Best Approach for Whole House Wiring?

[quicksandfarmer]

You mentioned energy efficiency. Since you didn't say where you are in the country, I'll limit my reply to my area of East Texas. Here, we focus on the heat and humidity. Winter isn't very bad and doesn't last very long. Our minimum R value for ceilings is R45, but if you add a little more, you can max it out at R60. I think that the best return on money in a house is attic insulation. Second most important thing is air sealing the walls. Windows are where the most air gets into the house since they are rarely sealed properly. House wrap needs to be taped, but Zip System with Zip Tape is even better.

Something I really hate is when the HVAC system is installed in the attic. Once insulation is blown into the attic, you should never, EVER, go up there. Every time somebody walks, or crawls through the insulation, it's like cracking a window and leaving it open. HVAC systems need regular attention. Some have the filters on the unit in the attic that need to be changed. All of them require bleach in the drain lines every month to keep them clear from sludge building up inside the lines. There is a time when people get too old to climb into their attic to do this, and that's usually when somebody like me gets called in to repair the ceiling because the drain line is plugged, and the pan overflowed and destroyed the ceiling inside the house.

If you don't live in an area with strict code enforcement, or haven't built in a while, you may be shocked by the insulation and air-sealing requirements that are now in the IRC. It's for the good and it's not just about saving money, tight houses are quieter, more evenly conditioned, less dusty and overall just more comfortable. Even if your area doesn't require it, seek out someone who is going to air-seal and insulate the house to a modern standard. Whatever you do, don't go with some foam jockey who wants to spray the inside with a couple inches of foam and says that's good enough. You can do better and it doesn't cost that much.

Many places now interpret the code as not allowing HVAC in unconditioned spaces like attics. In a new build I would put all the HVAC, including the ductwork, inside the building envelope. There's no reason not to.

Which brings up an important point: in a modern house, the insulation and HVAC shouldn't be things you add on after the house is framed, they should be designed in from the beginning. It doesn't cost any more to design in space for insulation and mechanicals and you end up with a much better house.

I would recommend going to a website that specializes in building performance, like GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, and asking there about recommendations on energy efficiency.

 

[5030]

I can self do a ton of stuff. Electrical isn't one of them. I always hire any electrical out to a certified electrician who is familiar with local codes and requirements because... With plumbing, if it leaks, you get wet. With electrical, if it leaks, you get DEAD. Have fun and don't get dead.

 

[check]

Even if you wire for a whole house automatic standy generator, also wire in a small (say, 60 AMP) panel with a separate plug outside. If your main generator fails for some reason, you can hook up a portable.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I like to wire in an outlet and switch for Christmas lights. The outlet can be in the up high on the wall or in the soffit. I also don't like lights right above or close to the side of any doors. Light travels easy enough and insects like lights. If your light is away from the door so are the insects.

 

[dstig1]

Most people here are focusing on the network stuff. I still use mine but wouldn't do as much wire as I did. Wireless is great but nothing beats wire for bandwidth and reliability. I now have a mesh wireless system and used the Cat5e wires for the backhaul which is more reliable and does not take away wireless bandwidth for the backhaul. And for cameras it is good as you can feed POE (Power over ethernet) to both power the camera and handle the data stream.

Eddie touched on power wiring a bit. 14 gage for lights is much better than 12 for the main reasons that 1. LED lights don't use much power 2. light fixture wires are tiny and trying to connect them to a 12 ga wire sux 3. separating lights from outlets means less likely a breaker trip leaves you in the dark as the more common breaker trips are due to something you plugged in. Outlets should be 12 ga/20 A and separate from lights.

 

[JJT]

Skip the coax and cat6, wireless is the way to go today. 14/2 for light circuits, 12/2 (with 20 amp breakers/outlets) for everything else using 120v. Use dedicated outlets where it makes sense - fridge, entertainment system, dish washer, garage openers, etc and dedicated runs to every 240 appliances.

Make the house genset ready with a transfer switch and outside hookup.

When I built 30 years ago I pulled coax and telephone twisted pair to every room. It hasn't been used in 10 years. I also ran 12/2 for everything. That's way overkill for today's low wattage LED lighting.

Have a pro do the heavy lifting, you can do the finish work.

Label everything in the box.

 

[Racer4]

If you’re planning on pulling all the wires, and putting a panel box in yourself. At least ask for input from a qualified electrician. If you are subject to building inspections, hire someone to wire it. Any mistake you make is going to be caught by an inspector, and those guys are thorough when it comes to electrical. Unless you’re familiar with the National Electrical Codes. Your inspector will be.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

boy the world changes fast and who knows what the future brings.
I will stir the pot and say its not yet time to abandon ethernet cabling. And I am probably considered very computer illiterate.

Even at my stage of life I am pulling new ethernet (cat7) in the next few days though a house that's 25 years old once amazon drops the bulk rolls off on my doorstep.

IP cameras, wireless access points and VoIP phones all use POE (power over Ethernet). I could have gone wireless cameras but then I would also have the concern of how I am going to get power to the cameras / devices. or live with having to get ladders out to get up to the second floor to change out batteries.

I like the idea of pre=planning conduit runs throughout for sure. What we end up pulling though it in the future who can guess but today and tomorrow people still pulling lots of ethernet.

 

[bcp]

Use $3 switches and outlets, with wires clamped by screws, not $0.69 ones.



Bruce

 

[Drago]

I would agree, skip the CAT6 (unless you want to do some type of HDMI distribution from a central location over ethernet) and coax (unless you will be using OTA reception for TVs).

When I wired our house 25 years ago, I ran at least two CAT5 drops to every room for ethernet and phone, one CAT5 and speaker wire to every room for whole house audio speakers and keypads, and at least one coax to every room. Everything ended up in a media center/closet in our basement. You should see that bundle of cables.

This setup worked great when I used modulators to distribute Dish receivers, DVD plays, etc. to every room/TV and wireless systems weren't that great. We also had landlines! Streaming services, improvements to wireless and cell service killed/replaced all that. I do use the CAT5 still in some rooms.

The Kustom whole house audio system died a few years ago and the product line was discontinued many years ago. Not going to replace it with something else due to cost and because it was hardly used. Smart devices like an Amazon Echo pretty much killed the need for whole house audio in my opinion.

I would also agree with the comment on running power to the switch location and not the fixture. I made that mistake in a few locations. Since also did home automation using X10 (I know ancient and I'm still using it), switching those locations to something else is a challenge since newer automation switches require a neutral and that's at the fixture!

Good luck to you.