House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire
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So I am redoing my basement due to water damage. Now is the time to upgrade cabling.
I am running speaker wire for surround sound, and also new CAT cable. I have a HUGE box of Cat5e. I was going to use that, or get CAT6.
Looking for opinions on 2 things.
- Cat 5E VS Cat 6. - For home use, streaming content, etc, does it really matter?
- If I run unshielded CAT cable, how close can I run it to the Speaker Wire. I am planning on 16 or 14 gauge speaker wire, and the wire will just be used for satellite speakers (not a lot of voltage) Is it OK to run the cables together in the same channel/conduit?
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The two main differences between cat 5e and newer standards are bandwidth potential and possible shielding. For the content delivery you mentioned, 5e will provide all the capacity you need. I would only consider a higher standard if you needed a fast internal network for something you were doing on your home network. If all you are doing is primarily accessing the internet for streaming or the like, then 5e will be more than enough, because you internet speed will likely be far below the 1gbps standard for 5e. Going to cat 6 and above is something that should considered only when you have specific needs that those other cables satisfy. It is not a simple case of cat 7 > cat 6 > cat 5e. Each standard has specific uses, most of the differences have to do with things like shielding, twisting, termination style, and bandwidth potential. IMO, if this is a simple home network, stick with 5e.
I cannot comment on running next to speaker wire, I dont know. But I would personally probably run them together.
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Speaker wire shouldn't interfere with the CAT cabling, even if unshielded. Low voltage things are fine together, it's the high voltage electrical wires you need to avoid.
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CAT6 is better, but if you already own the 5e, I'd use that.
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@Reid-Cooper said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
CAT6 is better, but if you already own the 5e, I'd use that.
you'd have to define "better" for that statement to be true.
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Use what you have, don't splurge for CAT6. Even in the same conduit the speaker wire and ethernet would be fine. Just don't run the cable (either) within a foot of an electrical cable.
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Save your money, don't bother with CAT 6.
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Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
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@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Legally, not likely as it's your home. As a business it's required as a fire protection mechanism (in at least NY). So for this case, likely not. Would it be a decent recommendation, yeah. . sure but it cost more.
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@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs. I'd check you're local building codes to be sure.
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@travisdh1 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs. I'd check you're local building codes to be sure.
Most home construction laws don't require fire retardant cabling, especially for cases like this.
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@DustinB3403 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@travisdh1 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs. I'd check you're local building codes to be sure.
Most home construction laws don't require fire retardant cabling, especially for cases like this.
What about home insurances and maybe home warranty?
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@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@DustinB3403 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@travisdh1 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs. I'd check you're local building codes to be sure.
Most home construction laws don't require fire retardant cabling, especially for cases like this.
What about home insurances and maybe home warranty?
How would they know? If you were building the house new, they could know. But if you are doing the work yourself in a house you live in.
Nor do I think they would have anything to say, unless there is a law stating as much.
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@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
home warranty
haha, thats funny...warranty
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@travisdh1 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs.
why? It's designed for plenum spaces, not basic in-wall runs.
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@Dashrender said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@travisdh1 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs.
why? It's designed for plenum spaces, not basic in-wall runs.
Correct.
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@DustinB3403 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Legally, not likely as it's your home. As a business it's required as a fire protection mechanism (in at least NY). So for this case, likely not. Would it be a decent recommendation, yeah. . sure but it cost more.
Does NY require Plenum rated even if you are not running it in plenum spaces?
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@DustinB3403 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@travisdh1 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs. I'd check you're local building codes to be sure.
Most home construction laws don't require fire retardant cabling, especially for cases like this.
That is not what plenum is.
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@Donahue said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
home warranty
haha, thats funny...warranty
They are super common in some parts of the country, like Texas. In NY, we'd never heard of it.
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@JaredBusch said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@DustinB3403 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@travisdh1 said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
@black3dynamite said in House wiring - CAT and Speaker wire:
Is it necessary to use plenum cables for homes?
Plenum should always be used for in-wall runs. I'd check you're local building codes to be sure.
Most home construction laws don't require fire retardant cabling, especially for cases like this.
That is not what plenum is.
Exactly.
