Safe to run Cat6 Ethernet through same hole as AC Power?

[Type2]

Hi there - I am having a small office built which will have 120v & 240V power and Cat 6 ethernet supplied to the office. I want to run two lines, if not up to four lines to the office. I will have a couple holes punched through the wall prior to sheetrocking and siding which will supply Cat6 ethernet to mount IP cameras outside.

Should I drill a second hole specifically to house the data / Cat6 cable(s) or can they share the same hole? The space in the basement is very limited so multiple holes is not an option.

Will there be major cross-talk and signal degradation?

Pics for reference:

Greatly appreciate any help.

 

[mat200]

Hi there - I am having a small office built which will have 120v & 240V power and Cat 6 ethernet supplied to the office. I want to run two lines, if not up to four lines to the office. I will have a couple holes punched through the wall prior to sheetrocking and siding which will supply Cat6 ethernet to mount IP cameras outside.

Should I drill a second hole specifically to house the data / Cat6 cable(s) or can they share the same hole? The space in the basement is very limited so multiple holes is not an option.

Will there be major cross-talk and signal degradation?

Pics for reference:

Greatly appreciate any help.

Hi @Type2 -

You do not want to run cat5e/6 next to power. ( electrical runs in metal conduit is naturally a different story, as the metal conduit shields any EMI )

 

[Type2]

Okay thanks. Drilling 2nd hole tomorrow.

 

[Walrus]

I think the guide is 1ft away from power when run parallel.

 

[Fastb]

Coupling of noise from AC wire to ethernet is the issue.
Long runs, w/ Cat cable parallel to AC cable is worst.
Crossing the two wires at 90 degrees is deemed okay.
So for you question on running parallel thru the hole, say for 1 or 2 inches, may not be a problem. They'd only be parallel for a short stretch, if you run them away from each other after (and before)

Still, a 2nd hole is best....

 

[Parley]

Would putting tin foil around the Cat6 cable in that area help the situation?

 

[mat200]

Would putting tin foil around the Cat6 cable in that area help the situation?

Hi @Parley

1) In theory yes - foil shielding helps

2) Electrical code ( NEC code ): iirc there are potential issues - not certain if it applies to this exact case .. still I'd avoid any questions by not running other cables down that hole.

3) If you can easily enough drill another hole for cat5e/6 - then why not?

4) Personally I like to run my cat5e/6 in another bay.

5) In some cases conduit for the cat5e/6 maybe useful - such as running the cat5e/6 adjacent to electrical in tight spots. Also remember if you have issues with critters - conduit is nice.
( I know one landlord who now uses armored electrical cables due to critter crewing up romex... )

 

[Fastb]

Would putting tin foil around the Cat6 cable in that area help the situation?

Maybe a little. The short piece of foil wouldn't be grounded at either end of the cable run, instead
the short piece of foil would be "floating".
It would be better than nothing.
Situation: 120V AC (high voltage), next to low voltage signals on the Cat cable. The high voltage 60hz signal could couple (influence) to that short piece of foil as easily as couple to the individual conductors.

Since we're at it, keep the Cat cables away from flourescent lights.

 

[Parley]

How about a short piece of metal conduit or pipe? However another hole will work for sure.

 

[Type2]

Appreciate all the helpful information. Getting another hole drilled today and will route the cable about 2ft away from the power line. There will be a brief 90* cross over but no running in parallel. From what I've read a 90* (i.e. not parallel) cross over should not affect anything.

 

[bp2008]

Besides issues of electrical noise, there is a matter of safety. Imagine if someone were to accidentally drive a screw or nail into the area where the power and network cables were. You could end up with dangerous high voltage in the network cable which everyone assumes to be safe. This is part of what electric/building codes are trying to prevent.

These days, if I was running networking cable through new construction and there would never be a need to use PoE on that particular cable run, I would be tempted to run fiber optics instead of copper. It is far more future-proof, immune to electrical interference, and non-conductive. But it is also more trouble to work with since it is fairly delicate, difficult to put ends on the cable, and there are a ton of connector standards (LC is one of the most common now) and even two significantly different types of optical fiber (single mode and multi mode), and almost no computer has one of these ports built-in. I'm just thinking of the guy 20 years from now who doesn't want to use shitty Cat6 cable anymore because even his wifi is faster than that.

 

[Dramus]

One should never run communications cable of any type in close proximity to high-voltage/high-current service wiring. And, in fact, doing so in conduit is expressly forbidden in the National Electrical Code (NEC), to which most governmental units subscribe. Secondly: Installing Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable in metallic conduit, itself, can degrade signal performance.

 

[Walrus]

I rechecked, and here in Ontario Canada, low voltage when running parallel to line voltage, needs to be kept minimum 6" away (most do 12") from NMD, 3" away from BX.

 

[Type2]

This is how it looks now. Drilled 2nd hole. Only 90* crossing. No parallel - or at least not super close. Best I think I can do. I think it's much better.
Again, thanks for the advice. Once this office build out is done I'll start mounting IP cameras.

 

[usaf_pride]

Would putting tin foil around the Cat6 cable in that area help the situation?

Nope, it would just act as a magnifying affect. It would need to be grounded to the same potential as the building system to be shielded.

 

[Fastb]

Nice Pics .
It seems your running one cat cable, instead of running two when you only need one.
ie: as @mat200 says, always run n+1.
Need one? Run two.
Need three? Run four.
Cable is cheap, as compared to the cost & expense of running an additional cable later.....
Fastb

 

[Type2]

I already have two Cat6 cables but I am going to run two more. I also ordered 100ft six-strand single-mode LC fiber pre-terminated (Ubiquiti Fiber Cable Single Mode FC-SM) -- that will be showing up tomorrow. So I should have a total of 4 Cat6 lines and six LC fiber lines. I saw a two-port jack wall plate for the fiber line here. I think I can put one on the North, East and West walls.

That should be fairly future proof I hope.

It's my understanding I can take the six-strand line, strip the jacket back, then run three two-strand lines (one to each two-port wall jack).

 

[usaf_pride]

Nice Pics .
It seems your running one cat cable, instead of running two when you only need one.
ie: as @mat200 says, always run n+1.
Need one? Run two.
Need three? Run four.
Cable is cheap, as compared to the cost & expense of running an additional cable later.....
Fastb

Similar to a special forces saying: two is one, and one is none.

 

[bp2008]

I already have two Cat6 cables but I am going to run two more. I also ordered 100ft six-strand single-mode LC fiber pre-terminated (Ubiquiti Fiber Cable Single Mode FC-SM) -- that will be showing up tomorrow. So I should have a total of 4 Cat6 lines and six LC fiber lines. I saw a two-port jack wall plate for the fiber line here. I think I can put one on the North, East and West walls.

That should be fairly future proof I hope.

It's my understanding I can take the six-strand line, strip the jacket back, then run three two-strand lines (one to each two-port wall jack).

I have handled that specific Ubiquiti fiber cable before. The only issue I see is that the individual fibers are very thin and delicate and the main cable jacket is all you have protecting them. So you will need to be very careful stripping that jacket and working with the unarmored fiber strands.

 

[Type2]

ONE THOUSAND THANK YOUS! That is exactly what I wanted to know. I'll be super careful.

I have handled that specific Ubiquiti fiber cable before. The only issue I see is that the individual fibers are very thin and delicate and the main cable jacket is all you have protecting them. So you will need to be very careful stripping that jacket and working with the unarmored fiber strands.

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