I did the custom option with my window and motion sensors because of the different voltages.
Although others have already mentioned it, CAT5 (actually, run Cat5e or CAT6) is your friend. It is an incredibly versatile cable that you will use for all sorts of things. Plus, if you are in a dense neighborhood, you will get a lot of WiFi interference, which will not make you happy. That interference could significantly reduce your range in the house.
Here are ways I use or have used CAT5 around the house. Every room is wired with itā¦and coax, since I used a cable bundle.
- Tivo - We have a Roamio and several Tivo Minis, which allow us to watch anything anywhere in the house. They require a wired connection (either ethernet or MoCA) to work.
- HDMI over CAT5 - I installed a TV in our bathroom so my wife can watch the news in the morning or when she is in the tub. I extended video to this location using HDMI over CAT5. Newer technology, such as HDBastT is even better now and it really allows you to centralize all your AV equipment. That means less equipment, which translates to either a money savings OR the ability to get higher end equipment!
- Do you have several computers? CAT5 will make sure you can quickly transfer files between them as well. I have a Mac Mini that serves as a media hub for the AppleTVs throughout the house. I backup everything on that Mac to a NAS. Would be unbearably slow if that was WiFi.
- Power-Over-Ethernet for some devices will also be an option. Many cameras can use POE. You can also use POE to charge an iPad - we do that with one mounted outside the conference room at work.
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@brianlees Thatās almost exactly my setup with Cat5 in the house. But I added my wifi extenders, Apple Airport Expressā, so that I have wired connections for all of them and I use them for AirPlay speakers (with ObyThing).
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You all is fancy folk.
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All good suggestions. 
Anything which streams audio/video Will be much happier on a direct connection instead of Wi-Fi.
That includes Roku/chromecast/AppleTV, Xbox/PlayStation, Netflix, video cameras including baby monitors, all sound systems, etc.
Also, yeah, interference from the neighborsā Wi-Fi. 
. Inside my house, there are six visible Wi-Fi networks, only one of which I control.
CHEAP NOW, EXPENSIVE LATER
If youāre building/finishing a new house, add more circuits and more outlets then you think you could possibly need. Because you will want them. Also, think carefully about whether you might want some outlets high up. If you like the look of LED strips, you have to plug them in somewhere. These are great for lighting on top of kitchen cabinets, and if youāve got an outlet up there, everything looks fantastic.
Add extra outlets near the bed in the master. Thatās so you can charge things overnight, or add additional devices.
WIRING THE OUTDOORS
Think hard about what devices you might want to have outside. Remember that battery powered devices usually wonāt act as repeaters. Many people end up adding a plug on each side of the house just so they can plug-in something to be a repeater. Usually cheaper when you do it to begin with.
The most typical things to put outside are floodlights. Itās very hard to get motion detectors to work correctly outside, itās usually better to go with IR beams or ālaserā trip beam and set up several to cover a zone. That way you avoid most of the false alerts. But whatever they are, they need power, and again, may need repeaters.
If you have anything outdoors that uses a pump, whether itās a pool, fishpond, or sump pump, again think about power for lights and monitoring devices. Also, do you want your sprinkler system controlled by your home automation system.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS
My own needs are a little different than many peopleās, because Iām quadriparetic. So for me itās all about āenvironmental control.ā Hands-free as much as possible, voice control is huge for me, and if I were building a new house, things like electric door strikes so the doors could be opened automatically.
AND A GUY WHO DID IT ALL
Anyway thereās a guy who lives in northern Maine who broke his neck skiing and is quadriplegic. He built a new house from the ground up with a pretty big budget, and itās amazing. He documented most of the project in a blog called Quadomated. Some of it is only relevant to people in wheelchairs, but a lot of it addresses the questions you think about when looking at home automation. Great points on pre wiring decisions, for example.
Now, he started in 2009, which is like two generations ago from home automation standpoint, so you probably wouldnāt make all of the same selections that he did if you started now. But it still helpful stuff to review.
Hereās his blog entry on the wiring. I think he makes some really good points, and heās very specific:
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Assassinate you? No! Lock you in a thermostat, maybe. :3
I believe for the ecobee3 there is going to be a new device type (though, I canāt really speak to it, as I am not the one that knows 100%), however I have previously tested it with the older ecobee device type and it does work. Under the Thermostats section it is the one named āecobee Smart Thermostatā. Gotta say, I do like the ecobee3. Wish the build quality was a little more smooth, but in comparison to others on the market, this one is towards the very top of the list. 
