Hi everyone! Like many others I've been bitten by the HA bug. I've been lurking on the site for quite a while, but now I think I'm finally ready to jump in and get started. Here's the story:
New construction -- house has been framed. The builder is a friend of mine; he is letting me do all the low voltage wiring and will give me whatever time I need. I plan on going in after the electrician is done with his rough work (in a month or so) and taking about a week to run cable.
I've gained a ton of knowledge from the site, so thanks to everyone that's contributed! I've also read through the Wiki a few times, but I still have some things I'm confused about.
My goal is to run as much cable as I can in order to future proof my home as much as possible. However, I'm not sure yet what systems I will be using to control everything. I just want to get the wiring in the wall so that we can build the house and then do more research before I commit to any one system. I guess that leads me to one question: what exactly does a system like Elk do? Is it primarily for security, but can also control lights, climate, etc? How do components connect to it? I've read a ton of posts on the subject, but I still don't completely understand how it works.
Anyway, back to wiring. I will have an equipment closet in the center of my basement -- everything will be homerun to there. Aside from the basics (running Cat5e EVERYWHERE, deep boxes with a neutral run to every switch box, etc.), what else should I be doing? A/V wise I have a good grasp of what I want to do, but I have a few other areas that I need some advice on:
Security: I want an alarm system, but I don't know what I should be wiring for. Can I have an alarm company come in and wire the house with what they deem appropriate (with input from me of course) and then later I can tie it into an Elk or something like it? Eventually, I'd like to be able to monitor my security system remotely (both for security issues and fire and CO2).
Windows blinds: I'd like to wire (power and control) for motorized blinds for every window. I don't know what blinds we're getting yet. Would running Cat5e to each window be enough to cover me for later? What part of the window should it be run to?
Temperature control: I will have three thermostats - one for each floor. What kind of thermostats do I need to get and what kind of wiring do I need to run to them in order to be able to control those as part of my system?
My main long term goal is to be able to control lighting, climate, and window blinds all with one interface. I'd like to be able to trigger those three things in different ways -- time, event, state, etc. I want to be able to control all of these both locally and remotely through a tablet or phone. I'd also like all things security to be on the same system.
I'm really sorry for the longer than intended post and the millions of questions, but any advice you all can give me would be greatly appreciated!
New construction -- house has been framed. The builder is a friend of mine; he is letting me do all the low voltage wiring and will give me whatever time I need. I plan on going in after the electrician is done with his rough work (in a month or so) and taking about a week to run cable.
I've gained a ton of knowledge from the site, so thanks to everyone that's contributed! I've also read through the Wiki a few times, but I still have some things I'm confused about.
My goal is to run as much cable as I can in order to future proof my home as much as possible. However, I'm not sure yet what systems I will be using to control everything. I just want to get the wiring in the wall so that we can build the house and then do more research before I commit to any one system. I guess that leads me to one question: what exactly does a system like Elk do? Is it primarily for security, but can also control lights, climate, etc? How do components connect to it? I've read a ton of posts on the subject, but I still don't completely understand how it works.
Anyway, back to wiring. I will have an equipment closet in the center of my basement -- everything will be homerun to there. Aside from the basics (running Cat5e EVERYWHERE, deep boxes with a neutral run to every switch box, etc.), what else should I be doing? A/V wise I have a good grasp of what I want to do, but I have a few other areas that I need some advice on:
Security: I want an alarm system, but I don't know what I should be wiring for. Can I have an alarm company come in and wire the house with what they deem appropriate (with input from me of course) and then later I can tie it into an Elk or something like it? Eventually, I'd like to be able to monitor my security system remotely (both for security issues and fire and CO2).
Windows blinds: I'd like to wire (power and control) for motorized blinds for every window. I don't know what blinds we're getting yet. Would running Cat5e to each window be enough to cover me for later? What part of the window should it be run to?
Temperature control: I will have three thermostats - one for each floor. What kind of thermostats do I need to get and what kind of wiring do I need to run to them in order to be able to control those as part of my system?
My main long term goal is to be able to control lighting, climate, and window blinds all with one interface. I'd like to be able to trigger those three things in different ways -- time, event, state, etc. I want to be able to control all of these both locally and remotely through a tablet or phone. I'd also like all things security to be on the same system.
I'm really sorry for the longer than intended post and the millions of questions, but any advice you all can give me would be greatly appreciated!