4 Simple Reasons Why Choosing CAT 7 Cable Really Pays Off
06/17/2014 in Know How
What is CAT 7 cable?
A Category 7 cable (CAT 7) is used for the cabling infrastructure of Gigabit Ethernet with performance of up to 600MHz. Put simply, a CAT 7 cable is what we recommend you use when wiring your smart home.
The Loxone Cat7 cable is designed to run a network when wiring a smart home. If you are looking to buy an ethernet Cat7 cable to simply plug into a router or switch we recommend the AmazonBasics RJ45 Cat7 Network Ethernet Patch Cable
What’s the difference between CAT 5, CAT 6 & CAT 7 cable?
You might be wondering whether it’s worth your while to consider CAT 7 cable. CAT 7 cable differs from preceding Ethernet cable standards including CAT 5 and CAT 6 in several ways, however, one of the greatest advantages of CAT 7 cable is the shielding of its twisted pairs, which significantly improve noise resistance.
CAT 7 cable, whilst being the more expensive option, is also considered the most durable, and has a longer lifespan than CAT 5 and CAT 6, improving its overall return on investment, and is the best choice for wiring with the future in mind.
Isn’t CAT 7 much more expensive?
CAT 7 is going to cost you more, there’s no getting around that at the moment. However, the average price for 250m / 820ft of CAT 6 cable is $193 (taking the average price of the first four Google Shopping results for CAT 6 250m), so in terms of price, there’s around $25 difference per 250m length compared to the CAT 7.
The average house will usually require at least 750 meters / 2500ft of cable, which is three boxes of cable. That works out at a $74 difference between the average CAT 6 price and the CAT 7… not as bad as perhaps as it first appears, especially when you consider the costs involved in the grand scheme of building a house.
Why CAT 7 cable?
1.) It Works
We test all of our products using our own CAT 7 cable so we know that by using CAT 7, you’re going to get a reliable Smart Home that works, every time.
2.) One Step Ahead
Life can be unpredictable to say the least, so it makes sense to plan your new home with the future in mind. With a CAT 7 cable, you can create an expandable and flexible cabling system which will save you the expense of re-wiring for new features in the future!
3.) Greater Copper Cross Section
Want more power and less voltage drop? Then opt for CAT 7 cable, as it has a larger copper cross-section than the CAT 5. This also means the individual cores in CAT 7 are easier to work with.
4.) Double Shielding
CAT 7 is much more resilient to interference compared to a CAT 5 cable. Why? CAT 7 has an overall shield as well as individual shielding of every pair.
Is there a way to cut down on cables in my smart home?
Actually yes! Thanks to Loxone Tree, you can reduce the number of cables that need to be run within the home. Loxone Tree is a free-form wiring topology which allows you to connect devices on a room by room basis, rather than wiring individual devices back to a central point like you would in a star wiring topology.
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