Dependent on your basement you may also want to get water sensors to alarm you when there is flooding. Then you could also have a humidity sensor (if you donāt have one in the thermostat) and use your AC to dehumidify if needed.
All of this is great feedback! Found out a friend of mine has a NEST and he highly highly recommended it to me. I was shying away from some spotty reviews on Amazon, but Iām probably going the NEST route now that my friend had such a high recommendation. Also sounds like its easier to integrate with Smart things than Honeywell.
I was trying to keep initial costs low (since Iām building a new house and all, haha) but you all raise good points about getting as much in ahead of time as possible. I donāt know if Iāll do any outlets directly, but I might try to do more light switches than I initially planned.
@NorCalLights ā You said lots of people use a home automation dashboard for their iPads, is there any one you recommend in particular? Iām not super familiar with Smart things yet, so I didnāt even know you could use a āgenericā app to control it with :).
Regarding Cat5, Iāll think about it. Iāve done lots of streaming and such over wifi without any real issue. I have 30mbps down from my cable company, and my router supports more than that, as I just got 33mbps down from my phone on speed test :). I just have 1 pc (gaming/work rig), and its in the same room as the router, so is hooked up directly. The Smart Things hub will probably go there as well.
Oh, and good call on a moisture sensor in the basement 
Thanks again everyone for the great feedback. To be honest, Iām more excited about buying a SmartThings hub now thanks to the feedback from you all. Canāt wait to be a part of this amazing community.
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SmartTiles.click the best dashboard
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@Direwolf20 if you search the forums for āhome automation dashboardā there are a few threads about the different options. These are usually web-based apps that community members have built specifically for ST.
Just my 2 cents, like many others do the cat5 or 6. I am also building a new home that should be done in June. I ran 2 cat 6 and 2 rg6 quad to every TV location in every room and the screened porch. 2 extra cat 6 to kitchen and one to corner up under eaves of house for a future Poe ip security Camara, I also ran some tubes in the walls at some locations for running additional wires in the future. I believe in only using wifi for portable devices, I want cat 6 for my smart tv,s and roku devices and computer in wifeās office, and as stated before their are many uses for cat 5 and 6 cable, their is no such thing as too much wireing. It is much cheaper to place wires in wall wile they are still open.
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Ah, yes, I forgot. Just like @cfreelandā¦ Be sure to run conduits between the floors. We have two that go from the basement to the attic. That makes it REALLY easy to run wires later. Have a few of them installed. Ours are just PVC pipes. VERY convenient and you be happy you spent the very minor amount of money now a few years from now when you suddenly need them!
I will add some thoughts, we just moved into a house we built that I had the builder add to the contract āhomeowner to install own low voltageā. The key with the builder was that I didnāt do anything that would cause inspections to fail. Some people in the builders company were not too pleased I was given the option to do this, but the boss wins and he was OK with it.
I agree with the others thoughts on here, as I also ran CAT6 everywhere I could. For me the big item involved maintaining the fire stops. I followed the electricians lead on how they handled the romax, anyplace I drilled a hole through a horrizontal 2x4 I stuffed the hole with fiberglass insulation. The idea is you stop places where fire can easily travel from floor to floor if burning inside the wall. I was also told I could use 3M Fire Rated caulk, but that was based on the electricians advice in our township. Iām sure the appropriate disclaimer is that it can vary from city to city.
It was extremely useful to have as much CAT6 as I could stuff in the house. It allowed me to do things such as keep the cable modem in the basement and place my router access point on the second floor in the center of the house. I had read that centralized and higher in the structure would give me the greatest coverage. We also have Rokuās for the kids and it maintains great video quality streaming from Netflix, being hardwired vs as wireless.
In my case I didnāt home run everything to the basement. I have a wiring closet in the basement and one the second floor. Using two gigabit switches allowed me to keep the second floor runs shorter. The switches I used allowed for a technology called trunking, so it combines two ports (and CAT6 lines) as a single 2Gbps trunk between the switches.
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