Smart homes need a smart design – more power and better connectivity (2025 guide)

OK, you want to set up a smart home, so you rip out and buy a voice assistant speaker or three, security cameras, a robot vacuum, a robot mop and much more. Sorry, but you are going to need a smart design too.

The problem is that architectural design has not caught up with smart design – the need for extra power points, Ethernet connectivity, dedicated areas for smart devices to congregate and better Wi-Fi.

In fact, the most frequent question we get is about Mesh and the need for Ethernet cable backhaul if you truly want whole-of-home coverage. Every new home should have at least one, if not two, Ethernet ports in every bedroom, study, home office, and TV locations. Let’s not forget that these need to connect to the NBN NTD (network termination device), usually placed in the worst possible place (garage) for Wi-Fi coverage.

The second most frequent question is getting enough signal strength for security cameras and video doorbells, often located at the Wi-fI transmission limits. This guide is all about planning for a smart home.

Here are a few smart design tips for your architect and builder.

#1 A dedicated smart home ‘alcove/room’ for your larger gear

Let’s assume that you have a robot vacuum, a stick vacuum, a power mop, a hand vacuum, and perhaps the new self-emptying versions of the above.

It gets messy and takes quite a lot of space just to place these items together. But have you considered that at least one (a power mop) requires a decent laundry sink, and the others need the sink for filter washing and device cleaning? And you need at least four power points.

The robot vacuum needs around 1 metre to back out of its charge bay and to trundle off, and it needs at least a .5m clearance on each side.

Each smart device needs good Wi-Fi, not only where they are stored but also all through the house. A robovac cannot clean where Wi-Fi is patchy.

All up, this alcove needs to be at least 2m x 2m – if not more.

#2 Laundry

While we will always need a separate washing machine and dryer, these are becoming smart too, requiring Wi-Fi. But we are also seeing new ‘steam stylers/pressers’ from LG and Samsung that need power and Wi-Fi. These are energy hogs, which means you will need more than 10A power circuits.

#3 Bathroom – the next frontier. Smart devices need power and storage space

Let’s assume you have at least two smart toothbrushes, a hairdryer, a styler/curler, a rechargeable razor, a beard trimmer, a smart scale, a makeup magnifying mirror, a smart speaker, and possibly a smart mirror and a beauty storage fridge (yes, they exist).

The best thing for these devices is to have a special cupboard with at least four power points spread over four shelves and enough depth to hold them all. It needs to be close to your main mirror as you will use them there.

And soon, we will see smart toilets, touchless taps, baths/showers, heated floors and towel rails that need power and Wi-Fi to run the perfect bath or heat the towels.

#4 Security cameras don’t charge themselves

A security camera typically needs to be at chest height to ensure you record the intruder’s face. While many are battery-operated cameras, the best results are achieved using mains power (recharging is a chore). That means an indoor or outdoor, tamper-proof, weather-resistant power point in the right place.

It also applies to video doorbells, smart buzzers, and chimes, all of which need power (usually an 8-24V AC transformer for permanent charging) and Wi-Fi.

Solar panels can help power cameras if you have the right east/west aspect, but these don’t run spotlight or floodlight cameras.

#5 TV

The TV is one of the biggest data hogs, more so if you stream 4K content. It usually has a soundbar/subwoofer, Blu-ray player, media player, set-top box (Foxtel or Fetch), and probably a games console and a tablet to look things up. You may also have a home theatre amplifier.

Ideally, the TV is wall-mounted, centred at typical eye height (approx. 1 metre), or on a desktop just a little lower to avoid off-angle viewing and colour and detail washout.

But imagine the mess of wires—14 if you include power points centred around the TV. The answer is a false wall (see our TV Guide Confused about TV tech? That’s just what they want!), and most of these devices need an Ethernet, not Wi-Fi, connection to the router, so an Ethernet Switch is required.

Over time, you will change many of these devices, so you need easy access to the concealed wiring to make changes.

To emphasise, Wi-Fi streaming of 4K content does not cut it—Ethernet does. A single power point won’t cut it when a TV consumes half the available power. Media room experts recommend four 10A circuits for this area alone.

 #6 Work from Home

While most PCs and laptops top out at 100W (a 10A circuit has 2400W), you might have single or dual monitors, a printer, a task light and a phone charger there. Experts suggest at least a dedicated 10A circuit and 6 GPOs to cover this.

#7 Smart Speakers and Displays

Some 7 million Australian households (out of a total of 10 million) now have at least one smart speaker (1.9 average). 24% of those have three or more devices, and 61% plan to purchase more speakers. The primary use is streaming audio or radio, followed by general questions. Google has about 85% of the market, Amazon (Alexa) 10% and Apple (Siri) 4%.

