Yes, any wall mounted TVs run a adequate sized smurf tube for multiple cables to wherever equipment might go. Especially if its above a fireplace!
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LOL...hadn't heard it called that! I had one installed for my TV in our new addition...now I'm concerned about Smurfs running about inside my walls!! 
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Google knows. BTW I work at a fireplace company. Hate seeing cords running off mantels down to the side, so ugly.
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great suggestions - especially leaving a conduit for data/low voltage between floors and to wherever the MDF will be located. (stupid me had the option when my house was built 18 yrs ago and figured everything being wired up I wouldn't need it... so many times wish'd I had it...
Another thing I would do is add way more electrical circuits (not outsets per se - I have more damn outlets than I probably will ever need, but I sure wish every room was on its own breaker. As it is I have a few bedrooms that share 15A breakers. Doing over I would put each room on dedicated 20A. When we finished our basement about 5-6 yrs ago we did dedicated circuits for every room's outlets and a few separate for the overhead lighting by area and so glad I did. Oh and print nice labels for everything... compared to all the other expenses a Ptouch and few cartridges is nothing but always gets neglected.
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Great point!
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Stay away from metal in-wall boxes if code possible. Although I don't seem to have any issues attibutable to the shielding I am always wary of tiny antennae in these devices trying to talk to an RX through a grounded partial Faraday cage.
If you use HE get the antennae upgrade ( External Antenna) to mitigate any distance/pairing problems.
Don't use Z-Wave locks.
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This is a new home. Please for the love of God use cat 6a. I saw mentioned above about the possibility of needing 6a vs 6 in 5-10 years. Well what about in 30 years? 60 years? Granted that's a long way off and a bit ridiculous to suggest anything today would be sufficient till than but my point is valid.
Lutron is great and ask but they do not help with building up your ZigBee mesh. Some hardwire ZigBee devices wouldn't hurt.
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One thing that I really with I had in my house is a large pipe going from the basement to the ceiling. Would be useful when pulling cables to the upstairs rooms via the attic.
Might be useful to put USB plugs in the corners of every room. Can likely be used to power motion sensors, but also other devices as required.
Ceiling mounted motion sensors might be useful, like the Aeotec Multi-Sensor 7 which can be USB powered. This one could also be mounted in the corners.
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Great idea. I will run ethernet to the locations for APs. I will follow your advice.
Thank you
I did suggest speakers but he did not want it. I will push for that again.
Great idea
I will use Zigbee locks. I will not use Z-Wave in this installation. It needs to work without any attention.
I agree on cat 6 cable. I will have a some form of a Zigbee mesh but Lutron will be the primary lighting solution. Reliability is extremely important with this installation.
There is no basement; it is being built in the south. I will put in a conduit from the control room to the attic (good idea).
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I would love some feedback on which security system people would recommend. I am thinking of the DSC with Envisalink or the ELK system?
Don’t have much of an opinion as to currently available systems,. However, the DSC/Envisalink combo is what I have been using for the last two years integrated with HE. The Envisalink/HE integration is quite “chatty” so some may recommend having a HE hub dedicated to running any automations which make use of your sensors associated with the DSC. I have not had to do this and only run one hub without any noticeable problems or delays. I run an old DSC (Power864, about 20 years old!) with all 64 zones utilized which has been updated with Envisalink about two years ago so I could integrate it with my Hubitat. It has been rock solid (as I stated, used for about 20 years now). However, there may be some “new fangled” stuff (for you young’uns, LOL). I am just used to DSC (I have self installed DSC systems for my homes and businesses for 40 years with great reliability so it might just be the momentum effect in my case). There may be updated systems such as the Vista system but again, I do not know of any advantages of more current systems as mine has been in use now for almost 20 years and still going strong! Hope this helps and I envy you being able to start and plan from scratch with all the new stuff available (I had to retrofit everything when installing in my latest residences). Good luck with everything and have fun!
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Few suggestions I have not seen mentioned (or missed):
- If they are doing any shelving or large molding towards the top of rooms I would recommend some outlets towards the ceiling (above the shelves). Put some in when we rebuilt a couple rooms and they have come in handy (plug in repeaters, smart speakers, lighting strips)
- More outdoor outlets and circuits than you might think needed. If they are at all the decorating type (Halloween or Christmas for example) then it never hurts to be able to split up where the power comes from. A few outlets in less-conspicuous areas under eaves can also be useful.
- See if they are thinking about putting any permanent under-eave lighting. A lot of new houses in my area are adding BR30 style can lights into their eaves directly (at least one has RGBW bulbs) but they mostly look awful because they only put a few in so they make these weird lit areas on the house instead of a whole wall wash. If they had put LED strip lighting in diffuser channels it would be much more even.
- Corner eaves or corners of porch ceilings, 2 ethernet drops. One can act as a potential site for an AP, but more importantly they can be a good place to mount a security camera.
- 2 SEPARATE circuits for the network area. It gives a touch of redundancy so they can have 2 different UPS(es) with power fed from the different circuits.
- They may have their own preference for networking already, but I would recommend Ubiquiti. Might be overkill, might not be. Especially with so many drops that will happen. I would certainly recommend a PoE switch.
- Use more than one color of CAT6a (or higher) cable and still label both ends while pulling. It is so much easier to know which port ended up where, especially if combined with different color keystone jacks if possible.
- Keystone jacks are your friend... Not only for the Ethernet ports but also for audio ports they might want. That fancy sound system is going to seem pretty lame if you see the cables running around. For example: if you need to run to either side of a fireplace or such I recommend matching panels on either side so equipment can be swapped (by them or next owner) preferably with a conduit between them
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THIS! I run Envisalink and a Vista panel on a completely separate HE.
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I have a Vista panel and use Konnected for integration with HE. Works great.
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I second the push for speakers. I put a whole home audio system in my new house 9 years ago, and I wish that I had doubled the number of locations and speakers. Now, getting all of that under smart control with my Russound has been a challenge.
I also use Konnected, and it has been nearly flawless for a few years now.
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