One of the more interesting developments in the application of Ethernet in industrial environments has been Power over Ethernet (PoE). If you’re unfamiliar with PoE, the basic idea involves passing electrical power over the same Ethernet lines used to transmit data between systems.
Granted, the level of power available in PoE application is not massive, but it’s not insignificant either. Enough power can be carried via PoE to operate end devices such as security cameras, network routers and switches. And as the number of industrial devices with Ethernet ports, such as sensors, controllers and meters, have proliferated, the potential for PoE seems significant.
The problem is that few people seem to be applying it.
Automation World asked members of its LinkedIn group (bit.ly/automationworld) if any of them were using PoE. To date, the response has been a resounding “no.” Not one person has yet indicated they were using PoE despite having a great deal of interest in it.
Why is this so?
One application I always had in mind for PoE was for powering the linking devices used in a Foundation Fieldbus HSE installation, says Richard Caro, owner of CMC Associates, Quincy, Mass. The problem, according to Caro, is that none of the linking device manufacturers can be powered from the Ethernet line. “Maybe, this is one of the reasons HSE is not used more often. PoE is a great technology, [but] most users have never heard about it,” he says.
Rick Rice, applications engineer at Crest Foods in Rockford, Ill., says that one of the hurdles PoE faces, like any other advance in technology, is its cost of implementation. “Upper management is always interested in the bottom line and, frankly, spending money on the ‘new-fangled stuff’, to use a description I heard while passing a board room recently, just doesn't seem appealing to most decision makers.”
As an industrial technology implementer, Rice says he would “love to use PoE technology” because of what he sees as the clear advantages to the technology ranging from simple wiring to advanced diagnostics and reliability.
Echoing Rice’s comments is Dan Bacon, senior electrical control systems engineer at Tech-Star, Salt Lake City, Utah. “Unfortunately, the best technology, economically and functionally, does not always get implemented due to resistance from upper management,” he says.
Adding that he thinks the push toward wireless may cut off any potential surge for PoE, Johnson Lukose, business manager at Scadatech Engineering in Selangor, Malaysia, says, “PoE was [once] tagged as a game changer, but [now] it is languishing to capture the factory floor. By all accounts it looks like it'll be overtaken by wireless technology. However, I find it doing well in the access control, CCTV and physical security markets.”
What do you think? Are these users on target or are they missing a critical aspect of the PoE issue? Weigh in with your comments at http://linkd.in/lipoediscussion.
If you’re interested in learning more about the latest developments with PoE, visit this white paper on the Automation World site at http://www.automationworld.com/information-management/latest-developments-poe-technology-poe-plus-has-arrived.
Moja ya maendeleo ya kuvutia zaidi katika matumizi ya Ethernet katika mazingira ya viwanda imekuwa Power juu ya Ethernet (PoE). Kama wewe si ukoo na PoE, wazo la msingi inahusisha kupita nguvu ya umeme juu ya mistari sawa Ethernet kutumika kwa kuhamisha data kati ya mifumo. Kwa kweli, kiwango cha nguvu inapatikana katika maombi PoE si kubwa, lakini si ndogo ama. Nguvu ya kutosha inaweza kubebwa kupitia PoE kuendesha vifaa vya mwisho kama vile kamera za usalama, routers za mtandao na swichi. Kwa kuwa idadi ya vifaa vya viwanda na bandari za Ethernet, kama vile sensorer, controllers na mita, zimeongezeka, uwezekano wa PoE unaonekana kuwa mkubwa. Tatizo ni kwamba watu wachache sana wanaonekana kuwa wanaitumia. Automation World aliuliza wanachama wa kundi lake la LinkedIn (bit.ly/automationworld) ikiwa yeyote kati yao alikuwa akitumia PoE. Hadi sasa, jibu limekuwa <unk>no.<unk> Hakuna mtu mmoja ambaye ameonyesha kuwa alikuwa akitumia PoE licha ya kuwa na maslahi mengi ndani yake. Kwa nini hali iko hivyo? "Kama matumizi ya kawaida ya PoE, hii ni kwa ajili ya vifaa vya kuunganisha kutumika katika Foundation Fieldbus HSE ufungaji, ""alisema Richard Caro, mmiliki wa CMC Associates, Quincy, Massachusetts." Tatizo, kwa mujibu wa Caro, ni kwamba hakuna wa wazalishaji wa kifaa kuunganisha inaweza kuwa powered kutoka mstari Ethernet. <unk>Labda, hii ni moja ya sababu HSE si kutumika mara nyingi zaidi. PoE ni teknolojia kubwa, [lakini] watumiaji wengi hawajawahi kusikia kuhusu hilo, <unk> anasema. Rick Rice, mhandisi wa maombi katika Crest Foods huko Rockford, Illinois, anasema kwamba moja ya vikwazo PoE inakabiliwa, kama maendeleo mengine yoyote katika teknolojia, ni gharama yake ya utekelezaji. "Usimamizi wa juu daima unavutiwa na mstari wa chini na, kwa uwazi, kutumia pesa kwenye ""vitu vipya vya mtindo"" - kutumia maelezo niliyosikia wakati wa kupita chumba cha bodi hivi karibuni - haionekani kuwa ya kuvutia kwa watoa maamuzi wengi. kama mtekelezaji wa teknolojia ya viwanda, Rice anasema angependa kutumia teknolojia ya PoE kwa sababu ya kile anaona kama faida wazi kwa teknolojia kuanzia wiring rahisi hadi utambuzi wa hali ya juu na kuegemea." Akirudia maoni ya Rice ni Dan Bacon, mhandisi mwandamizi wa mifumo ya kudhibiti umeme katika Tech-Star, Salt Lake City, Utah. "Kwa bahati mbaya, teknolojia bora, kiuchumi na kazi, si daima kupata kutekelezwa kutokana na upinzani kutoka usimamizi wa juu", anasema. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""PoE ni moja ya njia za kuvutia zaidi za kuendesha gari, na inaonekana kuwa moja ya njia za kuvutia zaidi za kuendesha gari,"" alisema Johnson Lukase, meneja wa biashara katika ScadTech Engineering huko Selangor, Malaysia, ambaye alisema: ""PoE ilikuwa [wakati mmoja] alama kama mabadiliko ya mchezo, lakini [sasa] ni languishing kukamata sakafu ya kiwanda." Kwa mujibu wa ripoti zote inaonekana kama itakuwa overtaken na teknolojia ya wireless. Hata hivyo, mimi kupata ni kufanya vizuri katika udhibiti wa upatikanaji, CCTV na soko la usalama wa kimwili. <unk> Nini unafikiri? Je, watumiaji hawa ni juu ya lengo au ni wao kukosa kipengele muhimu ya suala PoE? Unaweza pia kuchangia kwa kutumia tovuti ya http: www.linked.com au kwa kutumia tovuti ya www.linked.com. Kama una nia ya kujifunza zaidi kuhusu maendeleo ya hivi karibuni na PoE, kutembelea hii nyeupe karatasi juu ya Automation World tovuti katika http: www.automationworld.com/information-management:: latest-developments-poe-teknolojia-poe-plus-has-arrived.