Cat5 to Outlets

[broconne]

Does anybody wire CAT5 to their power outlets?

I am in the gathering process here before I start building a house and wanted to get some input on this. I plan on going ALC/OnQ for lighting control so I will be wiring CAT5 to all switches. However, I was wondering if anybody knew of any reason to wire Cat5 to the power outlets. I didn't see any OnQ outlet switches, but is there potential for those to come out in the near term? Or any other reason to use CAT5 with an outlet (Power/load reporting maybe??).

I know the answer is "wire everywhere you can". But, at some point I will have to stay within reason here!

 

[Neurorad]

Very interesting...

ALC/OnQ?

Cat5 to outlets?

Hmmmm...

I may be a simple unfrozen caveman, but I'm very interested in the coming responses.

 

[CollinR]

Since you shouldn't put an outlet on a dimmer I would homerun them before I ran Cat5 out to them. Then you can just use inexpensive contactors if you so those.


Really you could wire them up split so the electrician wires them all as normal then an additional homerun. Split the outlet so the top is automated and the bottom is not, or vise versa.

 

[Sacedog]

I wired my house for ALC, which does not make an outlet at this time. So I homeran Cat5 to every switch box (1 cat5 can run up to 4 switches), but not to the outlets. I figured if I wanted to control the outlets too, I could use UPB with my ALC.

 

[Sacedog]

FYI, you should read through this entire thread (very long), but it has a ton of great information regarding ALC, and how to wire for it.

http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showto...dwired+lighting

 

[wuench]

Isn't it against code to have low voltage and high voltage in the same box? If the two come in contact fire or electrocution could result.

 

[broconne]

Isn't it against code to have low voltage and high voltage in the same box? If the two come in contact fire or electrocution could result.

It isn't against NEC code (or at least that is what the ALC people will tell you).

 

[sic0048]

Isn't it against code to have low voltage and high voltage in the same box? If the two come in contact fire or electrocution could result.

In short no.... IF the insulation on the LV wires is rated high enough for the max HV power in the box. They make cat5e wire with a higher insulation rating, or another option is that each ALC switch comes with a insulation "sleeve" that has the higher rating that you can use to run your regular cat5e wire through in the box.

It would be against code to stick regular cat5e wire with the lower insulation rating inside a HV box.

 

[Sacedog]

It is not against code, as long as the LV wire has a sheeth rated for 600V. All ALC switches come with a slip on sheath rated for 600V. Another way to avoid having to use this (which is how I wired), is to pull the ALC switch LV flying leads, out of the top of the switch, then connect to your cat 5 outside of the box. You then just tuck your Cat5 back into the wall above your switch box, into the wall. It works great this way, and the inspector likes it better.

 

[broconne]

Since you shouldn't put an outlet on a dimmer I would homerun them before I ran Cat5 out to them. Then you can just use inexpensive contactors if you so those.


Really you could wire them up split so the electrician wires them all as normal then an additional homerun. Split the outlet so the top is automated and the bottom is not, or vise versa.

Heh - dimmer would be bad. But on/off is done with UPB I thought already - so there is precedent. Just didn't know if there were any hardwired technologies out there too. Homerunning is a good suggestion, I can try and get a quote on that.

 

[felixrosbergen]

The dual wiring/homerunning of outlets is a very intereting idea that i was i would have heard sooner or would have been smart enough to realize myself.

I would have let the electricans wire some of the ground floor outlets that way. Not all (e.g. kitchen counter outlets), but some where you're likely to have freestanding lights....i guess there's always UPB. It would be too price to have the electrician back in for something like that....maybe if it's 1 or 2 outlets that we find the need to be switched after we move in.

Regarding the HV/LV in a box....there's plenty of discussion on that....above somebody mentiosn that with the high rated insulation sleeve it's ok....in ALC's own instructions it says to do that but still keep a minimum distance between the HV and LC wiring. They show a diagram of the insure of a box to illutrate...obviously there is no possible way to verify this spacing once you put the switch in. ALC recommends having the cat5 on top of the switchbox and then running the LV over the top of the switches and stuffing it behind the drywall.

 

[dutchyn]

I chose to install EDT iOn switches on a number of outlets. Then, I can control the outlets just like lights. You ought to be able to do the same thing with the ALC switches. Just be sure to maintain the correct amperage for the switches: I suspect electrical code is 15A switch if you are on a 15A breaker. Hardwired lights can get around this restriction and be on a 5A switch (i.e. 600W) because their loads are predetermined to fit within the switch's rating.

Does anyone else have more experience with this?

Chris D.

 

[AceCannon]

I asked my electrician to put some switched outlets around the house, ran cat5e to the switches. There are some special outlets that solve the issue of dimming the outlet's load. (lutron model here)

 

[midian]

I asked my electrician to put some switched outlets around the house, ran cat5e to the switches. There are some special outlets that solve the issue of dimming the outlet's load. (lutron model here)

Just a suggestion, but if you are building a new house, why not wire cat6? Pricing is about the same, but there are many benefits to 6 including lower cross-talk, gigabit LAN support, and modern device compatibility. I know 5e and 6 sound close, but they have bandwidths, a different size, and have completely different end components. 5e vs 6 could be the difference that lets you run internet, VOIP, streaming HD, and streaming music all at once. Hope this helps.

 

[tmbrown97]

well, for the lighting control system he's using, Cat5 is all it needs - and once the system is in, it's unlikely it'll be upgraded in the forseeable future to something that would require Cat6.

Honestly, I don't think there's anything in the residential market yet that could warrant Cat6. It might come into play for HDMI extension or something, but as of now, gigabit ethernet works great on Cat5e. So while it certainly doesn't hurt to do it, it provides absolutely no benefit to anything out today, and most likely won't affect anything in the residential market for about 10 years.