Guides/Connected homes
Wiring a
connected home.
Which devices are worth putting on a cable, which are better left wireless, and how to run it without opening a wall.
Wire what is fixed.
Leave wireless what moves.
A connected home does not need everything on a cable. The useful rule is that anything that sits in one place and carries a steady stream belongs on copper; anything you pick up does not.
| Device | Why | Wired? |
|---|---|---|
| TV and streaming boxes | Sustained high bitrate at a fixed location, and the one everybody notices when it stutters | Yes |
| Console and desktop PC | A steady link matters more than peak speed | Yes |
| Access points and mesh nodes | A wireless backhaul halves the capacity of the mesh | Yes |
| Desktop NAS or home server | Large transfers within the house, where Wi-Fi is the bottleneck | Yes |
| Sensors, bulbs, plugs | Tiny amounts of traffic; a cable to each one is not worth it | No |
| Phones, tablets, laptops | They move | No |
A cable does not make your internet connection faster than the line coming into the building. What it removes is everything between the router and the device: walls, distance, and every other device competing for airtime.
Power over Ethernet
is a copper application.
Some devices — cameras, doorbells, ceiling access points — can take their power from the network cable instead of a socket. That technique is Power over Ethernet, and it puts current through the conductors as well as data.
Two facts decide whether it is on the table:
PoE requires a copper conductor
Copper-clad aluminium has around 55 % more resistance than copper. More of the power is lost as heat along the run, and less arrives at the far end. The cabling standards specify copper conductors for this reason.
Our Cat 5e and Cat 6 ranges use CCA
Copper-clad aluminium, AWG24. It is stated on every product listing, and it is why those ranges are priced where they are.
Check the conductor before you buy, from us or from anyone: the specification you are looking for is solid copper, and plenty of listings do not say. A camera that reboots at night, or an access point that drops under load, is very often a power problem rather than a data one.
Three decisions that outlive
every device you plug into them.
One place where it all lands
The router and a small switch together, in one spot, with every cable coming back to it. A five or eight port switch beside the router turns one socket into several and costs less than a mesh node.
Wired backhaul for the mesh
Mesh access points joined by cable rather than by radio keep their full capacity for your devices instead of spending it talking to each other. It is the single biggest improvement in most homes.
Separate the smart devices
Many routers can put cameras, bulbs and sensors on a guest or secondary network, so a device with poor firmware cannot see the laptops.
Most of a house can be wired
without opening anything.
Along a room
A flat jacket follows a skirting board or a door frame without lifting. It is the difference between a cable you tolerate and one you notice.
Between rooms
Doorways, existing openings and the gap behind furniture. Measure the route the cable will really take, not the straight line, and add margin.
Outdoors
Polyethylene instead of PVC, for UV and moisture — even for a run that only crosses a terrace. That is the outdoor range.
Away from power
Keep a separation from power cabling as required by the national rules where you are, and avoid running parallel to it over long stretches.
Bulk cable and a crimping tool let you make a lead exactly as long as the route needs, which is usually neater than a pre-made cable coiled behind the furniture. The seven steps are in the Installation Guide.
Fixed lengths, or the reel.
A lead per device from 1 to 100 metres, or a reel to cut yourself when no fixed length fits the route.