What to decide before your electrician starts a new house

Before the electrician starts a new house, the technology decisions should already be on the table.

Not final product choices.

Not every touchscreen, amplifier, camera model or speaker brand.

The important early decisions are simpler than that: where cables must go, where equipment will live, which rooms need technology, what must be wired now, and what should be prepared for later.

If those decisions are not made before electrical first fix, the electrician is forced to make assumptions. Some assumptions will be reasonable. Some will be wrong. The problem is that wrong assumptions become expensive once walls, ceilings, cabinetry, paving and finishes are complete.

This is the meeting I would rather have before the electrician starts.

Decide where the head-end will be

The first decision is the head-end.

This is the place where the home’s technology equipment comes together. It may be a rack room, AV cupboard, server room, garage cabinet, DB-room area or properly designed equipment cabinet.

Before the electrician starts, decide:

• where fibre will enter the home;
• where the router and network switches will sit;
• where CCTV recording equipment will live;
• where audio, DStv, video distribution and automation equipment may be housed;
• how cables will enter the space;
• whether there is enough power;
• whether the space has ventilation;
• whether the equipment remains accessible after handover.

If the head-end is not decided, cable routes cannot be properly decided.

That is why DG Technologies treats the head-end as a construction decision, not a late equipment decision.

Related reading: why a new build needs a head-end room before it needs gadgets.

Decide which rooms need proper Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is often left until the end because internet feels like an ISP problem.

In a serious home, that is too late.

The electrician and technology contractor should know where Wi-Fi access points will be installed before ceilings close. Access points need data cabling back to the network cabinet or head-end. They also need PoE power, sensible placement and future access.

For each floor, decide:

• where people will work;
• where TVs and streaming devices will be used;
• where phones and tablets must roam reliably;
• whether patios, pool areas, garages or outbuildings need coverage;
• whether thick walls, concrete slabs or long passages will affect signal;
• whether access points can be reached for maintenance.

The answer is rarely a single router in a cupboard.

For new homes, Wi-Fi should be designed as part of the building. See professional networking and Wi-Fi design.

Decide every TV point before walls and joinery are final

A TV point is not just a socket behind a screen.

Before the electrician starts chasing or piping, decide:

• which rooms need TVs;
• the rough screen size;
• the mounting height;
• whether the TV is on a plain wall, feature wall, cabinet, lift or bracket;
• whether the source equipment will be local or centralised;
• whether the route needs HDMI, Cat6, fibre HDMI, DStv or control wiring;
• whether the conduit is large enough for real connectors;
• whether the route can be serviced later.

DG’s planning defaults have long treated important TV routes as direct routes back to the head-end or equipment location, with conduit sized properly for the cable pull.

The important principle is simple: decide the route before the wall becomes expensive.

Related reading: smart wiring for new homes and TV walls need AV planning before joinery and stonework.

Decide where cameras need to see, not only where they can mount

CCTV should not be designed from convenient cable routes only.

Before the electrician starts, decide what the camera system must actually see:

• vehicle gates;
• pedestrian gates;
• driveways;
• garage doors;
• boundary approaches;
• staff entrances;
• delivery areas;
• outdoor entertainment spaces;
• blind spots around the home.

Camera routes may need conduit, Cat6, PoE, junction boxes, protected outdoor routes, future provision or local cabinet planning. If paving, walls, columns, ceilings and landscaping are already complete, a clean route may no longer be available.

The camera view and cable route should be planned together.

See CCTV and security planning.

Decide intercom, gate and access-control requirements early

Gate and door technology often touches several trades.

There may be power, network, relays, readers, intercoms, maglocks, strikes, exit buttons, gate motors, pedestrian access and remote release requirements.

Before the electrician starts, decide:

• where the intercom will be mounted;
• how visitors will call the house;
• which gates and doors need release control;
• whether access is by tag, keypad, app, touchscreen or phone;
• whether staff access needs separate planning;
• whether the gate/intercom system must work during power failures;
• whether camera coverage should support the intercom view.

Once gate columns, boundary walls, driveways and finishes are complete, adding missed routes can become messy.

Access control and CCTV should usually be discussed together, not as separate afterthoughts.

Decide which rooms need audio

Audio wiring is easy to install when ceilings are open and painful to add later.

Before first fix, decide:

• which rooms need background music;
• which outdoor areas need audio;
• which rooms should play together;
• which rooms need independent control;
• where speakers should sit relative to lighting, air-conditioning and furniture;
• whether any speaker location needs extra ceiling depth or access;
• where speaker cables return.

