Free calculator

PoE budget calculator

How much power the cameras draw and what PoE budget the switch has to guarantee.

Standards & referencesIEEE 802.3afIEEE 802.3atIEEE 802.3bt

Total draw—
Recommended PoE budget—
PoE ports needed—

How it is calculated

  1. Each camera type carries the typical draw of its class: 15 W for dome and IR bullet (802.3at), 30 W for multisensor, 60 W for PTZ (802.3bt).
  2. The draws of every camera on the same switch are added up.
  3. The chosen headroom is applied to the total. The switch PoE budget must sit above that figure — not above the nominal draw.

A decision-support estimate. For full sizing — on the real floor plan, both standards in parallel, theoretical and corrected, and the vendor-neutral spec — use B-PLAN.

Open B-PLAN →

The four calculators, in order

Each answers one question and hands its result to the next. Together they follow the same path B-PLAN takes on the real floor plan.

1Camera requirementWhat the system has to be able to see2Lens & field of viewWhich optics meet that requirement
3PoE budgetWhat power the installation needsYou are here
4StorageWhat capacity holds the retention period