What Is PoE Lighting?

The basics

What is Power over Ethernet?

Power over Ethernet. PoE - delivers both electrical power and data over a single standard Ethernet cable. One cable, two jobs: it runs your device and connects it to the network at the same time.

It is the same family of technology that already powers IP phones, security cameras, and wireless access points in offices worldwide. Applied to lighting, it turns LED fixtures into intelligent, networked devices you can dim, schedule, zone, and measure.

Because PoE carries safe, low-voltage DC power, there is no need for separate high-voltage electrical wiring to each fixture, and no conduit or AC drivers to install and maintain at every light.

One cable

Low-voltage DC

Network control

Network switch and Ethernet cabling that deliver Power over Ethernet

A short history

How PoE grew up

PoE started as a way to power phones on the network. Each jump in wattage unlocked new devices, until commercial lighting could ride the same cable plant.

Approximate max power at the switch port over time. GENISYS begins at Cisco UPoE, the prestandard that made ~60 W four-pair power practical.

~2000 Early proprietary PoE IP phones get power from the network cable.
2003 IEEE 802.3af · ~15 W First widely adopted PoE standard.
2009 IEEE 802.3at PoE+ · ~30 W PTZ cameras and stronger WAPs.
2011 Cisco UPoE prestandard · ~60 W Four-pair power arrives. GENISYS inception lands here as higher-watt PoE makes commercial lighting practical.
2018 IEEE 802.3bt PoE++ · up to ~90–100 W Standardized high power for denser digital buildings.
Today PoE lighting at scale GENISYS fixtures, IntelliDrives, sensors, and switches on the same cable plant.

What PoE can power

Far more than lighting

If a device needs a network connection and a modest amount of DC power, PoE is often the cleanest way to feed it. Lighting is the exciting chapter for buildings, but it is part of a much bigger story.

VoIP phones

The original killer app. Desk phones get power and voice/data from one wall jack.

IP security cameras

Fixed and PTZ cameras mount where the view is best, not where an outlet happens to be.

Wireless access points

WAPs hang from ceilings and closets with a single Ethernet drop for power and backhaul.

LED lighting

GENISYS fixtures, IntelliDrives, and related nodes turn the cable plant into a lighting system.

Sensors & IoT

Occupancy, daylight, environmental, and facility sensors join the same low-voltage fabric.

Wall controls

Networked switches and interfaces deliver familiar control without line voltage behind the plate.

Digital signage & kiosks

Higher-power PoE standards can feed displays, wayfinding, and interactive kiosks.

Shades & Building Systems

Motorized shades, access control, alarms, and other digital-building loads increasingly ride Ethernet power.

Why it matters for lighting

When lights live on the network

PoE does not just replace an AC whip. It changes what lighting can do once every fixture is a connected node.

One cable does it all

A single Ethernet run carries power and data to fixtures, switches, and sensors. That means faster, safer installs and easier reconfiguration when the floor plan changes.

Intelligent by default

Every PoE fixture can be dimmed, tuned, scheduled, grouped into zones, and driven by sensors from centralized software.

Efficient and measurable

Centralized DC conversion and networked reporting help you use less energy and prove it with real data.

Close-up of Ethernet cables plugged into a PoE network switch

See the system

From switch to light

GENISYS follows the same PoE idea buildings already trust, then extends it through IntelliDrive hubs to fixtures, sensors, and wall controls.

GENISYS PoE lighting topology from network switch through IntelliDrive to fixtures, switches, and sensors

PoE network switch

Converts and sends low-voltage power with data over Ethernet.

IntelliDrive hub

Turns one UPoE port into power and control for multiple devices.

Endpoints

Fixtures, sensors, and wall switches become the living edge of the system.

See how PoE lighting works step by step

In the real world

A complete PoE lighting kit, no mystery wiring

Power, data, fixtures, sensors, and controls share the same RJ45 language.

GENISYS PoE lighting demonstration with fixtures, sensor, wall switch, cabling, and controller

Keep exploring