So I'm doing a fairly large Reno of my house and I will have alot of access to run wires throughout most of the house while I'm doing that, other than ethernet cable that I'm running through most of the house, any other suggestions to add while I'm doing this?
I wish I had an open house to do this.
Run ethernet EVERYWHERE. Wherever you want to put cameras and access points. Run multiple to certain rooms for TV's and streaming boxes and to your office of course. Maybe even to the front doorbell.
If you want to get into automating shades or blinds I would probably run power or ethernet to the windows so its there. I don't think there's a standard but you can run one of them or both to be safe. This though might require some extra research.
My only other suggestion, if possible run some conduit to places. This is just in case you ever have to run another cable for whatever reason. The conduit may make it easier to get to the place you need.
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if older house, make sure neutrals are run to corresponding switch boxes -- pretty sure that's code everywhere these days no matter what, but just make sure your electrician doesn't skimp on that in the name of grandfathering or similar nonsense.
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So im lucky surprisingly this house has neutrals almost everywhere considering its 40 years old. the places i wont have access to run anything to during this is 2 bedrooms basically. So im open to any and all ideas because im starting this pretty soon. It has also been wired for an alarm system. im not sure if i should add to whats already there and use the Konnected panels to go wired with some of my sensors as well.
Also as a side note and mostly curiousity. I found an empty cavity thats about 1x1 and about 6 feet deep, with a nice 40 year old pepsi can at the bottom, iv been thinking about putting my hubitat hub in the wall, not sure if this is a good idea or not. but it would be exactly central in my house if i were to do this.
Just be careful that nothing interferes with the signal. Putting it in a closed space could cause some issues with that. That said, it would be a good idea to have a plug and ethernet jack in that space, just in case!
If it’s already wired, I would use it! You will save a lot on batteries!
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Take your Cat 5/6 back to a punch down block or panel.
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Carefully consider your switchbox locations. Or, if you even need them. Example: closet light switches might be better with motion switches located inside the closet. Or, magnetic zigbee contacts on the doors rather than a manual switch outside the closet. Same for the pantry.
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Take power to places where you anticipate hubs. Leave room for a UPS - i.e. you don't need 110V at each level in a wiring closet. You do need a quad box, or two, a good UPS and a long power strip for all those small power adapters.
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If you store stuff in the attic, run some led tape along the rafters. Cheap and plenty of light.
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If you intend to renovate the kitchen, consider running LED strips both under the cabinets and inside the cabinets - different switches. Drop some small gauge low voltage wire before the finish work is complete.
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So this is mostly a kitchen reno. were moving the kitchen from one side of the house to the other side to get a larger kitchen. So there is no bedroom/closet stuff. Although with all the walls down and ceiling below it i have access to put new wiring in multiple rooms connected to that floor. (one bedroom and living room) so those rooms are getting ethernet, and for the living room it just happens that part of that wall is right where my tv is so there is going to be a recessed outlet box going in as well as ethernet there.
I plan on running all the ethernet cable down to my furnace room into a panel there. There is already an outlet where i plan on putting it because the exisiting security system is there.
Nothing goes in the attic here. Canada is a cold barren place for attics. I cant say many people use attics for storage here.
With the kitchen I already have valance lighting planned. I dont intend to put any lights in the cabinets. Thats a bit much for my taste.
Run some fiber too if you need multiple switches so you can use it for backhaul. Add some unifi ap-ac pro's for wifi through out (they run on POE) so you can have gigabit backhaul to said switch. Relocate your HE to center of house and put a few network jacks there so you can have multiple hubs. Good time to do Lutron Caseta for your switches.
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those are some good ideas, Looking back if i didnt invest in Inovelli switches for most of my house already I probably would have went Lutron, they seem easier to get.
That looks awesome! All my cabinets are white with no glass doors! I'm probably going to be running an some led strips on top of the cabinets though! I'm going for a Modern White vibe
So I'm planning on using potlights throughout my kitchen are there any smart bulbs that work for potlights?
Use switches for recessed lighting (Lutron Caseta is best) and smart bulbs for table lamps
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- Consider getting a whole home surge protector.
- Add some smart relays for under cabinet lighting and/or do the smart switch/dimmer thing.
- The kitchen is one place that works for an Amazon Echo Show device. Kitchen timer, reviewing video etc.
- Smart Thermostats, I am still using Nest for my zones but also have Pearls for my in floor heating in our Den and Master Bathroom. I use HE to keep them synced.
- Outlets with USB ports are handy, they now have USB "C" versions as well.
- Also outlets everywhere!!! including inside some cabinets and closets and in your kitchen island if you have one.
- Not smart home related but if you do not have a "return air" setup to go along with your stove hood you should consider adding it if it's not already code like it is here in NJ.
- Agree with others if you can run some ethernet it's worth doing - Cat6a at least.
- Consider in ceiling speakers and the Sonos AMP. You can get up to 4 speakers per amp depending upon the ohm rating - I like to have the speakers put in the corners of a room for more immersive sound that requires less volume.
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That's what I normally do. I was thinking about doing the whole color temperature control for the whole room.
In my kitchen, I already had deep “can” style potlights. I added some LIFX sanitizing bulbs which allow me to control their color temperature and turn specific colors in case of alerts. I also use their sanitizing function in the middle of the night while we sleep.
A good reminder for everyone to wear sunscreen..even indoors. 
But seriously - that is a cool idea. Never heard of that type of bulb before (I know LIFX).
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Hehe… It’s pretty nice but I understand not UV, rather a frequency that kills-off microbes, called HEV I think…
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I did the pantry. Ran 2, 5ft LED strips along either side of the interior trim, and a 30" piece across the top. Picked up 12v from the other cabinet lighting transformer and added a simple magnetic dry contact switch to the top of the door.
There are no "smart things" used. It is all analog. If I were doing it again, I might add a but and some smart switches. This was just to let me practice and solve a much needed lighting problem.
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Unless you want to control individual pots, just go with a smart switch and dimmable LED bulbs.
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