it the same way. We want to finish building our house first (currently waiting for the building permit / planning permission) and not invest too much in extras. I could also spend the same money on a photovoltaic system and end up benefiting more from that. But right now, we don’t have the budget for both, so we’re making do with what we have. Owning a home is already more than enough for us and a lifelong dream. We are still very young and have plenty of time over the coming decades to customize everything the way we envision.
Instead of KNX, there are also plenty of flush-mounted switches that can be controlled wirelessly, and once Matter is fully ready, that will be more than enough for me. Currently, we live in an apartment that I have made smart enough for us myself using HomeKit, Zigbee, etc. Why wouldn’t that be enough for the house as well?
The only thing I am planning to include from the start are LAN connections, since those aren’t easy to retrofit later. Everything else I can manage myself over the years. I will also be crimping the cables myself and will only have the raw cables installed.
jrth2151 schrieb:
Apart from that, there are also good alternatives to KNX that can be retrofitted. This clearly shows that you haven’t dealt enough with the topic. A cargo bike is not an alternative to a truck and will never be. No matter how you look at it.
jrth2151 schrieb:
I could also invest the same money in a photovoltaic system and get more out of it in the end. Um, no—because comfort is an intangible factor and therefore hard to express in monetary terms.
But this kind of discussion leads nowhere anyway. For that reason, it’s good if you enjoy it all and want to tinker yourself. Go for it. However, these are apples and oranges.
Basically, everyone has to decide for themselves whether it’s worth the money or not. For me, it definitely isn’t worth the cost, and I’m confident that I can create a comparable solution in terms of comfort for the end users. I’m nerdy enough and now deeply knowledgeable enough on the subject to do that.
At the end of the day, I’m just building a single-family home and a nice place for my family. It’s still a home without KNX. To be honest, beyond a certain level, it’s all just a toy, and it only really becomes smart when you truly engage with it.
At the end of the day, I’m just building a single-family home and a nice place for my family. It’s still a home without KNX. To be honest, beyond a certain level, it’s all just a toy, and it only really becomes smart when you truly engage with it.
X
xMisterDx28 Jul 2022 17:30However, the truck costs 100 times as much as the cargo bike and cannot go everywhere the bike can...
In the end, it’s a matter of money. Honestly, I see the comparison more like between a Seat and a BMW. A KNX smart home can certainly do more than a wireless one, no question. But not by a huge margin, since wireless technology is on the rise...
It’s the same debate as with LAN versus WLAN... our office for 400 employees is wireless only...
Everyone chooses according to their preferences and, most importantly, their financial means. I think many home builders right now are just relieved if they can manage the additional charges from the construction company and the extra costs caused by longer construction times due to material and skilled labor shortages.
In the end, it’s a matter of money. Honestly, I see the comparison more like between a Seat and a BMW. A KNX smart home can certainly do more than a wireless one, no question. But not by a huge margin, since wireless technology is on the rise...
It’s the same debate as with LAN versus WLAN... our office for 400 employees is wireless only...
Everyone chooses according to their preferences and, most importantly, their financial means. I think many home builders right now are just relieved if they can manage the additional charges from the construction company and the extra costs caused by longer construction times due to material and skilled labor shortages.