The November 2019 issue of Architectural Digest lauded The Sinclair Marriott hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, as one of the most energy-efficient hotels in the world. It was the first hotel to be powered entirely by power over ethernet (PoE).

From interactive mirrors to stadiums

PoE delivers low levels of direct DC to the hotel’s bathroom fixtures, minibars, flat-screen TVs, lighting, touchpad controls for room access, lighting and curtains as well as interactive Savvy SmartMirrors offering news and concierge services. PoE also powers and controls the air conditioning blower motors. 

A deployment at The Sinclair hotel also brought recognition to PoE’s added value: critical data point access and sensing technology support. Hotels could track metrics such as beverages taken out of minibars, water use, preferred room temperature, lighting levels and more.

“The reality is, we are in a world where data is the new oil,” said Bob Dagostino, president and founder of Dagostino Electronic Services, Pittsburgh. “The more data we can extract from a building, the more we can optimize performance, safety, comfort, flexibility for building occupants and cost savings for owners.” 

While Dagostino did not work on The Sinclair, his company has completed numerous projects using PoE—in schools, hotels, healthcare facilities, office buildings and more. Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh features 1,300 data access points to deliver Wi-Fi and interactive touchpoints to fans. 

“We work with PoE every day,” Dagostino said. “It’s a critical component of any building or office campus.”

PoE also combines power and data into one system. 

“In the recent past, we put outdoor cameras on a building using coaxial cable, plus a 110V outlet for a heater to heat the camera,” Dagostino said. “Today it’s just one structured cable to run the camera and heat it.”

As shown in the photos scattered above, power over ethernet devices can be deployed across various types of buildings, from healthcare centers like the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center For Brain Health Las Vegas; to hotels such as The Sinclair in Fort Worth, Texas; to residences, sports stadiums, etc. PoE can power lighting, HVAC, shades, controls and more. You can find electrical contractors at the center of this movement.

PoE accounts for approximately 85% of Dagostino Electronic Services’ business mix. The remainder is fiber optic cable. The company employs a workforce of 125 and is looking to hire more. Dagostino said the most compelling aspects of PoE are speed, flexibility, centralized control, efficiency and increased survivability. 

“End-point DC drive devices have a longer lifespan because PoE is a much cleaner source of power than AC, which comes with surges and sags,” he said. 

Dagostino, who serves on the IEEE PoE standards committee, said proposed changes pertain to best installation practices, quality control and testing.

This is good news, because since its deployment at The Sinclair, PoE has permeated commercial venues, smart buildings, healthcare and university settings, manufacturing facilities and more. 

PoE is commonly used for powering low-level egress lighting, surveillance cameras, fire alarm sensors, card readers, HVAC controls, drive-through order stations, price-check stations, overhead office lighting, window shade controls and more. And its presence is only expected to grow.

Global expansion

The global market for PoE power solution products—estimated at $2.6 billion in 2024—is expected to grow to $12.4 billion by 2034, according to a Global Market Insights report.

“We have to point out that PoE is global. IEEE standards apply whether we are talking about Tokyo or Temple, Texas,” said Jeff Beavers, executive director of network integration and services for NECA. “So many devices are capable of being powered by PoE, it’s safe to assume there will only be more.”

IEEE 802.3af, IEEE 802.3at, IEEE 802.3bt and IEEE 802.3bt Hi-PoE standards regulate how power is delivered to PoE devices at maximum wattage thresholds—15W, 30W, 60W and 90W, respectively. The standard regulating the highest wattage level, 90W—IEEE 802.3bt Hi-PoE, ratified in 2024—is broadening PoE capabilities for additional uses, the Global Market Insights report said.

Before that, ratification in 2018 of IEEE.3bt broadened PoE power capabilities to 60W.

Lighting

“In the late 2010s, higher power PoE solutions were introduced that better supported troffer-type fixtures,” said Stuart Berjansky, technical director, DesignLights Consortium. 

DLC maintains a qualified products list of lighting and lighting control products eligible for rebates and reimbursement through utility energy efficiency programs. But while DLC maintains a pathway for PoE fixtures to be included on the list, manufacturers of those products have yet to submit any applications to have them listed.

Jason Jeunnette, technical manager for DLC, is also keeping an eye on PoE’s expanding adoption. 

“One type of building where I would expect to see significant growth of PoE lighting is data centers,” he said. “Data centers are highly specialized buildings with unusual lighting needs and technically capable staff—a combination that PoE is well-suited to serve.”

