New house Elec Spec.

kenneth2

Can we get a list of cool handy thing to have while putting the electrics into a new build house ( things maybe you wished you had put in, or things you are delighted you did put in )
e.g.
- 4 tv cables comming to the main tv point
( 1 for the aerial, 2 from the sat, 1 to sent the signal from the sat reciever around the house )

- put in a Telephone point beside the TV for sky

- put an electrical connection beside the fireplace so later you could put in a gas fire or a woodpellet stove.

- wire the sitting room for surround sound

- wire the bathroom for sound (and or TV)

- wire the lawns for elec. for lights

- wire all rooms for TV including the kitchen

- wire the alarm so that you can turn on the light/heating via the phone.

.....

Graaaaa

Have you considered a central vacuum system?
Electrolux provide one called BEAM, which comes with this fancy floor panel in the kitchen you operate with your foot and simply sweep the dirt towards it.
A bit like the beer ad with the self-cleaning appartment.
http://www.beamvacuums.ie/

Currahee01

A couple of things we have included in our project:
Intercom to gate/Power for elec gates
Heatmiser Network controls (very handy, control your heating by text/email)

Maybe include a few internet points as well!

Carlow52

run a few lighting sockets from a few rooms back to the board where u can fit timers for the lights to come on as security lights
earth all ceiling roses

DOCARCH

External socket to eaves with internal switch for Christmas lights!

kenneth2

that's a great one !!
Cheers

Quazzie

A kill switch beside the light switch for the sitting room/bedroom so that it deactivates all sockets in the room, therefore not leaving your tv/dvd player/satelite etc on stand by when you are not in the room.

bushy...

Put a time-switch activated dimmer on the hall/toilet light , end of rabbit in headlights effect at 3am

Run a few network cables to room
Touchscreen pc on the kitchen wall for all sorts of things
Put the sky box(es) in the attic , stops your kids feeding the box chocolate in hope of more Ceebeebies etc.

irishspark

i put a huge hi spec wiring in my home when i was building it... dunno what ur budget is but if you are looking to future proof it try a couple of these;

- Central hub for all Data/AV cabling. Do not daisy chain any point. All tvs, speakers, phone points etc come back to here.

- Run Cat5e( I ran Cat 6 and fibre to my garage- i run a s#@t loads of equip)
-Put them at the light switches and from the light switches back to you comms location room. This allows for control dimming.
-Wire each room lighting circuit seperately back to the board. Only for rooms that you would like to control the lighting. If you ever do decide to upgrade to the dimming controllers each circuit required individual wiring plus, CatV cable from the control switch to the dimming board.
- 1.5 T&E & Catv To one side at each main window. (I put mine in the sitting room, bedrooms, and main bathroom) which I installed a tiny motor allowing me to draw the blinds from my lazy arse on the couch.
- Run speaker cables to the outside of the back garden.
- If you plan a large shed in the back.. run a 6 sq. should cater for a small sub board. garden lighting, sockets etc.

If you are the space or a specific location, position the comms and fuseboard near each other. Especially if you are going to install the curtain motors, dimming controllers, and large amounts of AV.
Also , you can get quality hdmi Leads off d net from the states with low carriage cost that run larger dist. at 2.0 Put 4 of them at ur main tv, along with a couple of scarts and comp. cable (Assuming ur putting a Hi Def Flat screen up on the wall) and then run these back to either where you plan to put all ur AV equipment.....

enjoy

irishspark

oh, and make sure u wire your surround sound for 7.1....that 2 speaker in the centre of the ceiling.

bushy...

irishspark wrote: »

oh, and make sure u wire your surround sound for 7.1....that 2 speaker in the centre of the ceiling.

Just hire/kidnap this man for a month - sorted !

De_man

bushy... wrote: »

Just hire/kidnap this man for a month - sorted !

I did must the same thing, got some of those automated curtain rails from
a site mentioned on another thread.....

as irishspark said under no circumstances do not daisy chain your data cables

beam vacuum system, must ask boss how it works;) it cost us about 1800
the hose is a bit of a pain in the a***, have two one for each floor, i'm told it does a good job


central entertainment system dedicated for radio/music - OPUS
(same as dimensions as single switch but use 35mm inset)

regarding lighting for xmas etc i ran 2 X 7 cores SWA from house (dedicated)
ability to turn lights on/off from hall door, no going out turning off lights
when had a few scoops of plain:D

gateway telephone video: to hall, kitchen, upstairs landing & main toilet


Run 2 X CAT 6/7 to each node and for each TV point aswell
(TV over broadband is the way to go for the future)

