A wired outdoor security camera runs on one Ethernet cable that carries data and power together. Two numbers decide whether it works on your house: the PoE budget of the switch feeding it, and the length of the cable run.
What the PoE type on the box commits you to
Fluke Networks lists the four IEEE 802.3 PoE types. Type 1 (802.3af) sends 15.4 W with 13 W left for the camera. Type 2 (802.3at) sends 30 W with 25.5 W usable.
Types 3 and 4 (802.3bt) push 60 W and 90 W over all four pairs. Home cameras live in Type 1: the Axis M2036-LE datasheet lists 802.3af/at Class 3, typical 5 W, maximum 12.95 W.
| PoE type | Standard | From the switch | At the camera |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type 1 | 802.3af | 15.4 W | 13 W |
| Type 2 | 802.3at | 30 W | 25.5 W |
| Type 3 | 802.3bt | 60 W | 51 W |
| Type 4 | 802.3bt | 90 W | 71 W |
The catch is the shared budget. TP-Link’s TL-SG1005P gives its four 802.3af/at ports a combined 65 W, and its power management cuts lower-priority ports once the total passes that line.
Cable length: 100 metres, minus the patch cords
Cabling standards cap a channel at 100 metres. Fluke breaks that down as up to 90 metres of permanent link plus no more than 10 metres of patch cords. A 95 metre pull to a detached garage leaves 5 metres of patch, not 10.
Fluke also notes that PoE warms bundled cables, a design concern only above 60 W. A few 13 W cameras in one conduit stay far under it.
Outdoors, the jacket matters more than the category. trueCABLE sells its outdoor Cat6 with a UV-resistant jacket rated for direct burial, and that is the wording to look for, not “waterproof”.
Ending the run at a network closet? Our guide to setting up a smart home hub yourself covers switch placement.
Night range: what “30 metres” actually measures
Infrared range on a spec sheet is how far the built-in LEDs reach on a reflective scene, not how far away you can identify a face. Axis says so: the M2036-LE’s 855 nm LEDs give “20 m or more depending on the scene”.
Reolink rates the RLC-810A at 30 metres (100 ft) from 18 IR LEDs at 850 nm. The RLC-811A keeps the 30 metre IR figure and adds five 4 W spotlights at 6500 K, 450 lumens, for colour video at night.
The drawback: a spotlight announces the camera and draws from the same 802.3af budget. Ubiquiti’s G5 Bullet lists 9 metre IR night vision, which covers a porch or a side door, not a driveway.
If you would rather skip the cable entirely, our subscription-free security camera guide covers the wireless trade-offs.
| Camera | IR range (spec) | PoE | Operating temp | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reolink RLC-810A | 30 m, 18 LEDs, 850 nm | 802.3af, 48 V | -10 °C to +55 °C | IP67 |
| Reolink RLC-811A | 30 m IR plus 450 lm spotlight | 802.3af, 48 V | -10 °C to +55 °C | IP67 |
| Ubiquiti G5 Bullet | 9 m | PoE (type not listed on store page) | Not listed on store page | Not listed on store page |
| Axis M2036-LE | 20 m or more, 855 nm | 802.3af/at Class 3, max 12.95 W | -30 °C to +50 °C | IP66/IP67, IK08 |
Sources: manufacturer spec pages and datasheets linked above.
Cold ratings decide the Canadian buy
Both Reolink models list an operating range of -10 °C to +55 °C. That floor sits above an ordinary January night across most of the country, the widest gap between consumer and commercial gear.
The Axis M2036-LE is rated -30 °C to 50 °C, and Axis documents that below -20 °C the camera heats itself to roughly -20 °C before it initializes. You pay for that with a 4 MP sensor and a commercial price bracket.
Outages are the other winter problem. A PoE switch on a battery pack keeps recording, and the watt hour math in our portable power station guide tells you how long a given switch draw lasts.
Do I need Cat6 for a PoE camera?
No. Fluke lists Cat5e, Cat6 and Cat6A as PoE-capable, and the Axis and Reolink cameras here use 10/100 ports, so bandwidth is not the constraint. Buy for the jacket and the run length.
Can I power one camera without a PoE switch?
Yes, a single-port PoE injector does it. Match it to the camera’s PoE type and check its own temperature rating if it sits in an unheated garage.
How far can a wired outdoor security camera sit from the switch?
Up to 100 metres of channel, patch cords included. Past that you need a second switch or an extender.
Joyce Lewis covers consumer technology, gaming, and online privacy for 3Zebras. She focuses on the practical side of modern tech, from smartphone tips and app guides to smart device security and the questions readers actually search for.