Control4 Wi-Fi and network in Dublin

A Control4 home in Dublin needs proper Wi-Fi and a proper network underneath it: wired access points in the ceilings, a managed switch in the rack and the broadband router doing only what it is good at. Most faults blamed on Control4 are network faults, so we build the network first.

Why the Wi-Fi and network matter in a Control4 home

Every touchscreen, keypad, speaker, camera and television talks over the network. A single broadband router in the hall cannot reach a three storey Dublin house, and it certainly cannot handle forty devices at once. We fit ceiling access points fed by cable, one managed switch, and a rack where every lead is labelled.

Period houses are the test. Thick walls kill Wi-Fi, so we route cable through floor voids and chimney breasts at first fix, and in a finished house we use the existing television and phone points where we can.

• Wired access points. Ceiling mounted, one per floor or more, so the Wi-Fi reaches every room and the garden.
• Managed switch. Control4 traffic separated from guests and streaming, with every port labelled.
• A proper rack. Controller, switch, amplifiers and recorders in one ventilated cabinet, documented for whoever services it next.
• Guest network. Visitors online without seeing your cameras or your system.

The network rescue in Galway was a Control4 house that kept dropping out because of its network, and the Georgian country house upgrade started with a new network before anything else.