Wi-fi is very bad for human cellular function. So to build a healthier home, use cabled connections and avoid smart devices/ appliances. Cat 5 also gives a better connection.

CAT5 is a cabling standard for Ethernet, basically a wired network connection. You probably don’t need it as so many devices today use WiFi. Unless your Roku has a Ethernet port (most don’t) you wouldn’t need it for that. If your computing needs are more “mobile” - laptop in the lap, tablet, smartphone you wouldn’t need it for those either.

You may want coax or CAT5 for an actual television depending on what your provider uses or if you have a “smart” TV and just want to wire it (most have WiFi built in).

Because it’s a physical connection Ethernet isn’t subject to interference like WiFi and is more secure (but that advantage is lost if you have WiFi on the same network).

Thanks so much for your reply, really helpful! We have a smart TV and mainly use it for Netflix etc.

Does it increase/boost the WiFi signal or just act as a useful foundation if WiFi is temporary? I was told that cat5 means we could extend WiFi signal to the garden/have stronger WiFi in our loft room.....but not sure how that works!

Thanks

If Wi-fi is bad for "human cellular function" then good luck with cell signals. Much higher power. Wifi - as most know - is fairly short distance and thus fairly low power.

Since the majority of people have laptops, I doubt many are going to live without Wi-Fi. I have 10 devices connected right now.... Things like garage door, lighting timers, pool automation. It adds up....

Most people really do cat-6 nowadays. More modern wire. No huge benefit today but more future proof.

I use Roku's on a few TV's. I have wired cable at one location but the Roku wireless modem is in fact faster than their wired version. Go figure. I have a wire and use wireless. Flawlessly I might add.

My last house I went crazy with Cat-5 and regretted the wasted time. I did very little with this house but I am having to fish a wire and do one because our Samsung smart TV is absolutely horrible with our router (ATT so can't change it). Have to reboot every morning. So wired is definitely helpful but you might not use it.

"Wi-fi is very bad for human cellular function"

Oh, nonsense. Cite a credible source!

"Wi-fi routers are weaker transmitters even than mobile phone masts, and users sit away from them. The level of energy produced by a Wi-Fi router is very low, far too low to be able to disrupt DNA, so there is no mechanism for it to be carcinogenic."

Forget CAT5. Use CAT6A instead. It can handle much higher bandwidths and is comparable to CAT7 and is more expensive than CAT5, now almost obsolete by today’s standards and bandwidth needs.

We installed close to 3000ft of CAT6A in our new home. You may ask why that much; every location has a pair of CAT6A cables just in case one gets damaged during drywall, we suffered such damage to a CAT6A cable at one of our outlets. Despite having standard cable at each of 8 TV outlets, each is accompanied by a pair of CAT6A cables for data streaming. I work in technology, hence have a need for speed and connectivity for our servers and workstations. For WiFi we have various routers on different LANs, including Orbi and others

This may sound an overkill for you but it’s worth considering CAT6A to future proofing your installation.

We have whatever the electrician put in but it was a huge waste of money running it to so many different spaces.

We have panel in the garage and that’s where everything comes from. The tv pvr on the main is hardwired but everything else is connected wirelessly with two boosters in the house. 4500 square foot house. We have never had an issue.

If I could go back again I’d do less wiring not more.

We also didn’t do any wiring for sound and have wireless speakers and again no regrets.

The house I have lived in for 15 years has Cat5 cabling running to every room. It came with the house, so not my design, but I'm generally happy I have it. My house is spread out and has poor wifi reception in some areas. This is a problem that nowadays can be pretty much solved with a mesh system. However, even with one, I occasionally have dropouts or intermittent problems so I am glad to have access to the Cat5 wiring for a few devices.

In that context, I'd say:

1. Cabling is a good idea

2. Install the latest spec: Cat6

3. Think long and hard about the best location for the outlets in each room vis-a-vis where TVs, computers, and other devices might be placed. If you end up with your computer desk on one side of the room and the outlet on the other, having a 20' Ethernet cable running from one to the other is not ideal.

