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If you don't want to see the power cable but still have the TV flush on the wall, install one of those old "clock" outlet behind it: https://www.leviton.com/en/pro...

Because it's versatile. With the right tools, it's incredibly easy to terminate and repair in the field. Parts are cheap. And I can crimp any length cable whenever I need it.

But copper has its limits. To get beyond those limits, pair twists are tighter, cables are getting thicker, pull specs more delicate, and installation more complex. As conductors get thicker and shielding becomes mandatory, backwards compatibility is proving a challenge. We're now at the point where manufacturers like Leviton are engineering prefabricated connectors with built-in wiring to be fitted on a neck connector in which rests the cable's conductors. Shrink the head, and it'll have to be prefabricated like this.

Sure, we can make smaller connector heads, but at increased cost and decreased versatility. If we do, why stop there? If we're going to redo the connector, why not the entire cable? Would it even be possible to re-engineer the twisted pair cable to give us the same performance and versatility but shrink its diameter and reduce its delicacy?

You're looking for something like the Leviton 57xxx series TVSS, which provides 3-phase WYE protection for all phases to ground, all phases to common/neutral, and common to ground. It's designed to handle extreme events like a close lightning strike or loss of phase. It's got field-replaceable modules so you can replace them if they blow their fuses or MOVs without needing an electrician.

It gets installed between your house power feed and your primary distribution breaker panel. (If you have a primary disconnect switch, it would go there, otherwise you can get a variant of this with an integral disconnection switch.)

http://www.leviton.com/OA_HTML/ibcGetAttachment.jsp?cItemId=RznMfhyJTAUscMgiwmzsgA&label=IBE&appName=IBE&minisite=10251

You'd be looking at a cost of about $4000 including installation.
I used one in a small datacenter in front of a 20kVA Powerware 9330 UPS.

If you want a geek-friendly DIY version of this, the devices you speak of are called either Current Switches (for on/off units) or Current Transducers (for analog reading units). They're commonly used in HVAC automation to determine whether a device is running or not.

The HVAC controls shop I used to work for used the ones from Veris Industries, and they're quite solid. Kele has a lot of neat bits and pieces you can easily work with too.

These are US-based, but I'm sure there are similar shops for these things in other countries. Another international consideration is the network protocol. Europe mostly standardized on LON (de-facto, not a real standardization). In the USA, ASHRAE did actual studies, designs, and specs, and from this came BACNet. Don't bother with a LONTalk device if you're in the US.

Also, for lighting and other electricity controls, I just found Leviton yesterday. Some of that stuff looks interesting, and they have Ethernet interfaces for some of their stuff. (Finally! A real network protocol!)

IMHO, fiber is overkill. Lots of folks will be happy to sell it to you, but there's very little that you can do with fiber that you can't do with Cat5e gigabit. It may have its use if you live in an FTTH area, but that's just to your firewall. 10 GBit on copper requires Cat6A (a.k.a. Class EA) wire, and is far more than most people need. So pick 5e or 6A.

I'm streaming video from a server to two media boxes (all Linux) and have BitTorrent running on the server as well. All this over Gigabit, and if I start playing an MMO on top of all this, the bottleneck will be my cable modem, not the house net.

My house is wired up with a Leviton structured wiring box in my closet. Four-gang (2xRJ45 + 2xCoax) wall panels are placed in the bedrooms. Rooms with less electronics (kitchen, laundry room) get one RJ45 and maybe a coax, if that. The living rooms get plates with more jacks (3 each in my house) and also speaker connections that run to matching plates on the other side of the room (for surround channels). Make sure to place enough wall plates so that you never have to run a cable across the floor or over a door.

Remember that standard phones can be plugged into RJ45 jacks. These jacks need to be connected to the phone lines, not a network hub, in the wiring closet. Unless you're using IP phones; those get network ports. But the point is that there's no justification for Cat3 phone wire or RJ11 wall jacks anywhere.

As always, don't waste money on Monster cable. The sound quality for surround channels using 14 AWG lamp cord is just fine. Just make sure that you don't run the speaker or network wires parallel to power wires.

It took about three days of work for my friends and I (well, three for me and one for them) to wire my place (which I bought used). 30 Cat5e and 30 coax drops, including two coaxes to the south wall for future satellite TV and a cat5e + coax to the wall with the utilities, and two each drops to the kitchen which I haven't wired yet (gonna remodel soon). It's worked very well for me for seven years now.

What Rackable is really pushing is a system where AC to 48VDC conversion takes place in a unit at the top of the rack, and 48VDC is local to the rack. That, at least, simplifies the cable management.

