PoE Wattage Chart — Types 1–4 & Classes 0–8
Every IEEE Power over Ethernet standard side by side — 802.3af, 802.3at, and the two 802.3bt types — with the wattage at the switch port versus the wattage assured at the device, voltage, pairs energized, and cable guidance; then all nine classes. These are IEEE 802.3 interoperability values, the most stable numbers in the trade; cable-bundle ampacity above 60 W is the one place code (NEC 725.144) takes over.
PoE standards (Types 1–4)
| Type | Standard | PSE / port | At device | PSE volts | Pairs | Cable | Typical devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 1 (PoE) | 802.3af | 15.4 W | 12.95 W | 44–57 V | 2 | Cat3 permitted; Cat5e typical | VoIP phones, basic APs, IP cameras |
| Type 2 (PoE+) | 802.3at | 30 W | 25.5 W | 50–57 V | 2 | Cat5 or better | PTZ cameras, video phones, Wi-Fi 5/6 APs |
| Type 3 (PoE++ / 4PPoE) | 802.3bt | 60 W | 51 W | 50–57 V | 2 or 4 | Cat5e or better | Wi-Fi 6/6E APs, AV gear, signage, LED lighting |
| Type 4 (PoE++ / 4PPoE) | 802.3bt | 90 W | 71.3 W | 52–57 V | 4 | Cat5e min; Cat6A recommended (thermal) | Laptops, large displays, high-power PTZ, luminaires |
PoE classes (0–8)
| Class | Type | PSE / port | At device |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class 0 | 1 | 15.4 W | 0.44–12.95 (default) W |
| Class 1 | 1 | 4 W | 3.84 W |
| Class 2 | 1 | 7 W | 6.49 W |
| Class 3 | 1 | 15.4 W | 12.95 W |
| Class 4 | 2 | 30 W | 25.5 W |
| Class 5 | 3 | 45 W | 40 W |
| Class 6 | 3 | 60 W | 51 W |
| Class 7 | 4 | 75 W | 62 W |
| Class 8 | 4 | 90 W | 71.3 W |
Port watts vs device watts — where the power goes
Every PoE budget question comes down to the two columns: the PSE (power sourcing equipment) value is what the switch port must supply; the PD (powered device) value is what the device may count on after up to 100 m of copper. The difference — nearly 19 W at Type 4 — heats the cable. That is why dense high-power bundles are a code matter: above 60 W per cable, NEC 725.144 imposes an ampacity table by conductor gauge and bundle size. Switch budgets are also per-chassis, not just per-port — a 48-port switch rarely supplies full Type 2 on all 48 at once; check the total PoE budget on the data sheet.
The non-IEEE PoE you meet on job sites
Four names show up that are not IEEE types: Cisco UPOE (60 W, proprietary 4-pair, 2011 — pre-dates 802.3bt), Cisco UPOE+ (90 W, 802.3bt-compliant plus UPOE compatibility), PoH (HDBaseT) (up to 95 W, HDBaseT Alliance, not an IEEE PoE type), and passive 24 V — which has no detection or negotiation at all, is always on, and can damage equipment that is not built for it. Treat anything passive as manufacturer-specific wiring, not PoE.
Related look-ups: the 100 m distance rules and the cable category comparison.
Common questions
How many watts is PoE, PoE+, and PoE++?
At the switch port: 15.4 W for 802.3af (Type 1, "PoE"), 30 W for 802.3at (Type 2, "PoE+"), 60 W for 802.3bt Type 3, and 90 W for 802.3bt Type 4 (both sold as "PoE++"). The device is assured less — 12.95, 25.5, 51, and 71.3 W respectively — because the difference is dissipated in the cable over a full 100 m run.
Is 802.3bt Type 4 90 watts or 100 watts?
The IEEE spec point is 90 W at the PSE port (Class 8), delivering 71.3 W to the device. The "100 W PoE" in marketing is the SELV per-port safety ceiling — some power sourcing equipment ships 95–100 W ports (PoH-style), but that is beyond the Class 8 spec, not part of it.
Does PoE reduce the 100 m cable limit?
No — the 100 m channel limit is the Ethernet data limit and is identical with or without power. What power changes is the thermal and voltage-drop picture: high-power runs favor larger-conductor (23 AWG) cable, and bundles of cables carrying more than 60 W each fall under the NEC 725.144 ampacity table.
What is the difference between PoE types and classes?
The type is the standard generation and its maximum power (Types 1–4). The class is the specific power allocation a device negotiates inside that type (Classes 0–8) — the switch detects a 25 kΩ signature, then classifies the device by hardware handshake or LLDP so it only reserves the wattage actually needed. Class 8 is the top of Type 4: 90 W at the port, 71.3 W assured at the device.
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