Hi folks, I just found myself in the situation where I am forced to run the main network cable going to the main router through a wall where it passes close to a power line at a 90 degree angle. Is there considerable interference that I should be trying to avoid? The cable is CAT6 unshielded. If there is interference, is there anything that I can add between the wires that would prevent it?
Thanks.
Thank you. I kind of knew that this is how they’re normally supposed to cross but I just wanted to minimize any possible interference since this is the main pipe coming in.
That’s literally how you’re supposed to do it. It will be fine
90 degree pass? I wouldn’t worry about it.
Mains voltage, lease of all your American (I assume) 120V does not cause issues for Ethernet in any practical domestic setting. Even with European 230V it’s not an issue.
The whole thing about power causing interference is only a data centre issue.
Just route your cables as makes the most sense. If that means crossing or using the same conduit, that’s fine.
You should be fine. You generally just want to avoid running it parallel when possible, and to my knowledge 90 degrees is fine. I run a 50 foot cat6 utp cable across a few 120v lines 90 degrees and it sustains a 2.5g link no problem.
Thank you. I kind of knew that this is how they’re normally supposed to cross but I just wanted to minimize any possible interference since this is the main pipe coming in.
This is all great insight into how much a regular residential power line affects a low voltage Ethernet cable. I read everywhere that network cables should cross at a right angle to power lines but nowhere does it quantify how much interference might occur one way or the other. Thanks all for the great answers.
Btw, yes, I’m in Canada, same as US from an electrical point of view.