Future Proofing - CAT 5

[LCV]

Hi,

I am planning a house refurb and would like to future proof where possible. What products are worth considering? I was thinking adding CAT 5e cable?

Grateful for your thoughts.

Thanks!

 

[telectrix]

hope it's not for your 10kW shower!.

 

[jacksongroup]

A few thoughts. Just refurbished a flat and did the following.

At every point where I installed a coax for tv I also put in a CAT 5 cable and used modular plates for the coax and data point. Additional conduits and cat5 placed in a few corners And close to sockets. You could of course use powerline data units. I just like to keep things separate.

All data and coax fed back to a hall cupboard which would also then contain power supply, router andbooster. tv distn point.

All cables in conduit in wall big enough to fascilitate swoping out if ever required.

I also installed a couple of electric convectors which also had pilot/ control wires in with the powere supply cables. I had not allowed for this (but prob did not need this facility) . So as regards future proofing I should probably have added a conduit for this controL wire And provided a central point for wires to come back to ? Some heaters have wireless control facilities so that need could be short lived. In fact most things could be wireless.

 

[LankyWill]

cat 5e is good but if you have the change buy cat 6 copper and throw in satellite grade coax. Wire 2 coax to each point(skyplus) back to central point. Look up home integration for future proofing awell.

 

[PEG]

Future proofing? ... never mind the entertainment,LED's,pedal generator,rainwater harvesting and LABC permit for burial plots in the garden...best gifts i ever got for the missus :icon12:

 

[LCV]

Thanks for your replies. I've had a few Electrician's come out to quote for the job, i.e. install downlighters, new sockets, CU etc. but when I ask them about CAT 5, 6 etc, they look at me blankly and just say yes, whatever I want. Is this normal or who should I be contacting to advise me on the right cabling?

 

[telectrix]

first you need to decide what equipment you are likely to want. then , having sourced this, determine ( from suppliers) what cabling is needed.

 

[gavin.sibley]

Hello LCV, the sort of systems you describe are one of the things my company specialise in. Cat 5/6, hdmi/coax distribution are just some of the things we offer. Feel free too pm me and I can discuss with you what I would recommend putting in place.

 

[shanky887614]

most electricians couldnt tell you the difference between cat5/6/7 etc.

cat6 is more expensive but better in the long run (not important at the moment as cat5e is rated at 1gbps or 250MB/s or the same as some wireless n routers)

dont go for 1gbps cat6 make sure its 6e 10gbps or you might as well put in 5e (same spec)

 

[Tom Bell]

cat 6 is shielded, cat 5 is not. Hence cat 6 would be preferred

 

[gibbo100]

I'm pretty sure you can buy both Shielded / screened / unscreened in most cables... be it Cat 5 / cat 6 / twisted pair or whatever else you would like!
I'd be aware of the term 'Future proofing' as (& certainly the home automation market) It re-invents itself cyclically to sell more hardware!

 

[davesparks]

cat 6 is shielded, cat 5 is not. Hence cat 6 would be preferred

Utter nonsense, both are available as either shielded or unshielded.

 

[Adam W]

Thanks for your replies. I've had a few Electrician's come out to quote for the job, i.e. install downlighters, new sockets, CU etc. but when I ask them about CAT 5, 6 etc, they look at me blankly and just say yes, whatever I want. Is this normal or who should I be contacting to advise me on the right cabling?

You're asking what kind of cable you'll need to install to operate some item of equipment which hasn't even been invented yet. You don't even seem to know what this new electronic gizmo does. Maybe it controls the heating, maybe it's for making the lights dim in different ways, or maybe it's so you can change the TV channel while you're sat on the bog.

What are the chances that a manufacturer will make something which requires anyone who wants to use it to have their walls chased out? Nobody would buy it, unless of course they'd paid to have unnecessary cabling installed 'just in case'. Historically equipment which needs additional cabling usually seems to be superseded by something which doesn't.

My advice would be to forget about installing the cabling, maybe just get RJ45 sockets put on the walls to serve as a talking point, and use the money you save to buy a nuclear fallout shelter. You know, just in case.

 

[shanky887614]

cat6 is worth it because the only thing that is limiting internet speed is the access node equipement.

they are improving the speed all the time and other countries get 800mbps+ to there house

 

[Tom Bell]

Cat 5e (Cat 5 enhanced) is currently the most commonly used in new installations. It’s designed to greatly reduce crosstalk. If you just read that and then nodded while slowly saying "Yeah...crosstalk..." don't worry, that's why you're here: to learn! It basically means the Cat 5e is better at keeping signals on different circuits or channels from interfering with each other. A step above Cat 5, it can handle 1000 Mbps speeds (gigabit Ethernet) at 100 MHz.

