I am building a house and trying to avoid power bricks and cables hanging on the wall for motion sensors, blind shutters, “add next smart house blinky here”.

This is just an aexample photo:

example HA rooms

So I was thinking each IOT needs to have internet connection anyway. What about if I run a single CAT cable to each room, and position a switch in each room to split to couple CATs in each room (power socket, tv socket, window, ceiling fan). Main CAT from each room to go to the server room router. That way I can have one cable per room coming out from the router. And with some inexpensive POE switches in each room I can split to extra IOTs.

That way I wont be saturating the home wireless and needing expensive APs. And in the same time can deliver POE. Alternatively I can modify the CATs to run only 4 wires for 100MB network and remaining 4 for 12V if POE injection is complicated or routers cant deliver required IOT current.

I must say most IOTs will be DIY ESP/Arduino/MCUs

Is it possible you guys think?

  • chuyskywalker@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’m also building a new home soon and plan to run so much ethernet (Cat6A) I’m going to need more patch panels than you can buy in a bundle.

    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hPYCpzZD_SbznEdpzGgHPffenE-BOR1PEJNOphP3o-c/edit?usp=sharing

    Over 100 runs on that list for a 3/2/Office house. The overall themes are:

    • 4 runs to the TV nook
    • double runs to at least two jacks in every room
    • double runs to every corner of the home exterior (poe cameras)
    • runs to walls in the garage
    • runs to every door and window opening (either remote ESP devices with POE power, or to just use the cable as a dumb carrier for contact sensors)
    • runs to every room for “sensing” (presence, ir, mmwave, temp, lux, etc) device
    • several runs around the house for WiFi mesh coverage
    • runs to the home entrance doors for “doorbell cameras” (or the equivalent) – again, potentially just as dry contact wires too
    • runs to various monitoring points (water heater, HVAC, electrical panels, and water meter even!)

    And, as other’s have mentioned, conduit/smurftube galore. In a new build, when you have the chance, it’s an absolute no-brainer to run all of this while the walls are off and insulation is not interfering. I’m trying to have as few things wireless as possible because wires are simply faster, more reliable, and easier to troubleshoot.

    I, personally, will not go the “switch in wall” route as that adds a bandwidth bottlenecks and creates extra stuff to manage all over the house. Plus devices that will eventually fail you’ve got to pull out of the wall now.