Smart Home Networks Design

My networks research.

Internet Connection

My plan is to have a fibre Internet connection with 4G/5G fail-over. I see all sorts of claims as to why you need Gigabit speeds into your home but, the simple fact is that there are no applications that can make use of these kinds of speeds. My current home has 80Mbps down / 20 Mbps up and this has proved fine for all of the things I've needed to do so far. I'll be looking to upgrade to a service closer to 300Mbps down and 100Mbps up.

In a new build it makes sense to install underground ducting to a central location in your home, where the networking and computing equipment will be housed. I'm designing in a dedicated space for this. This is future proof and allows your ISP to run new cables into your home easily.

Wired Networks

When it comes to networks, wired is best! No wired technology is future-proof though, so ducting and conduit in a new build, along with easy access panels are a no brainer.

Network Cable Baskets/Trays

It makes a lot of sense to fit network cable trays in a new build and to retro-fit them before installing network cables. It makes the whole process of installation much easier, protects the cables better and makes it easier to add more cables later. Cable trays are available in metal and plastic. I personally think metal is a much better idea.

Ethernet Cables

Cat5

Category 5 (Cat5) Ethernet cables are essentially a legacy technology now and should not be used. They will limit you network speeds to 100Mbps.