Category 6 is a major improvement over Cat 5e. It's really just the bee's knees. It's suitable for up to 10 gigabit Ethernet at 250 MHz. To even better tackle the issue of that pesky crosstalkin', Cat 6 cable has an internal separator that isolates pairs from one another. For those who want to "future-proof" their residential or commercial network as much as possible without a significant cost increase, Cat 6 is a great choice. That doesn't mean it'll protect your network from cyborgs from the future or anything, it just means it will keep it up to date for longer when the "next big thing" comes along

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, I was talking about internal shielding. The Cat 6 is a better cable as it will allow faster speeds of data and will be less likely to suffer interference from both outside influence ( eg being run close to electricity cabling ), and cross contamination of signal within itself.

 

[shanky887614]

Cat 5e (Cat 5 enhanced) is currently the most commonly used in new installations. It’s designed to greatly reduce crosstalk. If you just read that and then nodded while slowly saying "Yeah...crosstalk..." don't worry, that's why you're here: to learn! It basically means the Cat 5e is better at keeping signals on different circuits or channels from interfering with each other. A step above Cat 5, it can handle 1000 Mbps speeds (gigabit Ethernet) at 100 MHz.

Category 6 is a major improvement over Cat 5e. It's really just the bee's knees. It's suitable for up to 10 gigabit Ethernet at 250 MHz. To even better tackle the issue of that pesky crosstalkin', Cat 6 cable has an internal separator that isolates pairs from one another. For those who want to "future-proof" their residential or commercial network as much as possible without a significant cost increase, Cat 6 is a great choice. That doesn't mean it'll protect your network from cyborgs from the future or anything, it just means it will keep it up to date for longer when the "next big thing" comes along

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, I was talking about internal shielding. The Cat 6 is a better cable as it will allow faster speeds of data and will be less likely to suffer interference from both outside influence ( eg being run close to electricity cabling ), and cross contamination of signal within itself.

not all cat6 is rated at 10gb though. cat6e is though.

best to go for cat5e/6e

 

[Dcf]

I'll just chuck my 2p in.
ive a small office to start ( should have started already but I digress.
met with the IT and telecom bods at a prestart meeting.
what do you want?
5e or cat6 / cat6a
no need for cat 6 was what I got told, but do it in ftp shielded was what they wanted.
its not a data centre mind you.
but the general consensus from boys who know a bit about this stuff was its not required in a high percentage of jobs .
i would say a quality5e install tested with a proper certification tester will outperform a badly thrown in cat6 install any day
to the op though if you want to be doing hdmi over data in the future install cat6.

 

[davesparks]

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, I was talking about internal shielding. The Cat 6 is a better cable as it will allow faster speeds of data and will be less likely to suffer interference from both outside influence ( eg being run close to electricity cabling ), and cross contamination of signal within itself.[/FONT][/COLOR]

What do you mean by internal shielding? Standard cat 6 has a plastic separator between the cores, but that's not a shield in any way, shape or form. Both categories of cables are available as both screened or unscreened

Being cat6 alone doesn't offer any more resistance to 'outside influences' as you describe it.

 

[Tom Bell]

If you can't understand the effects of crosstalk through data cables and how a signal is contaminated by outside influence, and internal traffic, in addition to an internal signal that has been " polluted " by an external source not being seperated from other parts of the cable and causing secondary " digital dirt " to other parts of a data cable, I would suggest that while you may be a fully qualified electrician, you know little about data speeds and home computer networking.

Of course, Cat 6a is an even higher quality cable, however due to its bulk and the inability to bend it round tight curves ( plus increased cost ) it isn't really worthwhile for a home installation. ( cat 6a would be more appropriate for a business running multiple server cabinets ).

 

[shanky887614]

If you can't understand the effects of crosstalk through data cables and how a signal is contaminated by outside influence, and internal traffic, in addition to an internal signal that has been " polluted " by an external source not being seperated from other parts of the cable and causing secondary " digital dirt " to other parts of a data cable, I would suggest that while you may be a fully qualified electrician, you know little about data speeds and home computer networking.

Of course, Cat 6a is an even higher quality cable, however due to its bulk and the inability to bend it round tight curves ( plus increased cost ) it isn't really worthwhile for a home installation. ( cat 6a would be more appropriate for a business running multiple server cabinets ).

you can get cat6 that looks identical to cat5 (grey unscreened) or you can get either screened)

i still stand by my reasoning that in a house you are better putting in cat6 because your not going to replaster just to replace them with better cable in the future.

offices usually have either suspended ceilings or a void under the floor or both