Ethernet wiring in a new build - Is there any real point anymore?

MickOR

Hi,

I'm currently building a house off plans and the electrician is about to start wiring so needs confirmation on requirements and placement of points.

I was considering getting it wired for Ethernet but am wondering is this almost redundant now in 2016 with wireless performance where it is today? (My network is Eir 100MB).

Our household is 2 adults & 2 kids (10 and 7).
Currently with 2 laptops, Eir TV on Sony Bravia LCD, 2 smart phones, 2 tablets and a Sonos wireless speaker system (so no requirement for ethernet for sound network). It would be good to have a scalable home network but I'm not entirely sure do we really need it if wireless is going to keep getting better.

Anyone any thoughts on above and what would be the simplest way to wire to future proof. The electrician has quoted for an Ethernet point in the sitting room and utility room but hasn't indicated if these are to be run back to one central 'hub' location.

Cheers

seamus

Wired > Wireless and this will practically always be true.

You won't know what kind of quality you're going to get in wireless throughout the house, so having ethernet points gives you the freedom to add wireless APs at any stage to improve your network reception.

I'd be inclined to stick an ethernet socket at every double plug socket in the house except the kitchen worktops.

You never know at what stage in the next 20 years you're going to have an internet-enabled device such as a TV or a console at any of the sockets. Last thing you want in five year's time is to have one of the kids running an ethernet cable down the stairs and into the sitting room so they can get a lower ping in ther online gaming.

Kev1nDonn

If the cost is not prohibitive I would go for it. Wired internet is always quicker and more reliable than wireless. The Ethernet points will also allow you to add extenders which will increase the range of your WiFi. If choosing cabling your next decision will be between Cat 5 or Cat 6. The latter is more expensive but can handle greater speeds.

frozenfrozen

I would recommend running conduits with a few pull wires and have the provision to install ethernet jacks in rooms when you need it down the line. That way if you never need it, you've only spent the price of the conduit, and if you need it in 10 years you can run a single length of cat10 or whatever we have then, or fibre.

I would strongly recommend against relying on just wireless. Multiple access points is a cheap solution to having a much better experience in the house, but for multiple wireless access points, they need ethernet to be run to them

Carlos Orange

Just moved into a house and plan to renovate it. Already it is annoying that wifi doesn't seem to cover the whole house.
Longer term I think wiring is worth it even if all you do is add some more hotspots to make sure coverage is perfect everywhere in the house and the garden (if you have one). The cost seems pretty reasonable since I'm going to be rewiring anyway.

jester77

I put CAT 7 in all over the house, feeds to my switch in the basement. It is much more reliable than having wifi. Plus it is very handy for running POE devices. I have a very strong Access Point on the ground floor and it has only got an average signal on the first floor and a very weak signal on the second floor. I have another POE Access Point on the second floor plugged into an ethernet port to fix this.

Even on the ground floor some wifi devices don't work so well, I have a lot of issues with the Amazon Fire wifi dongle (waiting for a new fire tv so I can bin it). So even when you have a good wifi signal you are also at the mercy of the devices that are connected to it.

Bumski

Though it's not your original query and a bit off topic, I'd suggest, if you haven't thought of it already, that you put in wiring for a home cinema surround sound system (if you've any interest in that sort of thing). It'd be a lot easier to hide speaker cables for multiple speakers now than later.

MickOR

MickOR wrote: »

Hi,

I'm currently building a house off plans and the electrician is about to start wiring so needs confirmation on requirements and placement of points.

I was considering getting it wired for Ethernet but am wondering is this almost redundant now in 2016 with wireless performance where it is today? (My network is Eir 100MB).

Our household is 2 adults & 2 kids (10 and 7).
Currently with 2 laptops, Eir TV on Sony Bravia LCD, 2 smart phones, 2 tablets and a Sonos wireless speaker system (so no requirement for ethernet for sound network). It would be good to have a scalable home network but I'm not entirely sure do we really need it if wireless is going to keep getting better.

Anyone any thoughts on above and what would be the simplest way to wire to future proof. The electrician has quoted for an Ethernet point in the sitting room and utility room but hasn't indicated if these are to be run back to one central 'hub' location.

Cheers

Gigabit ethernet is... well a connection speed of 1 Gigabit. Wifi 802.11n has a maximum speed of 600Mbits. 802.11ac has a max connection of about 1.7 to 2.5 Gbits, but thats in perfect conditions. Interference could halve that. The more devices you connect is also going to affect your bandwidth. Right now you have 6 devices, but in the next few years that number could double or triple.

If I was you I'd wire the house for gigabit ethernet. If you do it now, you can always upgrade it easily enough in years to come. If you don't it'll become much harder to do in the future. You might be delighted to be able to connect a TV and an X-box to ethernet in the living room resulting in stutter free gameplay or streaming.

degsie

Wifi mesh solutions from the like of Eero, Ubiquiti and the new Google Wifi promises to solve wifi distribution problems for the average user. The technology is moving rapidly forward and may in time negate the need for wired solutions. Time will tell.

