Smart Home Wiring London — Cat6a Structured Cabling

Cat6a (10 GbE to 100m, F/UTP shielded) for any residential install — it futureproofs you for 10 GbE access points and 8K AV streaming, supports PoE++ to 90W and the connectors are standard RJ45. Cat7 has non-standard GG45 connectors that nobody uses in residential. Cat8 is a data-centre standard (up to 40 GbE but only over 30m runs) — irrelevant to homes. Default Cat6a everywhere.

PoE+ (802.3at) delivers 30W per port — enough for Wi-Fi 6E APs, 4MP cameras, IP phones and small NVR cameras. PoE++ (802.3bt Type 3 = 60W, Type 4 = 90W) delivers more — needed for PTZ cameras, 8MP cameras, thermal cameras, larger Wi-Fi 7 APs and LED downlight networks. We specify PoE++ on the patch switch when the load demands it.

In order of preference: (1) ventilated loft with structural support and access ladder — out of the way, good cable run radials, (2) garage or external plant room — easy access, good thermal management, but check rodent risk, (3) under-stairs nook — convenient but watch for thermal buildup, (4) dedicated AV cupboard. Hot or sealed locations (boiler cupboard) ruin the kit. We survey for the best fit per house.

You should think of Wi-Fi 6E as the device-access layer and Cat6a as the backhaul layer — they are complementary, not alternatives. One Cat6a backhaul per floor to a ceiling-mounted PoE Wi-Fi 6E AP gives you full coverage with no mesh latency, no wireless drop-out and no signal loss through solid walls. Pure mesh (no Cat6a) works in flats and small open-plan spaces but degrades fast in any L-shaped or multi-floor London house.

Openreach (or CityFibre, Hyperoptic, Community Fibre) installs the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) at the boundary — usually inside the front hallway. The ONT outputs a Cat6 patch to your router. We mount the ONT inside the patch cabinet on commissioning, run the boundary fibre into the cabinet during install and let the router live in the cabinet too. Clean, accessible, no hallway clutter.

Yes — HDBaseT 3.0 over Cat6a carries 4K HDR / 4:4:4 to 100m, and HDBaseT 4.0 supports 8K. For shorter runs (≤15m) HDMI 2.1 fibre or direct HDMI run is simpler. We design AV cabling alongside the data cabling — distributing satellite, Sky Q, Apple TV and a cinema room projector from one rack to multiple displays via HDBaseT extenders or NDI over Cat6a.

New build (or major refit with floor up): Cat6a chased into walls under flush back-boxes, run via radials in the screed or first-fix conduit. Clean, invisible, fully BS EN 50173 compliant. Retrofit (existing house, no demolition): surface dado-level trunking, ceiling void runs through cornices, loft drops to first floor, riser cupboards where they exist. Slower, more visible, but every London terrace we have wired ends up with a good clean install if planned well.

In walls: oval PVC conduit chased in, plastered over — invisible. In ceilings: rectangular conduit clipped to joists, boarded over. Surface (where chasing is impractical — solid concrete walls, listed buildings, conservation areas): white or paintable PVC mini-trunking at dado level, neat 90-degree turns, screwed to wall. We always present both options on survey with photos so you can choose the trade-off.

It documents that every cable has been tested (channel-performance tested with a Fluke DSX or equivalent), that the terminations meet the standard, that the patch panel is correctly labelled and that the channel loss budget is within spec for 10 GbE operation. Critical for warranty claims and for any future installer coming in — they know what they are working with.

For a domestic install with NVR cameras — yes, a 1 kVA UPS keeps the router, PoE switch and NVR running for 30–90 minutes during a power cut, which covers any short outage and most break-in attempts. For data-only cabinets without cameras — optional but recommended for working-from-home households. We size and specify on survey.