Use CT100/CT125 coax - minimum of two to each TV point from central hub

Home alarm system: Remote Keypads, at main doors plus one upstairs aswell
"panic" button at each bed location

additional phone line from "connection" to house (just in case)

wired telephone & cat 6 cabling in garage

have separate board out in the garage, this is wired for the wind turbine
(whenever i can afford it) don't forget your link for selling the power back to the grid (check this pls)
Put in foundations & wired to garage board, plus another line back to the main consumer unit just in case (when i built this place elec generation was in its infancy)
(linked house to garage with 10SQ instead of 6SQ btw imho the 6SQ would have been fine)

one thing i did differently from Irish Spark be careful siting your "Comms" near your fuseboard this can lead to all sorts of problems with pickup / noise
if right was right, you should have a min of 6" from a power cable to data cable - very hard to do but that is the way to go

lighting: kitchen , sitting room etc, infact anywhere you plan to install lamps hook these up to your light switch very easy to do
DONT FORGET TO MARK THESE POINTS AND ENSURE YOU HAVE THE DIFFERENT SOCKET (CIRCULAR HOLES)

Bathroom TV: again 2 X ct100, 2 X CAT6, dedicated earth a bit overkill but this was a new build, I ran power cable to TV point from a dedicated
fused unit in attic (on its own mcb) (these mirror/tv's have come down in price)


what would i do if i had another go......nothing except

i'd have bought "cheaper" sockets the "designer" curved ones cost me nearly double - a complete waste of money

ran extra CT125 cables from garage/dish site to central hub i've got 2sats running now (only one spare line available)

would have installed a PIR for each ensuite to ensure hot water would arrive more quickly...but that's a plumbing story

if you do a boards search these topics would have been covered in more detail when we were building and i'm sure with new developments every day:(


Enjoy

gman2k

Send two cat6 cables to every room - one data and one for phone.
Cat 6 to all tv positions
Sat cable feed from central point or dish position to every tv position.
Locate TV, satellite and Cat6 positions in bedrooms together - look at furniture layout, so as desk/ tv/ computer will be together.
Wire bathrooms/ ensuites/ walk in wardrobes for ceiling speakers (waterproof for bathrooms) feed back to stereo positions.
Wire living room ceiling positions for possible future projectors. Needs two cat6, hdmi and power. Don't forget to put in a socket at ceiling level for the motorised screen! (the future of TV is 3d - and may be all projector based in 10-15 years time.)
Position your solar controller at an accessible location - not at back of hotpress, likewise if you have controls for mhrv system.
Wire up door intercom for video, likewise for entrance gates.
Finally, put in lots and lots of sockets, four in the corner of every room, four at the side of every bed - both sides for doubles.
Wire up a generator input point externally - for emergency use, and necessary isolator switches.
In av/ comms room, lots of sockets, I'd go for ten minimum.

De_man

gman2k wrote: »

Wire up a generator input point externally - for emergency use, and necessary isolator switches.

Thanks gman;) just when i thought i had everything covered...i still have the honda genny never ever thought of the hooking it up .......:D:D

irishspark

EMI will not affect structured cabling in a domestic situation unless you are installing major inductive loads... which now with most technologies shootin to solid state you wont see.
The data required even for HD to run over copper can be Catv. It is the actual equipment that will allow you.... Cat 7 and Cat 6a technology is now been caught out as most larger companies and developments are returning to cat5e and even cat 3 for their video needs. this is due the only information having to be transferred is the video signal as the processing is carried out on servers in a remote data centre... it is death of the desktop PC (and media PCs will follow suit in 4-5 years time). Further proof is IPTV which even Eircom have jumped onto the band wagon. They are capable of delivering 55mb and HDTV over a standard telephone line into the house due to the new NGN network they are working on..and shhh.... BT are on the exact same wavelength.......

simply, dont waste money on installing Cat6 cabling... its a gimmick (and i work in the industry..).

oh and OPUS is entry level.... if you have the budget and want to start working up bit by bit.. .check out crestron... one word... quality!

De_man

irishspark wrote: »

EMI will not affect structured cabling in a domestic situation unless you are installing major inductive loads... which now with most technologies shootin to solid state you wont see.

....simply, dont waste money on installing Cat6 cabling... its a gimmick (and i work in the industry..).

oh and OPUS is entry level.... if you have the budget and want to start working up bit by bit.. .check out crestron... one word... quality!

hi

i was always taught to put in the best available cable as it'll be a huge job later to change it, the cost issue between cat5 & cat6e is now neglible,
(i used 7rolls of it here) regarding the cable you're talking about bandwidth available 100MHz for cat5 to say 250 MHz for cat6 and for down the road it's a better option imho, nobody knows what the future will bring.
It would be a good idea for the OP to study this and make an independent choice and it's good that this issue is raised but it's one for the electrical forum.

