Hardware You'll Need to Network Your Smart Home
When you're getting ready to network your home to turn it into a smart home, you might be surprised at how many cables, cords, connectors, jacks, controllers, panels, and other gadgets it takes. The following tables break down the basic hardware you'll need to network your home.
Video Distribution Network
| Stuff You Need |
Quantity You Need |
| RG-6 coaxial cable with F connectors |
For a two-way network, two runs from each viewing room to the
central distribution point |
| Wall outlets |
One per remote viewing room housing two female connectors |
| Video distribution panel |
One, located in the central wiring closet |
| Cable set-top box/satellite receiver |
One per TV location is typical |
Audio Distribution Network (Single Amplifier)
| Stuff You Need |
Quantity You Need |
| Single-zone or multizone integrated amplifier or receiver |
One (multizone systems contain one stereo amplifier per
zone) |
| Impedance-matching system |
One |
| Speakers |
Two per room (can be in-wall or free-standing speakers) |
| In-wall speaker cable (16 AWG minimum) |
One run between the media room and each remote location |
| RCA audio patch cords |
(Usually) one set per audio component |
| In-wall speaker wire outlets |
Two per remote area (if in-wall speakers aren't being
used) |
| IR control network (with multizone IR zone distribution block
for one multizone system) |
One |
Remote Control Network for A/V Equipment
| Stuff You Need |
Quantity You Need |
| CAT-5e/6 cabling |
One run from each remote location to the media room |
| Wall-mounted IR sensors or remote keypads |
One sensor or keypad per remote location |
| CAT-5e/6 A/V control system |
One installed in wiring closet or media room |
| IR emitters |
One per audio source device being controlled in media room |
Telephone Network
| Stuff You Need |
Quantity You Need |
| 4-pair CAT-5e UTP cabling |
One run from wiring closet to each outlet |
| Modular wall outlets with female RJ-45 jacks |
One per telephone extension |
| Telephone patch cords with male RJ-45 plugs |
One per telephone extension |
| Telephone patch panel mounted in wiring closet |
One |
| CAT-5e UTP cable to connect patch
panel |
One run per incoming line to incoming lines from telephone
company NID |
| Key Service Unit (KSU) (optional) |
One |
Computer LAN
| Stuff You Need |
Quantity You Need |
| 4-pair CAT-5e/6 UTP cabling |
One run from wiring closet to each outlet (put extra runs in
the home office and home theater/media room) |
| Modular wall outlets with female RJ-45 jacks |
One jack per computer or networked device, and one extra for
your broadband modem |
| CAT-5e/6 UTP patch cords with male RJ-45 plugs |
One patch cord per computer or network printer |
| CAT-5e/6 rated patch panel mounted in wiring closet |
One (can be the same one that works with the phone
network) |
| Home router/Ethernet switch |
Minimum of one router/switch in your wiring closet (additional
hubs can be installed at remote outlets to allow connection of
several computers to a single outlet) |
| Wireless LAN access point (optional) |
One or more in larger homes |
| Cable modem or DSL modem (optional) |
One |
