General: Network, TV line, bus system

Hello dear community,

we are planning to buy a little house, preferably an energy-efficient House 55. I’ll say it upfront, we are still looking and currently nothing is set in stone.

However, I am already giving a lot of thought to topics such as the network in the house, home bus system, and TV cabling. I have searched a lot online, but many question marks remain. I now have some questions and hope you can perhaps already help me with your experience:

Topic Network in the house

[*]Which cables should I lay, also with future-proofing in mind? Cat 6 or Cat 7
[*]How does it work with the cables? You buy them, for example, on a 100 or 200m roll. Do connectors still need to be attached?

[*]How do you then connect the cables to flush-mounted sockets?
[*]The central point should then be the basement. Everything should converge here. Do you use a patch panel here (I have never heard of that before) or a router together with switches? Internet is to be used via cable provider. Would the installation then be as follows? Cable socket in the basement --> cable provider modem --> router --> patch panel --> flush-mounted sockets ???
[*]How are the network cables actually laid? Each time 1 cable from, for example, the patch panel to a flush-mounted socket? The flush-mounted sockets should each be equipped with 2 ports. Or do you then have to pull 2 cables per socket? IMPORTANT: At least gigabit, preferably 10 Gb, must be available everywhere! If you count one cable per port, many cables come together.

Topic Home bus system

[*]Our house should also be future-proof. Now I keep reading about the KNX/EIB bus system for the house. Can you recommend that? I am thinking, for example, of things like programming lights, monitoring and controlling the heating and ventilation system.

[*]What do you think of the company GIRA (KNX system, sockets, ...)?

[*]For security reasons, however, I do not want any connection of the home bus system to the internet. I don’t need to be able to control the heating over the internet, etc. Is something like this possible (a separate in-house network)?

Topic TV cabling

[*]The TV cabling actually ties into my questions about network cabling. What kind of cables are used here?
[*]Do you pull one cable per socket?
[*]How is it implemented if you have a satellite dish with one LNB? Can the signal be distributed throughout the house? Can everyone then watch what they want? Or is further technology necessary here?

Sorry for the many questions, but I need to close my knowledge gaps little by little.

Many thanks for your help.

First of all, the question is whether you want to carry out the work yourself - especially with the detailed questions. Otherwise, the electrician you trust is the right contact person. Now to a few points. Why do you need a 10 Gb network? To use it, you also need a suitable switch, which can easily cost around 1,000 EUR. After the router, a switch is always necessary (unless you only want to connect the four ports of the router directly to suitable outlets) - only then comes the patch panel. We had CAT7 cables installed because the extra cost compared to Cat6 was negligible. In the end, of course, Cat6 outlets again - but with that we are prepared for whatever. The telephone also runs over network cables. Always double cables were installed so that two connections per outlet are available. I cannot say anything about KNX; it was clearly too expensive for us. Sat is similar, but with Sat cables (coaxial cables). From, for example, a 4-way LNB to a splitter, from there to all desired rooms (we have eight cables); of course, double cables can also be laid (inspect + record). By the way, cable TV can also be distributed via the Sat cable, so it is flexible.

First of all, the question is whether you want to carry out the work yourself - given the detailed questions. Otherwise, the electrician you trust is the right contact person. Now to some points. Why do you need a 10 Gb network? To use it, you also need a suitable switch, which can easily cost around 1,000 EUR. A switch is always necessary after the router (unless you only want to connect the four ports of the router directly to appropriate outlets) – only after that comes the patch panel. We had Cat7 cables installed because the surcharge for Cat6 was negligible. In the end, of course, Cat6 outlets again – but with that, we are prepared for whatever. Telephone also runs over network cables. Always installed double lines, so that two connections per outlet are available.

I can’t say anything about KNX; it was clearly too expensive for us.

Sat is similar, but with Sat cable (coaxial cable). From, for example, a 4-way LNB to a splitter, from there to all desired rooms (we have eight lines), of course, double lines can also be installed (check + record). By the way, you can also distribute cable TV over the Sat cable, so it’s flexible as well.

