is the electric panel in an electronics closet a good or bad idea?


STEVE446
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I'm designing a FLW  30'x30' fireproof house. I have a closet just about in the center of the floorplan behind a chimney. a perfect place for wire distribution throughout the first and second floor. I plan on putting all my electronics and Wi-Fi in there on clean circuits. Does it make sense or would it create electronic noise to put the main electric panel there also? 

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You should probably check with an Electrician.  My guess is that if anything, the house wiring might act as a "range extender" for the WIFI.  I don't think it would have any detrimental effect.  I have powered Wireless Routers in my Smart Panel and it works fine.

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in the past it was never considered a good idea to run any low voltage wiring in the same space as your 110v Romex wiring due to possible "crosstalk" , whether stuff is better shield now I am unsure but I would consult an AV/Home Theatre technician rather than a Electrician , unless he is highly conversant with Low Voltage/Smart wiring too.

 

M.

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Just finished a 14,000 sq ft project. Data and Electric panel in same room but never run both in same conduit, holes drilled in stud walls, junction boxes ect........ keep runs seperate  

 yep I should of been clearer above ....that has always been the advice....   but I think these days there is WAY more to consider , several Electricians I know no longer do low voltage as they say it's like learning a whole new trade and not worth the hassle if the wire something wrong ,ie mistakes are expensive when you have to start removing drywall etc.

 

M..

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Be careful to keep Ethernet (UTP), and other low voltage cabling at least 3 feet away from anything that can create an Electromagnetic field.  Devices include heating/cooling units, motors, printers, copiers, electrical wiring, video equipment, and much more.  it’s critical to keep UTP cabling as far away from fluorescent lighting as possible since cables are very susceptible to interference from fluorescent lights.  

Also, it's best to have the 110 volt circuits feeding the Ethernet be fed from the main distribution panel, not a sub panel.

 

So to answer your question, yes, as long as the closet is large enough to allow the breaker panel to be at least 3 ft from the electronic equipment and low voltage cabling.

 

I've been an electrical contractor for over 30 years.

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Slightly different topic BUT....

recently had problems with LED lights interfering with a garage door opener.  Had to get different manufacturer  (Cree)

and the problem went away.  Have heard of other problems where they interfered with an ordering system in a restaurant.

Any additional advice regarding LED lights and other electronics?

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Slightly different topic BUT....

recently had problems with LED lights interfering with a garage door opener.  Had to get different manufacturer  (Cree)

and the problem went away.  Have heard of other problems where they interfered with an ordering system in a restaurant.

Any additional advice regarding LED lights and other electronics?

I never heard of that one before.  I'm on a forum for electricians, I'll ask them.  

Do you know if it was the wireless of the opener & restaurant system that it interfered with?

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Slightly different topic BUT....

recently had problems with LED lights interfering with a garage door opener.  Had to get different manufacturer  (Cree)

and the problem went away.  Have heard of other problems where they interfered with an ordering system in a restaurant.

Any additional advice regarding LED lights and other electronics?

 

How old is the garage door opener?  I'm just wondering what frequency it uses?

The older ones used dip switches.  It was possible for a thief to record the frequency and reproduce it.

Newer ones use a frequency between 300-400 MHz and rely on rolling code technology, the code changes every time it's used and never reproduced.  Since the signal is supposed to be significantly different from that of any other garage door remote control, manufacturers claim it is impossible for someone other than the owner of the remote to open the garage. 

The newest systems are limited to the 315 MHz frequency. The 315 MHz frequency range avoids interference from the Land Mobile Radio System (LMRS) used by the U.S. military.

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Slightly different topic BUT....

recently had problems with LED lights interfering with a garage door opener.  Had to get different manufacturer  (Cree)

and the problem went away.  Have heard of other problems where they interfered with an ordering system in a restaurant.

Any additional advice regarding LED lights and other electronics?

Here are some quote from the Electrican's forum when I asked your question:

 

1.  "Welcome to the world of electronics. This type of stuff is getting more regular with the advent of new electronic gadgets. Led's are widely variable and as you may know some will work on dimmers while others won't. Until there is some standard set for the design of these then this situation is here to stay. I have some phillips bulbs that are guaranteed to work with Lutron CL dimmers and we get a buzz from them."

 

2.  "There is an FCC standard for RF interference, but a lot of the stuff is not in compliance even though it has a label that says it is. There are cases of interference from ballasts and or drivers shutting down cell towers and emergency communications systems."

 

3.  " call it "electronic tinnitus" because it can make a receiver temporarily deaf (like me). If you have an inductive wire tracer (Triplett's 'Fox and Hound' for example), turn the probe on, move it to the base of a powered LED lamp and then turn the lamp off. Different brands and models will almost certainly give different results.

If you know a amateur radio operator, ask if they've experienced any problems with non-incandesant bulbs. If they have, you may want to put a finger in each ear."

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