One big advantage of 120/240VAC power distribution using US standards is that the connectors are standardized and reasonably idiot-proof. That is, if you can plug it in, you won't overload the power cord or the connector, and if you overload the branch circuit, a breaker will trip. Outlet strips have circuit breakers, so you can't overload the cord to the outlet strip without a breaker trip. There are NEMA standard power plugs for 15A, 20A, and 30A circuits, 120/240VAC, and single and three phase configurations. All this is standardized nationally and enforced by the National Electrical Code.

In contrast, there are no simple standards for 48VDC. Most 48VDC gear has big screw terminals. There are no standard plugs and sockets. Somebody, preferably a licensed electrician, has to check all the data plates, add up the current loads, calculate voltage drops, size the wire and breakers, and torque the big screw terminals to the correct torque, using the correct lockwashers. Every time you add or change a load, somebody has to recheck the math. Errors can cause a fire. None of this is all that hard if you have basic power technician skills, but you can't just go casually plugging stuff in.

Although, since the development of the low-cost clamp-around DC ammeter, things have become easier in the DC world.

You can get wall-mount mini racks that would work for something small like this.

Something more appropriate is the Leviton Integrated Networks system that has a panel and modules that are DESIGNED for smart-home systems. Reading comments further down I'm hearing "go wireless" - my answer is that there are MANY other things you can run over cat 5 - like an IR repeater system, digital AV senders, intercom, cameras, digital volume control for whole house sound systems, etc. - you should think outside the box.

When I did some major rewiring of my house, I actually put in 2 sets of jacks in bedrooms allowing for easy reconfiguration. That puts 4 RG6U and 4 Cat5e in each bedroom. For the main entertainment system, I ran 8 Cat5e and 8 RG6U to the back panel of which most is already used. The leviton boxes I felt were a little limiting, but some of the components were useful such as the IR and AV modules. The little 8 port switch was not enough - I use an HP Procurve 2400 24 port switch that I got on ebay for $200 (new). I ALSO use wireless, but limit the use to laptops. 802.11g is pokey in certain cases - I do network backup to a server with an autoloader DLT drive, but still use the server for most storage.

One thing I reccomend is putting a 4'x4' 3/4" plywood on the wall behind everything (in my case 4x8). Makes attaching stuff easier - not everything rack mounts nicely. For the few bits of rackmount equipment I have, I built a simple frame out of 2x2's, glued and screwed (and even some angle blackets) and used some door hinges to make it swing out from the wall. Total cost was about $10 compared to several hundred for a commercial wall mount rack system.

OK, I admit it, this is over the top, but I'm a geek. Wife thinks I'm nuts but also doesn't complain about the whole house audio, being able to watch her soaps that she has tivo record (which is in the basement) on any TV in the house, etc. Oh yeah, did I mention the Asterisk VoIP phone system? She likes that too - no more telemarketers. Power bill is a little high though :-)

This open solution

X10 had a niche product - home automation products. Not everyone is willing to replace plugs and switches in their home with x10 enabled smart ones.

And if you are, you're probably getting something of slightly better quality than that you can get from the X10 company itself -- there's several manufacturers making better-quality modules. I use Smarthome's *linc products very happily, although I've heard others complain about their reliablility. I also use a lot of Leviton stuff, which is very solid.

Oh, and Obligatory X10-related Plug: check out my X10-enabled Lego Office.

• SmartHome
  
• PCS
  
• Leviton
  
• ACT/Smart Products
  
• Lightolier
  

The article was a bit (well, a lot) weak, but the link to Siemons was of interest.

The line about choosing the same manufacturer at both ends of the run is bogus. The integrated junction box idea is not. I think the Siemons boxes look very useful.

But when I installed I rejected the Siemons plates (and terminators) for exactly the reason that they liked them: the labelling. I wanted my plates to be as inconspicuous as possible. First off, you don't have to label the wallplate end; a simple layout map (and labels) at the junction box will do the job. If you must label, they can just as easily go behind the plate. To distinguish the phone and Ethernet (both cat5) I simply used an odd color for the Ethernet terminator.

For my own project I chose to go with the Leviton QuickPort line. Back then I had to go to a commercial supply to get it. On a larger project I still would, but now Home Depot carries most of what a HomeNet project needs. The Leviton catalog is pretty informative, too. Here's a link to their integrated network product page.

Leviton makes several X10 products....some better then X10's as well. I don't think they sell direct, but Smarthome sells them for sure....on that note...pop ups do SUCK alot, but that would not stop me from buyinf from X10. Sure, I hate em too, but you have to admit....everyone KNOWS who they are! ;) I would buy from them. Personally, I think thats the only way they will stop popping up is if you bu something. The more people buy, the less they have to spend to get people to buy, so, less popups.....unless they get REAL greedy. Then you will have to rename porn storm X10 XCRUCIATING! ;)