No way would I do Cat5. Do at least Cat6. Cat6a even better, and now there is Cat7 which shines at shorter distances.

Does it increase/boost the WiFi signal or just act as a useful foundation if WiFi is temporary? I was told that cat5 means we could extend WiFi signal to the garden/have stronger WiFi in our loft room.....but not sure how that works!

Ethernet has nothing to do with the WiFi signal. Think of an old fashioned corded telephone, you're limited to a jack in the wall and however long the cord may be. That's Ethernet. WiFi is more like a cordless (not cell) phone. Base station and then phones phones you can walk around the house with. Instead of a base station you have a WiFi router and computers, tablets, and smartphone that you can move about without a cord.

You can use an Ethernet connection to "extend" your WiFi range with a second router. It takes a bit of knowledge/fiddling to set up but it is a relatively inexpensive and effective way to add WiFi coverage (as long as you can to the work yourself). Far less problematic than PowerLine and greater bandwidth than an extender. The other option is to use what's called a "mesh" network. It's basically a kit that's far more expensive but don't require much technical skill to set up.

And as others have mentioned CAT5 is an older standard. CAT6a or whatever the latest greatest version would be better.

I'm in IT. So maybe I'm overkill in my thinking but I would run Cat6A to every place you think you'll have a TV. I would also run it to any place you'll have a printer. I'd put one any place you think you'll put a wireless access point. Lastly I'd run a couple to any spot you might put a camera. Any run over 300' you'll want a fiber run. Technically it is a smidge more than 300' but if it goes up and down a wall then you've hit the 300' mark plus. Remember - cat6A not cat6.

I'd run CAT6a because I'm running 10g at home and I'm planning on moving to 100g at some point which CAT6a can't handle. I think a NORMAL person should be well served by 10g which works on cat6a. 1g is barely enough for 4K with DTS-MA (if your source is disc - with the awful compression on some streaming sources it is much lower but I hate overly compressed audio and video. My guess is with 8K you'll exceed the 1g by a significant amount unless something much better than h.265 comes along. Many APs already support 2.5g so cat5 won't cut it. You'll probably see faster than 1g from the ISP within 5 years - so if you plan on keeping your home more than 5 years you might want to think about that.

That being said there may come some new 802.11ax tech down the road which has a longer range and higher bandwidth but until then you'll find streaming with current tech is much better suited for wired.

Why would one need 8 TVs in their house?

@boe dillard, wall of jargon.

Strategy - I'll try to speak at your level - cable for big box with people in it also called actors. cable for security cameras - steals your soul. Cables for wireless - pretty sure I've probably lost you with that. Or to put it terms your might be more familiar with - Unga Bunga

Thanks so much everyone! This is helpful and appreciate the replies :)

Very small input: how much extra is it going to cost to add the ethernet cabling? I've got a place that has wifi reception issues, very hard in our case to do cabling afterwards (lots of concrete), and I wish we had it. It's been surprisingly painful to resolve the reception/wiring issues (although so far doing on the cheap).

Obviously it's one thing if it's $500 extra while doing the rest of the house stuff, another thing if it's expensive.

An option that may or may not be practical or money-saving: it is possible to run conduit (tubes) that are empty except for twine to pull cable later. That way in future you could pull whatever is best then. Mind, you'd still have to deal with outlets and attachments etc, but it's at least a possibility.

Well, most people don't have lots of concrete. Most people have attics and/or basements. So advice is usually geared towards most people. If I had concrete - I would do lots of conduit.

Low voltage wire is cheap and doesn't require an electrician. So the cost paid is extremely variable - basically how much of a sucker the owner is. 1000 ft is $200 or so. Since it is so cheap, you can usually run it it the easiest way rather than drilling holes.

A skilled person could do several drops per hour in most houses. So $500 should be enough for 10 drops in most houses. The actual charge is usually much higher than that.

