State Electric Company (STELCO) Remote Substations use Perle PoE Switches in Surveillance Camera Installation

IP cameras are connected to Perle Industrial Switches for PoE and Copper to Fiber conversion at Maldives substation and transformer locations

PRINCETON, N.J. (Jan. 25, 2022) Outdoor security cameras are designed to operate in sun, heat, rain, sleet, and snow. The rest of the system, such as the switch, router, and power source, needs to be protected against the elements. Therefore, when STELCO decided to install security cameras at 50 substation and transformer locations, they knew they would need industrial-grade networking equipment housed inside IP65 NEMA enclosures. When choosing equipment for this type of environment, there were several factors they took into consideration.

Many commercial-grade networking devices rely on airflow to dissipate heat generated by internal components. However, because IP65 NEMA enclosures are unvented, the equipment inside must be rated to operate in temperatures of -40°C to +75°C.

The cameras would be mounted on poles, or the sides of buildings, at the various substation and transformer locations. Therefore, the Industrial PoE Switches would also need to provide Power over Ethernet (PoE) to the security cameras, as well as, copper ethernet to single mode fiber conversion for data transmission between the cameras and recording stations at corporate headquarters.

“We selected the Perle IDS Switches as they met the operational connectivity requirements and could provide power to the surveillance cameras,” says Hassan Shifaz, Network Engineer at STELCO. “As the switches are fanless and support high temperatures, the conditions within the NEMA enclosure prove no challenge to them. They are working well.”

Each Perle IDS Industrial PoE Switch provides 30 Watts PoE to the attached IP camera and performs copper to fiber conversion. Their small form-factor ensured easy installation into the compact NEMA enclosures. Unused Ethernet ports are designated for future surveillance expansion with additional cameras, motion detector devices, and other equipment.

Perle Industrial PoE Switches operate in temperatures of -40°C to +75°C. All components are temperature rated and fully heat chamber tested. No ‘commercial-grade’ parts are used as these are likely to cause failures when exposed to high or low temperatures.