I take your points but i'm still not entirely convinced about the EMI..
as this is a huge issue in my industry, maybe i'm a bit too sensitive about it
& wouldn't prove to be an issue in a domestic installation, i still wasn't taking the chance.

i checked out the various entertainment systems available at the time & studied crestron a great deal, and 100% agree it's great stuff, but i couldn't afford it.
For example for me to install one simple automated curtain rail cost in the region 600 between the bits n pieces, after much deliberation we decided to go for it, but the way the economy is at the moment i think very few people will now shell out for top of the range equipment

i'm more than happy with my entry level gear, creston will have to wait
until i win the lotto:D

kenneth2

Just incase anyone is looking at this thread while buiilding, i also just thought of putting in carbon monoxide sensers

De_man

one last thing i forgot to mention (and is a god send imho)

switch to turn off main bedroom light from bedside
this also goes for bedside lamps as well

De_man

kenneth2 wrote: »

Just incase anyone is looking at this thread while buiilding, i also just thought of putting in carbon monoxide sensers

yep i have a battery operated one i don't believe it's in the regs (i'm open to correction) but i know the VHI recommend them...& 3 fire/smoke detectors hooked up to alarm system

kenneth2

Ya maybe it's in the regs now but incase it's not it's worth wiring for one now..

Zilog

I'm at planning stage myself, there are some great points here. Couple of things I will include:

- Outside socket and tap at the front of the house, for cleaning the car! Put switch for outside socket inside
- Switched power point above rear window outside for possible future electric awning (I like to watch the sunshine from the shade)
- Modular AV sockets, like these from TLC Direct
- VGA, HDMI, component cable and power to ceiling point for possible future projector (we can all dream), power point for projector screen
- CAT5 everywhere. This will also handle multiroom audio. I have two Logitech Squeezeboxes, they work great
- 4 cables to satellite dish point (wired to quattro LNB), wired back to multiswitch to allow every room to have a working satellite feed if desired
- Humidity sensor in bathrooms (to automatically boost ventilation)
- Hollow duct in wall to back of TV, so I can run whatever cables I have forgotten easily!
- Plenty of double electrical sockets
- Quadplexed (2xSat,1xTV,1xFM), twin CAT5 to all rooms from central point
- Central high level power point for wireless/WiFi, with low level switch for reboot!

MrLNB

as regards running cat.
has nobody notice the "wireless equipment" get the right gear for a fraction of running cable and you can enjoy it all. . from almost anywhere inside or outside the home. .
who plugs network cables today? printer/internet/mp3. even they are working on wireless TV transmission in the home. but that i wont risk, id rather kit the house out for the satellite alright. . .



LNB. . .

Dr. Nick

irishspark wrote: »

i put a huge hi spec wiring in my home when i was building it... dunno what ur budget is but if you are looking to future proof it try a couple of these;

- Central hub for all Data/AV cabling. Do not daisy chain any point. All tvs, speakers, phone points etc come back to here.

- Run Cat5e( I ran Cat 6 and fibre to my garage- i run a s#@t loads of equip)
-Put them at the light switches and from the light switches back to you comms location room. This allows for control dimming.
-Wire each room lighting circuit seperately back to the board. Only for rooms that you would like to control the lighting. If you ever do decide to upgrade to the dimming controllers each circuit required individual wiring plus, CatV cable from the control switch to the dimming board.
- 1.5 T&E & Catv To one side at each main window. (I put mine in the sitting room, bedrooms, and main bathroom) which I installed a tiny motor allowing me to draw the blinds from my lazy arse on the couch.
- Run speaker cables to the outside of the back garden.
- If you plan a large shed in the back.. run a 6 sq. should cater for a small sub board. garden lighting, sockets etc.

If you are the space or a specific location, position the comms and fuseboard near each other. Especially if you are going to install the curtain motors, dimming controllers, and large amounts of AV.
Also , you can get quality hdmi Leads off d net from the states with low carriage cost that run larger dist. at 2.0 Put 4 of them at ur main tv, along with a couple of scarts and comp. cable (Assuming ur putting a Hi Def Flat screen up on the wall) and then run these back to either where you plan to put all ur AV equipment.....

enjoy

Some great advice there..........thanks.

How would one do the TV points? I'm currently sharing with relations with Sky+ and multiroom. problem is the feed into the secondary room gives a poorer picture than the primary (sky boxes into tv via scart). I think this is because of cheap cable but not sure.

Considering I'll be getting Sky HD in up to four rooms, what's the best option, better quality cabling than above or some long hdmi cables?

