Prewire Considerations

[LollerAgent]

I'm planning a new-construction pre-wire and had a question about a few runs.  I already know mostly everything I need for audio and video distribution, tablets, etc - but I'm still a little unclear on runs that I need for general automation type stuff like fireplace, garage door automation, etc - anything that needs to connect directly to the controller(s) relay/contact/IR ports.   I understand a lot of this can be wireless, but I would rather run cable where I can just in case.  Any non-standard cables/runs that you can think of that would be helpful?

I know this is a very general question - but any advice would be appreciated.

[sonic30101]

I usually do a minimum of 3-4 cat6 to every tv/av cabinet home ran back to the rack room. 1 shielded, 2 regular if possible at a minimum. Doesnt hurt to toss a rg6 in there while you are pulling. Smurf tube to any tv locations that pulling cable to after construction is also a great idea

Most everything else can be accomplished with cat6 for relay/contacts for flexibility, though fireplace and garage i usually pull a 22-4 and maybe another cat6 to the garage motor just to have options depending on floorplan layout for an AP

[Pounce]

What are you doing for lighting and outlet control? Security and motion?

[LollerAgent]

1 hour ago, sonic30101 said:

I usually do a minimum of 3-4 cat6 to every tv/av cabinet home ran back to the rack room. 1 shielded, 2 regular if possible at a minimum. Doesnt hurt to toss a rg6 in there while you are pulling. Smurf tube to any tv locations that pulling cable to after construction is also a great idea

Most everything else can be accomplished with cat6 for relay/contacts for flexibility, though fireplace and garage i usually pull a 22-4 and maybe another cat6 to the garage motor just to have options depending on floorplan layout for an AP

Yeah - I'm pulling 3x CAT6 to every TV location, CAT6 to lots of other locations.  

For fireplace control, where should the CAT6/22-4 be ran exactly?  From a switch near the fireplace directly to the main controller.  What is the typical interface for fireplace control?  What about the garage door(s)?

[LollerAgent]

1 hour ago, Pounce said:

What are you doing for lighting and outlet control? Security and motion?

For lighting - I'm either using Lutron RA2 Select or C4.  I would rather use Lutron honestly, but don't really want to deal with double programming.  Things that I like about C4 lighting are the double/triple tap and Zigbee mesh goodness.  Things I don't like:  the price and the vendor lock in.

For security - I was honestly just considering what my dealer was recommending - a wireless Honeywell Lyric system.  But, I have done next to zero research on security systems so far.  Any recommendations?  

[sonic30101]

2 minutes ago, LollerAgent said:

Yeah - I'm pulling 3x CAT6 to every TV location, CAT6 to lots of other locations.  

For fireplace control, where should the CAT6/22-4 be ran exactly?  From a switch near the fireplace directly to the main controller.  What is the typical interface for fireplace control?  What about the garage door(s)?

Depends on the fireplace but most are just a light switch that is low voltage relay to the valve and control box below. You can run it to where the valve is and I wire the existing switch to 2 pairs of conductors and the other 2 for relay to a c4 controller. That way the existing wall switch still works and you can programmatically turn it on/off

 

Run the wire to the motor so you can short the wall button wire as well as connect a sensor to get feedback of the door status. Most basic motors allow this, the better ones require you to run the wire to the wall keypad and solder it to the button though so you will need to do your homework

[LollerAgent]

41 minutes ago, sonic30101 said:

Depends on the fireplace but most are just a light switch that is low voltage relay to the valve and control box below. You can run it to where the valve is and I wire the existing switch to 2 pairs of conductors and the other 2 for relay to a c4 controller. That way the existing wall switch still works and you can programmatically turn it on/off

Run the wire to the motor so you can short the wall button wire as well as connect a sensor to get feedback of the door status. Most basic motors allow this, the better ones require you to run the wire to the wall keypad and solder it to the button though so you will need to do your homework

What do you gain by wiring to the relay on the controller?  Wouldn't the switch be a zigbee switch that could be controlled remotely anyways?  Which switch do you normally use?

Connecting to the motor for the wall button and a sensor would require 2xCAT5?

[Pounce]

2 hours ago, LollerAgent said:

For security - I was honestly just considering what my dealer was recommending - a wireless Honeywell Lyric system.  But, I have done next to zero research on security systems so far.  Any recommendations?

I asked because if you are running cables this is the time to plan security and sensors. If you are installing panel lighting you may at some point also want motion controlled lighting. That could be an integration with security or separate.

Are you running the cable yourself? 

 

[LollerAgent]

9 hours ago, Pounce said:

I asked because if you are running cables this is the time to plan security and sensors. If you are installing panel lighting you may at some point also want motion controlled lighting. That could be an integration with security or separate.

Are you running the cable yourself? 

 

Definitely not doing panelized lighting.  Yeah - I am running the cable.  I have a crew of 2-3 guys to help.

[LollerAgent]

On 5/29/2018 at 6:16 PM, sonic30101 said:

I usually do a minimum of 3-4 cat6 to every tv/av cabinet home ran back to the rack room. 1 shielded, 2 regular if possible at a minimum. Doesnt hurt to toss a rg6 in there while you are pulling. Smurf tube to any tv locations that pulling cable to after construction is also a great idea

Most everything else can be accomplished with cat6 for relay/contacts for flexibility, though fireplace and garage i usually pull a 22-4 and maybe another cat6 to the garage motor just to have options depending on floorplan layout for an AP

Looking at structured cable options.. I'm considering a cable that has 3x CAT6/1 RG6, or 2xCAT6/2 RG6.  I'm trying to figure out which to go with.. what is your use case for 3 CAT6?  I can see one being used for networking, one being used for audio return, one being used for HDBaseT?  

[sonic30101]

47 minutes ago, LollerAgent said:

I can see one being used for networking, one being used for audio return, one being used for HDBaseT? 

Spot on. I usually dont use bundled bulk cable and just use traditional cable since I will be splitting them out at the rack room by signal type anyway

[mallom]

It seems you have everything covered. Dont forget to run cats and 22/4 if you plan to integrate your alarm panel.

Good luck!

[mallom]

Almost forgot: Ran cats for access points as well.

[LollerAgent]

1 hour ago, mallom said:

It seems you have everything covered. Dont forget to run cats and 22/4 if you plan to integrate your alarm panel.

Good luck!

Where would you run 22/4 and CAT for security?

[mallom]

From your alarm panel to your controller