Armoured - if it is during the initial build - about $100 per drop or less depending on where you live. If it is in a house after a build it can easily be $500 as homeowners complain about dust on their carpet, drywall patches and every detail as it is their home - hard to find a wiring person after the house is built. Business owners usually don't have as nice constructions and often have drop ceilings making it vastly easier and they typically aren't going to notice every detail. If it is after the fact I recommend people hide it behind molding if possible.

Thanks for the info - even at $100 a drop, I'd do it during a build.

Agreed part of it is not just the wiring but the faceplace and patch panel.

@tyest1989: 8 TV's? Five bedrooms, Family Room. Kitchen area and Media Room.

@boe dillard, Patch panel for residential? You nerd.

holy god I am exhausted just reading this. With 5G around the corner, and the easy of wifi extenders and boosters, I am not sure why you'd bother with all that. Everything is optimized for connecting via wireless these days, it feels like.

All wireless is an excellent option for new builds and sometimes the only viable option for existing construction.

Wireless extenders/boosters are convenient and simple but relatively poor in performance. Mesh networks are a great option. The leading edge for wireless are wireless access points (WAP) but these require a *wired* connection back to router/switch, therefore can be a challenge to add later.

All-wireless is a great option for new builds when everything works perfectly. My house is spread out, has several levels, and obstruction caused by concrete and steel roofs. It took a 4-pod mesh system to get pretty good coverage, and some devices still work better with a wired connection, so I’m glad I’m also wired for Cat5.

I would forget the cabling I this day and age. New wireless protocols are incredibly fast and if coverage is an issue, mesh networks have gotten pretty cheap and will extend coverage through a very large house.. Comcast’s Xfinity wireless range extends through my 1600 sq ft houshe. The access point is in the far end of the house an dit works in the basement , the far side out into my garage and indded on my back deck At the far end of the house. Save your money and put in decent wireless system. At wok I don’t remember the last time I saw a device connected to an Ethernet port.

For our build, a 1-story with unfinished basement, I had a conduit drop from every wall of every room (well, except the bathrooms) into the basement. I ran CAT6 or coax only as required. Plus a CAT6 run to multiple places in the soffits for eventual cameras (which you don't want to run via WiFi), so I don't have to climb in the attic as I install cameras.

If you plan on sticking with mostly WiFi, which is indeed getting more viable, consider where your primary WiFi access point (AP) will be, which is likely close to where your internet feed (cable, fiber) comes into the house (basement? utility room?). From there, consider running CAT6 or conduit to a couple of places where you may need secondary WiFi access points. For example a den or office or loft. That way, if you find your WiFi signal from the primary AP doesn't reach where you want, you plug in a secondary and extend the range.

For us, we had the "low-voltage guy", who was installing the alarm system (and central vac in our case) do all the CAT6 & conduit runs. Cheaper than having the electrician do it.

Wireless is fine until it isn't, and for some uses, it's not enough, and putting new wire in can be a pain; some times not difficult, but sometimes it is, and if you then need to do cosmetic work after, costs rise considerably. And I'd echo the points of bradsmith - all very well to say you don't need wired connections, but what if you need something with power? Then you need something wired anyway. PoE very flexible in that regard.

That said, nothing against wireless, it's fantastic what works now over wireless, but it also has limitations - and my experience has been you run up against them sooner than you think. Everyone's experience varies though.

We just finished our new home; it is a three level triplex in a gut-renovated brownstone. We had an AV company come and do all of the cabling and running back to our main stack as well and surround sound and security cameras (exterior). We ran cat6a to every room with a tv (we have 6, and tbh idgaf if anyone thinks that is too many, ha. We included it to our outdoor tv as well). We dropped cable for any future cameras we might want to add/in kids bedrooms, my husbands office, printer, etc. you do have to plan for where a TV will eventually live. My husband has quite a few networks running across our house, does a lot with Plex, and our speeds are blazing fast with little dependence on wifi.
We also had them do several WAPs to ensure excellent wifi coverage; for those things WORK. We have amazing WiFi throughout.