I know it’s generally not a good idea and advisable to run Ethernet cable alongside a run of Romex or other 120V wiring but I wasn’t sure if I’m going to have any issues with mounting my Wi-Fi router?

I found a good central spot in my first floor hall and plan to mount it up the wall about 6 feet from the floor. I’d need to run the CAT6 (from the modem) and the router’s (12V DC?) power cable up a conduit or Wiremold to the router together.

Will these two be OK to be run alongside each other or will it be an issue?

I am not an expert but I doubt there would be any problem with running such a low voltage next to the CAT cable. Power Over Ethernet use conductors of the cable for sort of the same thing and over much longer distances. Worst case, run two raceways.

Not a problem.

BTW: It's not just "not a good idea [or] advisable" to run communications and low voltage cable in the same conduit as 120VAC and higher cable: It's a code violation, as well.

Why wouldn't you just use PoE for this application (perhaps with a DC-DC voltage converter)?

The fact that PoE exists, and is a recognized standard, should be enough of an answer to the original question.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
Why wouldn't you just use PoE for this application (perhaps with a DC-DC voltage converter)?

The fact that PoE exists, and is a recognized standard, should be enough of an answer to the original question.

My Wi-Fi router is not POE, that’s why

Sidebar - y'all know that Starlink requires proprietary cable from dish to modem? Apparently (partly?) because it carries low voltage to dish to keep it ice and frost free. Probably partly because Elon needs a new pair o' shoes!

Thankfully my IT guy shared this, so we can plan for this on some new construction.

Low voltage DC, not a problem.

Low voltage AC, not really ideal. Had I known ahead of time I’d have run a separate conduit. Oh well…

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by architect:
Why wouldn't you just use PoE for this application (perhaps with a DC-DC voltage converter)?

The fact that PoE exists, and is a recognized standard, should be enough of an answer to the original question.

My Wi-Fi router is not POE, that’s why

PoE "injectors" are $10-20 on our favorite online retailer, a 4/5-port gigabyte PoE switch is not much more, and provides power to multiple drops. This might actually be cheaper than running two cables to a single location.

^^^Doesn’t help him as his WiFi/router box doesn’t accept POE. He’d need a POE injector and a POE splitter that had the right voltage and connector to power his WiFi/router box. That’s way more complicated than it needs to be since he has to run the Ethernet cable in the first place. All he has to do is run an extra set of wires to power his WiFi/router box along with the Ethernet cable.