How hot is your Power over Ethernet?

R&M has done in-depth investigations of the heat-up of network cables in connection with Power over Ethernet (PoE). The test shows that the Cat.6A U/UTP WARP cables developed by R&M dissipate heat more effectively than conventional unshielded cables. “WARP cables stay cool and behave just as well as shielded cables.

That is an advantage when you are planning a local data network intended to include Power over Ethernet,” explained Matthias Gerber, market manager LAN Cabling at R&M. In big installations with massive cable bundles and PoE operation, a WARP cable becomes less hot than conventional unshielded U/UTP cables and the link is therefore allowed to be correspondingly longer.
Power over Ethernet (PoE) – that is, supplying power to terminal equipment over data cables – is increasingly popular. The advantages of using PoE are obvious: The power supplied to the device does not have to be separately fed over a power cable and an unwieldy power supply unit or from a battery. Instead, the device draws its energy over the data network. To this end, current has to be fed into the data line in addition to the data signal at a central point, namely in the network distributor.
With small cable bundles, the difference between the cable types has only a minimal effect. In large installations involving massive cable bundles, a WARP cable can become as much as 14° C less hot. The link is allowed to be as much as 11% longer. Matthias Gerber: “With an R&M WARP cable, you have not only the ideal solution for Alien NEXT but also decisive advantages for the use of PoE. Under certain circumstances, the temperature difference and the longer link can decide whether a specific installation functions or not.”