Ways to Manage Your PoE Switch Power Consumption

The power consumption of PoE switches has also been a great concern of PoE switch buyers. It refers to the amount of energy used per unit time by a PoE switch. Some may wonder if the value brought by the PoE switch would outweigh the cost of electricity. This article explains all you need to know about the power consumption of PoE switches and how to reduce it.

What Are the Factors That Affect Power Consumption of PoE Switch?

PoE Standard

PoE standard is an important factor that will affect power consumption. Because PoE, PoE+, PoE++ are different PoE standards, and they deliver different power to the PDs. It's suggested that you'd better make sure that your PoE switch can support the power that your PDs require.

The following table shows the specifications of different PoE standards. And for more information, please refer to PoE vs PoE+ vs PoE++ Switch: How to Choose.

Connected Numbers of PDs

The number of PD connected to the PoE switch is another factor that affects the power consumption of PoE switch. The more PDs you connect to one PoE Ethernet switch, the more power consumption is generated. For example, if 10 PoE IP cameras with its' 7W power consumption are connected to a 24 port PoE switch with 200W power budget, then the 10 PoE IP cameras are going to generate power consumption of about 70W in total; In the same way, 20 PoE IP cameras will generate about 140W in power consumption. Furthermore, in a large data center, the PDs heat up as it runs, which may require other devices such as fans and air conditioners to cool them down, resulting in a certain amount of energy consumption.

PoE Switch Power Budget

The power budget is another factor that affects the power consumption of the PoE switch. Some managed PoE network switches used in large enterprise environments may up to 400W power budget, but for a home network, it's wise to use a basic unmanaged PoE switch with just 60W power budget.

Port Number

The power consumption of PoE switches is also linked with the port number to cater to different wattage requirements. For example, small PoE switches with 8 ports may come with 130W or 250W as an option, while a high port-density 48-port PoE switch may be available for up to 600W or even higher.

How Can I Reduce the Power Consumption of PoE Switch?

Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE)

Energy Efficient Ethernet, short for EEE, is a technology defined as IEEE 802.3az to reduce switch power consumption during periods of low network traffic, aiming to reduce power consumption by more than 50 percent while remaining fully compatible with existing devices. It is also sometimes known as Green Ethernet. In addition to the link load power savings of Energy-Efficient Ethernet, Green Ethernet works in one of two ways. To begin with, it detects link status, allowing each port on the switch to power down into a standby state when a connected device is not active. Second, it detects cable length and adjusts the power used for transmission accordingly. Note that you have to make sure that the device port and connecting device must support 802.3az EEE when choosing a PoE switch.

Use Intelligent PoE

Using intelligent PoE is another effective way to reduce the energy consumption of switch so as to deliver better ROI for businesses. Intelligent PoE can automatically detect the power consumption status of each Power Device and supply the power the PDs require. And if the connected device is a non-PoE device, this intelligent PoE switch will not send power, which can protect the not-PoE device. By using intelligent PoE technology to minimize the waste of unused power, enterprises can save a lot of money on electricity cost.

Will PoE Switch Cost More Electricity?

Although the PoE switch is a little more expensive on the surface -- with increased equipment and power costs -- but overall, the increased productivity brought by the PoE switch outweighs the increased power costs. Because PoE network switch simplifies installation and maintenance costs. Users don't need to purchase and install additional electrical wires and outlets. In addition, good PoE switches also enable a simple network management protocol (SNMP), which provides a simpler way to supervise and manage the switch.

As a result, it's shortsighted to pay attention to only the increased power costs when choosing the right PoE switch. Given the advantages of better integration of applications, boosted productivity and free up IT resources, your wise choice of PoE switch will be beneficial to soften the blow of a higher energy bill.

FS PoE Switch: A Good Choice for A Cost-Effective Network

FS introduces various PoE switches, including PoE+, PoE++, and 8 port/10 port/24 port/48 port network switches. The following lists popular FS PoE switches that cater to various scenarios.