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66 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
AU T UMN 20 1 6
ALL POWER TO ‘EM
T
he old days are well and truly
on the way out and a new era is
dawning fast and furious.
You could be walking into a mine field
if you don’t get some of the basics right.
As always, a disruptive technology is a
threat to many and an opportunity to
those that are well informed and ready to
harness the potential.
In this article we will look at how
communications devices will be powered
in the future, the technology, how it works
and what you need to do to make sure the
infrastructure is in place to support it.
Today’s communications devices are
generally powered via a 240V AC socket
through a power adaptor. Such devices
include the:
>
Cordless phone
>
Modem
>
Security system
>
Computer
>
Television
>
CCTV camera
>
Wireless access point.
You need access to a socket and
connection to the communications
network, which can be achieved using
twisted-pair Category 5/6 cable or
wireless.
For the plain old telephone system,
power comes from the exchange.
Medical alert and alarm systems usually
come with battery back-up so that
communications can be maintained for
some time in an emergency.
As we know the world is changing, and
communications systems in your house
(including basic telephone services) will
need to be powered locally. This will
include your broadband modem, network
termination device (NTD), home gateway
and any devices that are mission critical
or essential to life.
To provide a power back-up in a
residential environment you can simply buy
lots of uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
units and place them around the house.
They can support various items, be they
network devices or user devices that need
to be running if the mains supply fails.
Naturally this presents some
challenges, having multiple UPS units
to start with, and potentially adding a
battery back-up for the broadband NTD,
plus batteries for the alarm system and
medical alert system. It soon becomes a
management nightmare.
The solution lies in structured cabling.
Yes, you read it correctly, structured
cabling – good old star-wired twisted-
pair cable.
Enter tomorrow’s technology that is
available today – Power over Ethernet
POWER OVER ETHERNET IS IDEAL
FOR COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES.
IANMILLNER
OUTLINES A FUTURE
TECHNOLOGY THAT IS AVAILABLE
TODAY.
Figures 1 and 2.
HOLD THE PHONE
To GPO
To GPO
To GPO
To GPO
To TO
POWER
POWER
PHONE
ETHERNET SWITCH
POWER
ETHERNET
DSL
INTERNET
ETHERNET
To GPO
To GPO
To GPO
To GPO
To TO
POWER
POWER
PHONE
ETHERNET SWITCH
POWER
ETHERNET
DSL
INTERNET
ETHERNET