Ethernet next to power cable

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JohnJuniorV3

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Hi guys,

I wanted to know if anyone is familiar with the regulations surrounding CAT6 cable and DC cabling and whether or not it would be okay if they lie next to each other - can they also be in the same conduit?

Currently busy with the solar installation and the team installing have hit a bit of a snag and I am wondering if I am going to have to remove my ethernet cabling to make way for the cables from the solar panels to the inverter.

Edit:
Problem solved, staying far away from the ethernet cables. Fkn dumb idea.

For interest sake though, anyone know the minimum distance and regulations for SA? I know they differ per country and is dependent on the CAT cable type.
 
Last edited:
JohnJuniorV3 said:
Hi guys,

I wanted to know if anyone is familiar with the regulations surrounding CAT6 cable and DC cabling and whether or not it would be okay if they lie next to each other - can they also be in the same conduit?

Currently busy with the solar installation and the team installing have hit a bit of a snag and I am wondering if I am going to have to remove my ethernet cabling to make way for the cables from the solar panels to the inverter.

Edit:
Problem solved, staying far away from the ethernet cables. Fkn dumb idea.

For interest sake though, anyone know the minimum distance and regulations for SA? I know they differ per country and is dependent on the CAT cable type.
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you do get spacers for that ,you cant run ac and dc together in the same trunking and dc may not be run in metal trunking for solar. edited [must be run in metal if over 50m in length] .i think the spacers are 1 inch to 3 inch .you also shouldnt run any comms cables with ac 220v
 
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Does dc interfere with ethernet?
What's the point of POE then?
 
Pineapple Smurf said:
Does dc interfere with ethernet?
What's the point of POE then?
Click to expand...
DC can theoretically interfere, IF the current is high, therefore it is better to have higher voltage and low current (PoE is usually 48V and not lower voltages that devices tend to use, such as 5V and 12V.) That-said, I have long runs of Cat5E right next to high current (7.5A) AC cabling (no spacing between the wires) and the Cat5E is operating at full speed without any issues.
 
Azure 12 said:
DC can theoretically interfere, IF the current is high, therefore it is better to have higher voltage and low current (PoE is usually 48V and not lower voltages that devices tend to use, such as 5V and 12V.) That-said, I have long runs of Cat5E right next to high current (7.5A) AC cabling (no spacing between the wires) and the Cat5E is operating at full speed without any issues.
Click to expand...
what voltage ac?
 
Azure 12 said:
DC can theoretically interfere, IF the current is high, therefore it is better to have higher voltage and low current (PoE is usually 48V and not lower voltages that devices tend to use, such as 5V and 12V.) That-said, I have long runs of Cat5E right next to high current (7.5A) AC cabling (no spacing between the wires) and the Cat5E is operating at full speed without any issues.
Click to expand...

Then you are generating current on your network equipment. Might not be large enough to kill them but its still there and can interfere with speed.
 
AlphaJohn said:
Then you are generating current on your network equipment. Might not be large enough to kill them but its still there and can interfere with speed.
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I've had no interference whatsoever. Speed remains constant at 1Gbps. Network equipment seems to be holding up fine.
 
AlphaJohn said:
DC does jack with copper next to it,
AC on the other hand....

You need a fluctuating magnet to do anything, and DC is static 1 way. <-- ie: its a safety thing.
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A static field will also affect a signal (current) that is pulsing, i.e. the network data signals in the data cable. Also, if the DC current in the DC power cable is turned on or off, then it's the same story as is with AC, albeit less often.
 
soulie said:
i would seperate them plastic conduit is cheaper than having a 230 v cable pop and fry your data goodies .
Click to expand...
I doubt it would be an issue at all since the Ethernet specification (IEEE 802.3) has a minimum of 2.1kV of isolation for each Ethernet port. (Ethernet is far more resilient than something like RS-232.)
 
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