Paschcom

We're also in the middle of all these wiring dilemas. Think we have finally got our heads around what's needed, but has anyone done any research/comparisons on the various types of AV multi-room systems on the market.
We've looked at a few (Opus, NuVo, Incognito, Russounds) and its quite overwhelming between zones, inputs, control mechanisms, etc., and of course all the various salesmen are talking up the merits of their systems.

The Cambridge incognito seems like a good reasonably priced package- anyone used it - any pro/cons?

Any thoughts on where to pick these systems up without going through the local sales guys - any good website that anyone has used?
tks
P

mickdw

Dr. Nick wrote: »

I'm currently sharing with relations with Sky+ and multiroom. problem is the feed into the secondary room gives a poorer picture than the primary (sky boxes into tv via scart). I think this is because of cheap cable but not sure.

IF they had multiroom they would have a sky box in the additional room and therefore a direct scart connection in the additional room thereby giving the perfect picture via coaxial direct from the dish to the additional sky box.
You refer to the sky signal being sent around the house via coaxial from one sky box and changing channel via magic eye. The loss in picture quality is not really noticeable on smaller tvs but it is quite bad on anything from 32" up. Im not sure if there is much that can be done with that setup.

Dr. Nick

mickdw wrote: »

IF they had multiroom they would have a sky box in the additional room and therefore a direct scart connection in the additional room thereby giving the perfect picture via coaxial direct from the dish to the additional sky box.
You refer to the sky signal being sent around the house via coaxial from one sky box and changing channel via magic eye. The loss in picture quality is not really noticeable on smaller tvs but it is quite bad on anything from 32" up. Im not sure if there is much that can be done with that setup.

thanks mickdw, yes, sorry it's a little complicated. The sky+ is coming from the main house but you're right, it's routed via coax to different rooms. Funny, the old 30’’ Sony tube upstairs gives good quality while the brand new LG 26’’ LCD is poor, very blotchy.

Would a cat5 improve quality sufficiently? Could it be the LG?

netwhizkid

Ensure a duct is left with a rope in it (to pull in fibre cable) to the Curb and under the tarmac and lawn for a future fibreoptic connection direct into your attic or comms centre.

Future LNB's will be fibre based (on the market already) and would allow your Satellite dish to feed upto 160 receivers with one cable coming off the dish and the the fibre can join to a converter either in the attic feeding coax to the Satellite receivers or with a fibre/coax adapter behind the said satellite receiver.

In a few years Satellite receivers will be on the market that can take fibre directly from the LNB via splitter for other receivers straight through to the box. Satellite will play a large part in the TV of the future as the only other way of delivering oodles of HD content is via Fibre and Ireland sucks donkeys in this department. The arrival of Super High vision between 2015 & 2018 will push TV into the realm of true virtual reality with no difference between reality images and those seen on TV. The gargantuan storage required for this programming will render storage and BluRay distribution obsolete and everything will be streamed. CAT7 cable may not be even able to handle the mega bandwidth demands of tomorrow.
CNN demonstrated a hologram on Election night in the US and this will be in homes too in the coming years, I can imagine the future Nintendo Wii will see holographic TV utilised to its full potential.

We have seen nothing yet in terms of technological evolution.

GoneShootin

netwhizkid wrote: »

CNN demonstrated a hologram on Election night in the US

Just to point out that it was not in fact a hologram - as Wolf couldn't see the reporter in front of him. She could only be seen via a TV/monitor.

We now return you to our regular schedule programming.

KingPuck

Graaaaa wrote: »

Have you considered a central vacuum system?
Electrolux provide one called BEAM, which comes with this fancy floor panel in the kitchen you operate with your foot and simply sweep the dirt towards it.
A bit like the beer ad with the self-cleaning appartment.
http://www.beamvacuums.ie/

www.cyclovac.ie - Retractable system.No need to carry hose around.
www.vacuflo.ie
www.sach.ie

three more i have come across.

Wonky Knees

kenneth2 wrote: »

Can we get a list of cool handy thing to have while putting the electrics into a new build house ( things maybe you wished you had put in, or things you are delighted you did put in )
e.g.
- 4 tv cables comming to the main tv point
( 1 for the aerial, 2 from the sat, 1 to sent the signal from the sat reciever around the house )

- put in a Telephone point beside the TV for sky

- put an electrical connection beside the fireplace so later you could put in a gas fire or a woodpellet stove.

- wire the sitting room for surround sound

- wire the bathroom for sound (and or TV)

- wire the lawns for elec. for lights

- wire all rooms for TV including the kitchen

- wire the alarm so that you can turn on the light/heating via the phone.

.....

Have you considered 'reading' as a hobby?

kenneth2

I think i might have to take it up as a hobby, after the house is built,
since i won't be able to afford to go out ever again
or even pay for the TV license ....
:-)