Skip to main content
Calcimator

Network PoE Budget Calculator

Calculate Power over Ethernet budget from device count and power draw. Verify switch PoE capacity for phones, APs, cameras, and more.

Inputs

W
W
W
W
W

Results

Total PoE Required

680 W

≈ 11 laptops

PoE Utilization

45.9 %

Remaining Budget

800 W

≈ 13 laptops

Total PoE Budget1,480 W
Budget OK (1=Yes)1
Total PoE Devices63
Avg Watts per Device10.8 W
Addl Phones Possible123
Addl APs Possible32
Poe Standard802.3at (PoE+)
How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter IP Phones, Watts per Phone, and Wireless Access Points.
  2. Set Watts per AP, IP Cameras, and Watts per Camera.
  3. Adjust Other PoE Devices, Watts per Other Device as needed.
  4. Review Total PoE Required (W), PoE Utilization (%), and Remaining Budget (W).
  5. Use Total PoE Budget (W) and Budget OK (1=Yes) to inform your decision.

How the result changes with IP Phones

IP PhonesTotal PoE RequiredPoE UtilizationRemaining Budget
50745 W50.3 %735 W
1751,557.5 W105.2 %-77.5 W
3252,532.5 W171.1 %-1,052.5 W
4503,345 W226 %-1,865 W

What each input means

IP Phones
Number of PoE-powered IP phones
Watts per Phone
Power draw per IP phone (typically 4-8W)
Wireless Access Points
Number of PoE-powered wireless APs
Watts per AP
Power draw per AP (Wi-Fi 6: 20-30W, Wi-Fi 6E: 25-40W)
IP Cameras
Number of PoE-powered security cameras
Watts per Camera
Power draw per camera (basic: 8W, PTZ: 30-60W)
Other PoE Devices
Door access panels, sensors, thin clients, etc.
Watts per Other Device
Average power draw per other PoE device
Switch PoE Budget
Total PoE power budget per switch (check spec sheet)
Number of PoE Switches
Total PoE switches powering these devices

How this is calculated

Formula

Total PoE = Σ(Device Count × Watts/Device); Budget = Switches × Budget/Switch

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    IP Phones = 40, Watts per Phone = 6.5, Wireless Access Points = 10, Watts per AP = 25 = 10 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total PoE Required
    Total PoE Required
    680 = 680
  3. Calculate PoE Utilization
    PoE Utilization
    45.9 = 45.9
  4. Calculate Remaining Budget
    Remaining Budget
    800 = 800
  5. Calculate Total PoE Budget
    Total PoE Budget
    1480 = 1480
  6. Calculate Budget OK
    Budget OK
    1 = 1

Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators.

Related Calculators

The questions that sit next to this one — chosen by subject, including calculators filed under a different category.

Network Design

Switch Port Density Calculator

Calculate access, distribution, and core switch count from endpoint count, port requirements, and uplink oversubscription.

Network Design

Network Rack Space Calculator

Calculate rack units needed from equipment list including switches, routers, servers, UPS, and patch panels. Includes power and cooling estimates.

Construction Electrical

Security System Calculator

Camera, card reader, and panel count with PoE budget and storage sizing from facility specs.

Network Design

Bandwidth Capacity Planner

Calculate required network bandwidth from user count, application profiles, concurrency, and protocol overhead.

More in Technology & Computing.