Benefits of POE++ 802.3bt
Power over Ethernet (POE) has been a huge boon in factory automation, building automation, security, and a host of new applications made more cost effective by delivering ethernet connectivity as well as power to edge devices. POE (IEEE 802.3af) was first standardized in 2003 and has grown explosively in the past many years. This growth has also come with an evolution to the original standard, and the creation of a few varieties of POE, namely POE, POE+ (IEEE 802.3at-2009), and POE++ (IEEE 802.3bt-2013). These standards have also been reclassified as Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4, to better capture the specifications and capabilities of each type of POE.
POE Type 1
- Standard: IEEE 802.3af
- Maximum Power Per Port: 15.4 W
- Port Voltage Range: 44 V to 57 V
- Maximum Current: 350 mA
- Maximum Cable Resistance Per Pairset: 20 Ohm
- Power To Device: 12.95 W
- Voltage Range To Device: 37 V to 57 V
- Number of Twisted Pairs Required: 2 pairs
- Cable Category: Cat3 and Cat5
- Cable Length: 100 m
POE+ Type 2
- Standard: IEEE 802.3at
- Maximum Power Per Port: 30 W
- Port Voltage Range: 50 V to 57 V
- Maximum Current: 600 mA
- Maximum Cable Resistance Per Pairset: 12.5 Ohm
- Power To Device: 25.5 W
- Voltage Range To Device: 42.5 V to 57 V
- Number of Twisted Pairs Required: 2 pairs
- Cable Category: Cat5e or better
- Cable Length: 100 m
POE++ Type 3
- Standard: IEEE 802.3bt
- Maximum Power Per Port: 60 W
- Port Voltage Range: 50 V to 57 V
- Maximum Current: 600 mA per pair
- Maximum Cable Resistance Per Pairset: 12.5 Ohm
- Power To Device: 51 W to 60 W
- Voltage Range To Device: 42.5 V to 57 V
- Number of Twisted Pairs Required: 2 pair or 4 pair class 0-4; 4 pairs class 5-6
- Cable Category: Cat5e or better
- Cable Length: 100 m
POE++ Type 4
- Standard: IEEE 802.3bt
- Power Per Port: 100 W
- Port Voltage Range: 52 V to 57 V
- Maximum Current: 960 mA per pair
- Maximum Cable Resistance Per Pairset: 12.5 Ohm
- Power To Device: 71 W to 90 W
- Voltage Range To Device: 41.1 V to 57 V
- Number of Twisted Pairs Required: 4 pairs class 7-8
- Cable Category: Cat5e or better
- Cable Length: 100 m
POE Type 1 switches can support voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phones, Wi-Fi a/b/g access points (APs), and other low power edge devices, such as sensors, meters, static surveillance cameras, etc. However, the power limitation of POE Type 1 of 15.4 W prevents the use of more complex edge devices, such as video devices and cameras with pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ). Hence, POE+ Type 2 upgrades the power output to 30 W, which is then able to support these applications, as well as alarms, and more complex Wi-Fi APs (n/ax) with up to 6 antennas. Beyond POE+, POE++ Type 3 switches are able to support video conferencing hardware, TVs, laptops, edge computing devices, high performance Wi-Fi APs (Wi-Fi 6/6e), building management devices, wireless nodes, gateways, and even some actuators. POE ++ Type 4 extends the POE power to 90 W at the power device (PD), which has opened the POE door to many new applications, include digital signage, large displays, security door controls and locks, limited LED lighting, more capable kiosks with interactive features, thin clients, small cells, and a host of other enterprise IT applications.
POE++ Type 3 and Type 4 also support a new Auto Class of devices, which determine the actual power drawn by the device and the actual cable length, without the need for the assumptions inherent to POE Type 1 and POE+ Type 2. Moreover, POE++ Type 3 and Type 4 also support extended power features that extend the power to the PD to the maximum available based on the cable’s actual total resistance (60 W for Type 3 and 90 W for Type 4). POE++ Type 3 and Type 4 are also backwards compatible with POE Type 1 and POE+ Type 2 PDs, which make POE++ switches a more viable retrofitting or new installation solution, as they will enable the use of all POE PDs, where POE and POE+ are not able to operate POE++ PDs.
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