Lighting control wiring rough in

[jAndrewH]

I've read a LOT here and still not clear on what I should do in the way of rough in wiring for the lighting control.
 
We have the walls open on our renovation home and I would like to start wiring for more HA. My plans are to use an Omni controller and I am pretty clear on the wiring needs for the security, phones, and media but not for the lighting. Initially I did not plan to automate lights but now think I would like to go ahead and do it. Not sure if I will use UPB or something else but would like to cover some of my bases during wire rough in.
 
Can someone point me in the right direction in regards to what additional wiring I need to run to switch locations and back to the structured media panel? Any good guides for DIY people? Most seem only to address setup and not the wiring itself, even the Omni manual doesn't say anything about lighting.

 

[johngalt]

I use RadioRa2 and am happy with it. It is wireless and designed to be used as a retrofit so no special wiring is required. But if you have the walls open there are a lot of things you can do such as installing switches in closets and just having a keypad control all the switches. I wish I had a lighting consultant take a quick look and make recommendations before we wired.

Whatever you decide I would recommend deep electrical boxes. Some of the smart switches are large and trying to jam them and all the wire in a small box is a pain.

 

[wkearney99]

Do not fall prey to the fantasy of keypad control without fully understanding the complications/limitations of it.  Sure, it seems clever, until you realize just how tedious it'd be to have to deal with having to stop and look at the keypad every time you need lighting.  I'm all for having keypads, but prefer to keep the 'primary lighting' for the space on a regular, non-complications, paddle-style control.  That way anyone (not just us geeked-out-automation-fanatics) can use lighting for the space without hassles.

 

[wkearney99]

As for DIY wiring, most local electrical codes don't really "allow for" DIY work on this scale.  Yes, you can physically do it and potentially better than an uninspired electrician might.  But you're not going to find much from vendors encouraging that, if only because of potential liability issues if the documentation is misinterpreted, done wrong and risk of fire/injury develops.  
 
Personally, my advice is wire the space just as traditional non-automated control would require.  That way if/when the technology changes it'll be easy to follow retrofitting guidelines for whatever new things come to market.  

 

[ghanson]

Biggest thing is to make sure you have a neutral wire in every switch box. This way if you decide to go UPB you will be covered. In many cases they carried the power to the light then just ran the hot wire down to a switch to break for turning the light on and off.

 

[homevisionsolutions]

I think you should consult this the consultant becase every wiring system can be different as it is setup for your home specially.