ED E

degsie wrote: »

Wifi mesh solutions from the like of Eero, Ubiquiti and the new Google Wifi promises to solve wifi distribution problems for the average user. The technology is moving rapidly forward and may in time negate the need for wired solutions. Time will tell.

All of those solutions will fail as soon as three homes in a row buy them. They're just making 5Ghz as useless as 2.4Ghz.

Cuddlesworth

ED E wrote: »

All of those solutions will fail as soon as three homes in a row buy them. They're just making 5Ghz as useless as 2.4Ghz.

Nothing says fun like 3 half duplex connections between you and the router for voice/game comms.

Christ I'm deploying dense wireless only office solutions with top end enterprise gear and the problems/complaints are relentless.

gctest50

degsie wrote: »

Wifi mesh solutions from the like of Eero, Ubiquiti and the new Google Wifi promises to solve wifi distribution problems for the average user. The technology is moving rapidly forward and may in time negate the need for wired solutions. Time will tell.

'til you get a few dodgy wireless door cameras/ baby cameras

much fun

Stoner

Yep happened me .

Perfect baby cam on wireless for 80 euro muck on WiFi

Mick I have left you my opinion on your thread in the electrical forum.

But a reminder you don't have to terminate all the cables now.

tphase

I second frozenfrozen - wish I had done that when building my house

I'd put the extra conduit in each corner of the sitting room, at least one in every bedroom/office. Make them big enough to take 2 cables (you might want to install 2 jacks or a TV point). Double up on the conduit if there isn't a power point nearby, if you need an ethernet socket, you'll likely need power as well

degsie

Given the march of wireless home automation solutions including the Amazon echo, Google Home, WeMo. CliMote, Nest, Z-Wave....your home wiring solution is of little practical use in these use cases.

degsie

degsie wrote: »

Given the march of wireless home automation solutions including the Amazon echo, Google Home, WeMo. CliMote, Nest, Z-Wave....your home wiring solution is of little practical use in these use cases.

Nobody is saying don't have wifi.

frozenfrozen

more wires means more wireless

degsie

Deleted User wrote: »

Nobody is saying don't have wifi.

You wouldn't have guessed that reading some of the comments on here :P

I'm voicing an opinion to the OP's question and the move away from ethernet is obvious to me.

Mango Joe

What frozenfrozen said - empty conduit is future-proof and covers everything from speaker wires to CAT99 cabling 

I did two in each room at likely TV and entertainment or other points. Finish off with a blank MK faceplate etc.

PS Wireless is going to struggle to stream 12k videos to 3 different rooms simultaneously someday.....

degsie

degsie wrote: »

You wouldn't have guessed that reading some of the comments on here :P

I'm voicing an opinion to the OP's question and the move away from ethernet is obvious to me.

Where did anyone say "Don't get wireless"?

By cabling throughout more than one person has said it adds options for wireless extenders, and AP's in each room.

MickOR

Bumski wrote: »

Though it's not your original query and a bit off topic, I'd suggest, if you haven't thought of it already, that you put in wiring for a home cinema surround sound system (if you've any interest in that sort of thing). It'd be a lot easier to hide speaker cables for multiple speakers now than later.

Thanks Bumski, but as I mentioned I have a couple of SONOS speakers and plan to add to them for full home cinema surround set up as I am well and truly smitten with them, hence no need for speaker wiring!

jester77

Wireless is super for mobile devices, home automation things, even streaming music. But once you start push a large data volume around you will notice it struggling, especially if it is congested. I use a chromecast over wifi for Netflix, and I had to recently change my wifi channel on my AP as it was struggling a little at 1080p. Some day I might upgrade Neflix to the 4K package if they have more content, but I wouldn't fancy streaming 4K over wifi.

I've no experience with sonos, I have only heard good things. But if you have the chance to run some speaker cables, then I would go for it. It won't cost that much extra and the points will be there if you want to use them in future. I ran cables in the living and to the kitchen, my receiver does multi-zones so it is handy for throwing on music in the kitchen.

MickOR

Thanks all for the responses everyone. It's given me a lot to think about! Still digesting all the options but at this point I think I'm leaning towards cabling cat 6 to all main rooms (will worry about terminating points later) and terminating in the attic for a switch.

Cheers

Tinder Surprise

MickOR wrote: »

Thanks all for the responses everyone. It's given me a lot to think about! Still digesting all the options but at this point I think I'm leaning towards cabling cat 6 to all main rooms (will worry about terminating points later) and terminating in the attic for a switch.

Cheers

Good decision.

Have you ever thought of installing CCTV? If so, get your electrician to run CAT6 to certain points/walls around the home that you might want to mount a camera on the external side of the wall, or eaves.

MickOR

Tinder Surprise wrote: »

Good decision.

Have you ever thought of installing CCTV? If so, get your electrician to run CAT6 to certain points/walls around the home that you might want to mount a camera on the external side of the wall, or eaves.

Never considered CCTV to be honest, don't really see the need for it. Live in a reasonably quiet town on the outskirts of Cork and the house is a standard three bed semi. You never can tell I suppose but happy to remain living in blissful innocence/naivety for the time being!:)