Each speaker needs a power point and decent Wi-Fi connectivity to stream music from Spotify and more. The key issue here is that the ideal placement on desks, sideboards, food prep benches, etc., is generally too far from a power point. And as you place them further away from the router (see #10 router central), the signal becomes unusable.

In our home, we now have seven smart speakers (including three battery-operated portables for moveable music to the pool, deck, and balcony) and three with display screens for Google Duo video calling and as bedside clocks. We could connect at least two more (soundbars), but the home is not big enough.

And an honourable mention to air purifiers, smart fans/heaters, thermostats, smart window blinds and more. They all need power points (heaters can use 2400W 10A by themselves). Smart means they all need Wi-Fi access.

#8 Indoor smart lights

Most homes have between 50 and 100 downlights (an average of four per room plus hallways, storage, etc.). Homes have come a long way since the single 100W light fitting in the centre of a room.

While most people should have replaced 60W halogen bulbs with 5W LEDs, there is a trend to using smart downlights. These are now affordable (under $20 white and $30 RGB). Even halogen bulb replacements (white 5W GU 5.3 2-pin) are edging closer to $10 each.

Do the math – if you have 50 x 60W halogens, that is 3 kilowatts (at about $2.10 an hour) versus 250W 1/4 kilowatt (20 cents an hour). You can usually save enough energy in a year or so to pay for a total refit.

Smart lights are a no-brainer, especially in high-use areas, “Google turn on/off lounge lights” and my favourite, “Google turn everything off”.

Smart lights are usually DIY retrofittable by changing the bulb (5W), removing the old downlight fitting and plugging in a smart one, or using an Edison Screw or Bayonet cap equivalent. There are even low-energy fluorescent replacements.

#9 Outdoor smart lights

The old days of a Para flood (PAR 38) to light up the yard (or with a motion sensor for the driveway) are gone. You can replace 100W para floods with E27 18W LED lamps providing 1100 lumens for <$30.

But the trend is to do a smart lighting plan using smart lights. Eufy outdoor smart lights include Bollards, spots, wall, ambience, strip and pedestal, requiring DC power. So, before you think those bollards would be nice, work out how to get power from the nearest 240V power point via a series of waterproof, low-voltage extension cables. And work out how you are going to get Wi-Fi (or, in this case, the Hue Bridge ZigBee controller) to cover your garden when Wi-Fi has a maximum of 30 metres of coverage.

While we are at it, a smart mower needs Wi-Fi and power too. I don’t know about you, but most homes have <4 external power points.

If you have a ‘man-shed’, a.k.a. garage, work out how you will get power, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi to that, too. Read Extend in-house internet to out-house (network).

#10 Router central

This is the control centre where every Ethernet cable and Wi-Fi device must have robust, error-free communication. First, read our guide Fix Wi-Fi blackspots fast and often at no cost, as it will tell you where to place the router and how to cover a whole home.

As homes become smarter, the router demands increase. In our home (and there are only two of us), we have about 45 smart devices (TV, Audio, computers/IT, security, cleaning, gadgets, and smart lights), and we may soon convert the remaining 40 or so downlights.

In addition, we have a separate Eufy Smart Hub and Philips Hue bridge to keep those devices off the home Wi-Fi network.

The primary rule here is to ensure your router has adequate 2.4Ghz bandwidth. The TP-Link Deco BE85 Wi-Fi 7 BE22000 tri-band mesh router – If you feel the need for massive, distributed speed has 1.376Gbps of 2.4Ghz bandwidth and manages up to 200 Wi-Fi connections (over the router and two satellites). It has 12 streams, and most NBN vendor-supplied modems are flat out supporting 10-20 connections.

We have mentioned Ethernet cabling. There needs to be at least one, if not more, ports in every room, and we suggest you include bathrooms, laundry, decks, garages, and covered outdoor spaces. Ethernet Cat 6 can run up to 100 metres from a patch panel and be used as a backhaul for a Wi-Fi Mesh Extender, as power (Power-over-Ethernet), to connect video doorbells, and more. If in doubt, put an Ethernet port there anyway. When building a new home Ethernet ports cost about $80 each but retrofitting can cost twice that.

Another great option is to use Ethernbet over Power, Powerline adapters from D-Link or TP-Link. They are about $200 per pair and inject Ethernet into power points so you can distribute this over the home.

CyberShack View – give this smart design guide to your architect or home designer.

We wrote this because we receive a constant stream of questions about smart homes, usually about why they are not working.

A few rules for smart home, smart design

• You need a lot more power points (power circuits) in many different places – not one per room!
• Ideally, one Ethernet point per room – more if you have a TV in there. It is suitable for mesh Wi-Fi backhaul.
• A well-located Wi-Fi router that will cope with the level of smart home equipment.
• A new centrally located utility room where you can store, charge, launch and clean robovacs etc.
• Consideration of outdoor security camera, lighting and Wi-Fi access

Smart design, Smart design, Smart design, Smart design, Smart design