Hello,

well, since we are not unskilled in crafts, we would do a lot ourselves. Of course, an electrician would have to look over it and also connect the electrical parts.

10Gb will certainly be needed in the future; currently, it has to be 1Gb. The hardware will also be more affordable by then. At the moment, I have a Netgear R7000 Nighthawk router and a Netgear GS108-E 8-Port Gigabit switch. That means I would/could continue to use this hardware.

OK, that’s a first statement: tendency rather towards Cat7 cables. And instead of laying 2 lines, use duplex lines.

For TV: That means a new LNB (4-way) is needed and additionally a splitter. Then via coax cable into the rooms.

Thanks for the first answer.

If you want to use WLAN in addition to the fixed network connections (which is useful for various mobile devices), then you should think about where your WLAN router or access point should be centrally installed so that you have reception almost everywhere. At this point, you may also need at least one network socket. Nowadays, a DECT telephone system is usually already integrated into the router; if not, have a socket installed at a suitable place for it as well. I wouldn't necessarily install these devices in the basement, but that depends on how you build.

If you want to use WLAN in addition to the fixed network connections (which makes sense for various mobile devices), then you should think about where your WLAN router or access point should be installed centrally so that you have reception everywhere as much as possible. At this point, you may also need at least one network socket. Nowadays, a DECT telephone system is usually already integrated in the router, otherwise you should also have a socket installed at a suitable location for that. I wouldn't necessarily install these devices in the basement, but that depends on how you build.

Hello,

thanks, good tip. Tell me, telephone also works over network cable, right?

I just looked up Duplex network cable Cat.7. Do these actually come in different colors? I always only find orange. I would like to use different colors "room-wise" --> clarity.

I'll write something about it too...

So, cable-wise, run CAT 7 everywhere, the extra cost is negligible... even if there are no CAT7 sockets etc. yet, they will come eventually... whether duplex cable or two cables makes no difference... for example, I simply laid 2 cables everywhere, it was just cheaper that way...

From every socket, the cables must go to your central point, i.e. the basement/utility room, where the cables are then terminated (since they are installation cables) on a patch panel, because you can't put connectors on installation cables, as the cables are relatively stiff...

The installation cables are connected to the patch panel and also to the sockets using LSA strips. For this, you need an LSA punch-down tool. And, of course, knowledge of the wiring scheme for RJ-45 connectors and the installation guidelines.

I simply ran 2 cables into every room, and in rooms with more entertainment technology like the living room, I ran simply 4-6 cables depending on the room etc.

For SAT you have to decide whether to use a multiswitch or connect the receivers directly to the LNB... multiswitch has the advantage that you can distribute multiple satellites (more than two) to all TVs in the house without problems... without a multiswitch, it usually only works for 1-2 satellites and 1-2 receivers...

For example, I have 4 satellites connected to 8 receivers... so 17 cables from the dish to the multiswitch and from there 1-2 cables to each respective receiver socket

KNX is a great thing... I have it installed myself... the possibilities are unlimited, or only limited by your budget... you can do all sorts of things with it... however, you need an ETS license to change the installation (ETS is the only software that can program/configure KNX). Without ETS, nothing works... then the electrician has to come every time... a connection to the internet is safe as long as you don't open ports and access your home installation remotely via VPN...

It's quite fun to see if everything is OK and all lights etc. are off or to turn something on/off remotely... of course you don't use it all the time, but every now and then it's quite helpful...

You can also make things like presence detection or if someone rings and you're not home, the camera takes a picture and you get it by email, etc., so you can do quite a lot...

The company GIRA is great but also super expensive... the advantage of KNX is that you can mix and match all KNX devices freely... meaning you can have switches from Berker, actuators from Gira, smoke detectors from Merten, dimmers from MDT, power supply from Siemens, etc., so just look for what's cheap and fits the functions... you don't have to commit to one manufacturer.