This is not about forcing every room to have speakers. It is about avoiding regret when the lounge, kitchen, patio or main bedroom should clearly have had cabling.

For many homes, good audio planning also creates useful future access because speaker openings can sometimes help with maintenance routes when planned properly.

See multi-room audio.

Decide whether a cinema room is real, future or not required

A cinema room affects more than the screen.

If a cinema or media room may happen now or later, decide this before the electrician starts:

• screen wall position;
• projector or TV approach;
• projector power and signal route;
• speaker positions;
• subwoofer routes;
• lighting-control requirements;
• seating position;
• rack or source equipment location;
• acoustic treatment allowance.

Even if the client does not buy the cinema equipment immediately, preparing the room properly during construction can protect the future.

See home cinema rooms.

Decide fibre and DStv routes before service providers arrive

Fibre and satellite routes are often treated casually because outside service providers are involved.

That can create problems.

Before the electrician starts, decide:

• where fibre enters the property;
• how the fibre route reaches the head-end;
• where the ONT and router will live;
• where the dish can be mounted with line of sight;
• how the dish route gets back to the head-end;
• whether DStv distribution or future decoder locations are required.

If the fibre provider puts equipment in the wrong place, the whole network may start from the wrong location. If the dish route is chosen late, the cable path may become visible, awkward or difficult to service.

See DStv distribution and why the fibre ONT should share the protected network power path.

Decide lighting-control expectations before the DB is wired

Lighting control must be discussed before the electrical DB and circuiting are final.

The owner should decide:

• which rooms need scenes;
• which circuits should dim;
• which circuits only need on/off control;
• where keypads or smart switches should sit;
• whether outdoor lights, pathways, garages and entertainment areas need logic;
• whether loads are compatible with the intended control method;
• whether there is enough DB or panel space for control equipment.

Not every circuit needs dimming.

That matters. A smart decision may be to spend on the areas where scenes genuinely change the room and keep simpler areas on reliable switching.

This is exactly the kind of decision that should happen before wiring is fixed.

See lighting control and why lighting control design starts with circuits, not keypads.

Decide which systems need protected power

Load shedding and power instability change technology planning in South Africa.

Before the electrician starts, decide which technology circuits should be protected:

• router and fibre ONT;
• core network switch;
• Wi-Fi access points;
• CCTV recorder and cameras;
• gate and intercom equipment;
• automation processor;
• critical AV equipment;
• remote-support equipment.

This does not mean everything belongs on backup power. Heavy loads and non-essential systems should be considered carefully.

But if the network, CCTV and automation equipment are not powered correctly, the client may still lose important functions even with an inverter or solar system.

See why online double-conversion UPS still matters with solar and inverters.

Decide what must be wired now and what can wait

One of the most useful conversations is what not to buy yet.

The client may not need every camera, speaker, keypad, amplifier or screen on day one. But the building may still need preparation.

Before the electrician starts, decide:

• which systems are being installed now;
• which systems are future-only;
• which future routes are worth protecting;
• where spare conduits should go;
• where draw boxes must remain accessible;
• where draw wire is required;
• which cabinet or rack space should be left open.

Good planning gives the client options without forcing unnecessary day-one spend.

This is where an experienced technology integrator can save money by separating infrastructure from equipment.

The electrician needs decisions, not vague intentions

Telling the electrician “we may do automation later” is not enough.

The project team needs actual decisions:

• head-end location;
• access point positions;
• TV routes;
• camera positions;
• gate and intercom routes;
• speaker zones;
• fibre and dish paths;
• lighting-control circuit requirements;
• protected power requirements;
• spare conduit and draw box locations.

Those decisions do not remove the electrician’s role. They make the electrician’s work more accurate.

A good electrician and a good technology integrator should make each other’s work easier.

Make the technology meeting happen before first fix

The best time to solve these questions is before the electrician starts installing routes that become difficult to change.

For a new home in Durban, Umhlanga, Ballito, Zimbali, Simbithi, Mount Edgecombe, Hillcrest or elsewhere in KZN, DG Technologies can review the drawings and help define the low-voltage technology layer before first fix.

That includes home automation, networking, CCTV, access control, DStv distribution, multi-room audio, cinema rooms and lighting control.

Start with the architect smart-home specification guide or the new luxury home technology checklist.