PoE Bundle Ampacity — NEC 725.144

The code side of high-power PoE: NEC Table 725.144 limits amps per conductor for 4-pair Class 2/3 cables carrying power and data, by gauge, temperature rating, and bundle size at 30°C ambient. This chart is law where the NEC is adopted — it kicks in above 60 W per cable — and it stayed at 725.144 through the 2023 restructure (only cable listing moved to Article 722).

Amps per conductor by gauge, temperature rating, and bundle size

NEC 725.144
Ampacity per conductor (A) at 30°C ambient, per NEC Table 725.144 (2017 values — the 2020 recomputation raised some cells slightly and lowered none, so these are the conservative floor across cycles). Each cell reads 60 / 75 / 90°C cable temperature rating.
AWG1 cables
60 / 75 / 90°C		2–7 cables
60 / 75 / 90°C		8–19 cables
60 / 75 / 90°C		20–37 cables
60 / 75 / 90°C		38–61 cables
60 / 75 / 90°C		62–91 cables
60 / 75 / 90°C		92–192 cables
60 / 75 / 90°C
26 AWG1.0 / 1.0 / 1.01.0 / 1.0 / 1.00.7 / 0.8 / 1.00.5 / 0.6 / 0.70.4 / 0.5 / 0.60.4 / 0.5 / 0.6—
24 AWG2.0 / 2.0 / 2.01.0 / 1.4 / 1.60.8 / 1.0 / 1.10.6 / 0.7 / 0.90.5 / 0.6 / 0.70.4 / 0.5 / 0.60.3 / 0.4 / 0.5
23 AWG2.5 / 2.5 / 2.51.2 / 1.5 / 1.70.8 / 1.1 / 1.20.6 / 0.8 / 0.90.5 / 0.7 / 0.80.5 / 0.7 / 0.80.4 / 0.5 / 0.6
22 AWG3.0 / 3.0 / 3.01.4 / 1.8 / 2.11.0 / 1.2 / 1.40.7 / 0.9 / 1.10.6 / 0.8 / 0.90.6 / 0.7 / 0.80.5 / 0.6 / 0.7
Where only half the conductors carry current, values may be multiplied by 1.4. The 75/90°C cells trace to the adopted-text reproduction in the IEEE 802.3bt record; the 60°C column is independently double-sourced. Verify against your jurisdiction's adopted cycle for a permit set.

How to use it on a design

Work right to left: count the bundle, pick the column, and check the cable's gauge and temperature rating against the current your PoE classes will draw. The practical outs, in the order designs usually take them: keep bundles under 61 cables through plenums, buy 90°C-rated cable (most plenum Cat6A already is), step up to 23/22 AWG conductors, or specify LP-listed cable and skip the bundle math entirely. Remember the table is per-conductor — a Type 4 load splits across all eight conductors — and that PoE never changes the 100 m data limit (see the PoE wattage chart for the classes and the distance rules).

Common questions

When does NEC 725.144 apply to PoE cabling?

When cables transmit power and data together and the power exceeds 60 W per cable — which in IEEE terms means 802.3bt Type 3 upper classes and Type 4. Below 60 W (Types 1 and 2, and Type 3 through Class 5), ordinary Class 2/3 installation rules apply without the ampacity table. The table gives amps per conductor at 30°C ambient; hotter spaces take the standard temperature correction factors.

What is LP-rated cable?

The bundle-math escape hatch: cable listed and marked CL2-LP(x.xA) — for example CL2-LP(0.6A) — may be installed in bundles of any size at currents up to its marked ampere value (ratings run 0.5 to 1 A). The marking means the cable passed a worst-case 192-cable bundle heat test, so the per-bundle engineering is already done. For dense Type 4 risers, LP cable is usually simpler than managing bundle counts.

How much current does high-power PoE actually put on each conductor?

802.3bt Type 4 drives up to 0.96 A per pairset across two pairsets — roughly 0.5 A per conductor when all four pairs share evenly. Against the table, 23 AWG (typical Cat6) at 60°C in a 92–192 cable bundle allows 0.4 A per conductor — which is why big Type 4 bundles need 75/90°C-rated cable, smaller bundles, or LP-listed cable to pencil out.

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