Lightning and surge are serious concerns for businesses and homeowners alike. According to the Insurance Information Institute, lightning damage in in 2018 accounted for over $857 million in insurance claims.
PoE (Power over Ethernet) has become a popular medium to deliver power and transmit data for outdoor equipment. Outdoor use devices that are compatible with Power over Ethernet technology (PoE range) include surveillance cameras, WiFi routers, and other wireless hardware.
Outdoor-mounted PoE equipment increases the risk of damage from high-voltage surge events. This equipment acts as a lightning rod. Voltage is passed through the copper ethernet cable and increases the risk of damage to sensitive equipment in the data center. Additionally, it poses a threat of physical harm to personnel.
These events can create electrical currents of immense power. This sudden surge of energy can lead to electrical arcing or sparks, which can cause burns or electric shock injuries. The high voltage surge from these events can even cause dangerous electrical fires.
Protecting Outdoor PoE Devices from Surge
Surge protection is an important preventative measure to avoid extensive damage. For outdoor PoE equipment, it's important to protect the device and the supporting equipment like switches and routers.
It's best practice to install two inline surge protectors for each device. The first surge protector is installed near your switch or router. This protects equipment from voltage entering the building and damaging the equipment inside. The second surge protector should be near the outdoor PoE device.
Two surge protectors for each device may sound excessive. However, a surge can enter the ethernet cable at any point and travel in either direction. Two surge protectors ensure that all your equipment is protected.
Transtector’s Surge Protection Kit
Transector is a leader in providing innovative power and signal integrity solutions. Their high-quality PoE++ surge protectors are engineered to keep your equipment running through multiple high-voltage surge events.
Transtector now offers a complete surge protection kit for PoE++. This kit comes with an indoor PoE surge suppressor, an outdoor PoE surge suppressor, (2) 7’ cat6A jumpers, (1) cat6A span (available from 10 - 250’), and mounting hardware.
The infographic below illustrates how easy it is to install Transtector's PoE++ surge protection kit:
How to Install Outdoor PoE Surge Protection:
- Run an ethernet jumper from the switch or router to the indoor PoE surge protector. (The indoor PoE surge protector guards indoor equipment and personnel from surge.)
- Plug the main ethernet span into the indoor PoE surge protector. Run the ethernet cable to where the outdoor PoE surge protector will be mounted.
- Gound outdoor PoE surge protector. (Grounding the surge protector is critical to protecting PoE equipment.)
- Connect ethernet span and final jumper to outdoor PoE surge protector.
- Connect jumper to PoE device. (Each PoE device will require its own surge protection kit.)
For more information on Transtector's PoE surge equipment, visit our Transtector product page below:
If you have questions about which products would be right for you and your situation, reach out to your DoubleRadius rep for help.