Another landmark example of PoE’s use is Penn 1 in Manhattan, New York, headquarters of Cisco, a leader in telecommunications technology, A.I. and cybersecurity solutions. 

“Cisco’s Penn 1 facility was the first time the 90W-per-channel category of PoE was used,” said David Robinson, vice president of automation at Mecho, Long Island City, N.Y., which supplied high-tech blinds for Penn 1’s reconstruction as a hybrid office. The blinds work in concert with lighting and building systems to automatically adjust for daylight, temperature control and room occupancy. 

The building’s transformation stands as testament to energy efficiency and PoE’s capacity to support automated responses and remote control.

Coordinating Penn 1’s lighting, shade action and HVAC operations on a single PoE platform eliminated the need for room AV controllers, saving the company $200,000.

Another sign of PoE’s growth is the establishment of the PoE Consortium in 2022. Robinson serves as president, and it is dedicated to advancing PoE education, adoption, best installation practices and consistent industry standards. Its website offers resources, presentations and research papers on PoE as well as links to training sources.

Like Dagostino, Robinson believes PoE will continue to replace traditional electrical wiring in a variety of settings and applications because it supports data gathering and coordination of related responses.

“In the last few years, it’s been all about creating endpoints of PoE,” Robinson said. “Everybody wants data—data points, which can reveal occupancy, air quality, light levels, humidity, thermal comfort—with no additional devices required.”

“PoE gives you useful data to identify [if] occupants are in the building in comparison to not being able to do that,” Dagostino said. “If you look at light fixtures in the ceiling of a commercial building, they appear every 12 square feet and enable you to have a sensor. That produces an amazing granular picture of temperature differences.

“Fault-managed power can be deployed in a physical ring topology, which then offers redundancy and diversity to the powered end-point devices,” Dagostino said. 

PoE voltage levels decline when cable distance exceeds 100 meters, or around 330 feet. That circumstance is unlikely to change. And increasingly higher voltage levels for PoE are unlikely because most manufacturers of PoE-powered devices are focused on improving energy efficiency, Robinson said. 

Education efforts

In April 2026, the PoE Consortium presented a workshop on PoE lighting, lighting controls and automated shades at the NECA EMERGE conference. Attendees received a primer on PoE and how current PoE standards govern power budgets, device classification and system scalability.

Participants also learned how lighting and shading can operate as a unified, intelligent building system by taking advantage of interoperability between PoE devices, controllers and third-party platforms. 

Beyond the workshop and other PoE outreach efforts, many in the construction industry are actively looking into PoE on their own.

“Healthcare facility designers everywhere are researching PoE,” said Jim Simpson, director of the Electrical Training Alliance (ETA), Bowie, Md., and a board member of the PoE Consortium. “There has been a significant uptick in PoE adoption in the healthcare sector as far as sharing data in patient environments through interconnected and encrypted data.”

Despite expanding adoption, PoE faces headwinds with the Construction Specification Institute’s identification codes for construction materials and corresponding installer divisions. 

“Historically, lighting has been part of the electrical trade under the CSI Master Format Division 16: Electrical + Lighting. PoE falls under CSI Master Format Division 27: Communications,” Jeunnette said. “This represents a change in practice for many groups involved in the project. That change in itself isn’t a problem, but it can put up barriers to adoption outside of technical aspects of a solution.”

Electricians and communications technicians likely possess practical knowledge for working with structured cabling and PoE.

But because limited-energy levels cannot inflict injury, PoE’s sophistication and need for trained installers are often disregarded in the construction industry—which can compromise system performance.

“What I want to make crystal clear is that this is electrical work, and you have to be a qualified technician or an electrician to do it,” Simpson said. “Anything that can run on DC with lower wattage can use PoE. But to install PoE correctly, you have to be able to understand structured cabling, TIA wiring standards, NEC and IEEE standards.” 

ETA approved 285 training programs covering structured cabling, as well as a craft certification program to prove proficiency. ETA is also working to provide regional PoE and automation classes covering ANSI, TIA, NEC, IEEE standards and NECA 500 Standards for Installing Indoor Commercial Lighting Systems, Simpson said.

Communications Technician programs are attracting apprentices as well. 

As PoE technologically advances, the opportunities will continue to grow, putting ECs in the center of the movement. Keeping up will involve continuous learning, but the growth potential is endless. 

mecho / penn 1, stock.adobe.com/Anna