Taking a short break from pandemic planning efforts… Large manufacturers have white papers and equipment out (e.g. Phillips, Cisco). Still a bit pricey when I looked a year or two ago, that will change. Their approach was to cable to nearby points with POE switches in the plenum (not back to a data closet). The switches were plenum rated (accepting 277v as is often used for commercial lighting, requiring an electrician to direct wire to the switches — no plug to get their rating). Lots of implications for how networks have traditionally be operated.
With 70 watts and higher at the end device with POE, you can drive lots of devices that no longer need tradition high voltage services. Inevitable (first global power standard). In new construction, that is a lot of conduit and skilled electrician labor potentially saved. Related, some may have noticed bills introduced by electrician unions in a number of states which would require licensed electricians to install POE cabling over safety concerns. Didn’t make it out of committee in Texas. I did educate our legislative relations representatives on cost and delay impacts such a change could have given the limited skilled electricians in our market. William Green, Director of Networking and Telecommunications The University of Texas at Austin | ITS | 512-475-9295 | it.utexas.edu<https://www.utexas.edu> | gr...@austin.utexas.edu<https://www.utexas.edu> ********** Replies to EDUCAUSE Community Group emails are sent to the entire community list. If you want to reply only to the person who sent the message, copy and paste their email address and forward the email reply. Additional participation and subscription information can be found at https://www.educause.edu/community
