TL;DR: Shortlist & Where POE-Jack® Shines

If you only have a few minutes, here’s the quick shortlist of when a GRID Networking + POE-Jack® design is usually the right answer in Canada. If you came here searching for “poe jack canada”, “in wall ethernet switch” or “PoE wall plate Canada”, these are the scenarios where POE-Jack® tends to win.

• Modern offices & MDUs with riser congestion: Replace four home runs per desk/suite with a single 23-AWG Cat6e run feeding an Active POE-Jack® APOEJK2-WH at the wall. For a deeper dive into riser cabling congestion, see our high-rise guide: Fix Riser Cabling Congestion in Canadian Towers with POE-Jack® .
• LEED-oriented commercial projects: Use POEJC6E-CMP plenum cable plus POE-Jack® to dematerialize copper, trays and power bricks and support LEED MR/EA narratives.
• Digital signage & AV over structured cabling: Pair POE-Jack® plates with PoE HDMI-over-IP and POEJK-DS1 Android signage players instead of a tangle of bricks and baluns behind every screen.
• Security cameras, APs & IoT at −40 °C: Combine 23-AWG cabling with POE-Jack® cascades to keep voltage drop and field connections under control.
• Rural / off-grid / cabins: Centralize DC power and stretch it with PoE, IP-over-coax and in-wall switches instead of site-by-site power kludges. For a full off grid networking canada walkthrough, see Cabin, Rural and Off-Grid Networking in Canada with POE-Jack® .

The rest of this guide dives into how POE-Jack® works, how to design with it, and how to explain it to everyone from the GC to the LEED reviewer.

Quick Answer: What Is POE-Jack®?

POE-Jack® is an in-wall PoE switch (often called an “in wall poe switch,” “PoE wall plate switch” or “PoE wall jack”) that turns a single 23-AWG Cat6e drop into multiple powered Ethernet ports at the wall. In plain language, it’s an in wall ethernet switch that hides where your wall jack normally goes. In a typical Canadian office or MDU, switching from “four home runs per desk/suite” to “one home run + Active POE-Jack® plate” can cut:

• Up to 75% of copper home runs
• Patch panels, patch cords and switch ports by a similar margin
• Many AC outlets and power bricks in ceilings and under desks

Instead of stuffing risers and telecom rooms with cable and plastic, you centralize power in a GRID PoE switch (e.g. POEJK-S48-750E or POEJK-S48-3600), then fan out at the wall with POE-Jack® plates. The result is a cleaner design, easier LEED story and lower total installed cost than traditional “Cat6 everywhere” specs. If you’ve been looking for “poe jack canada” or a reliable PoE wall plate Canada solution, this is the architecture you’re evaluating.

Who This Guide Is For

• IT / network managers in Canada designing or refreshing office floors, campuses, MDUs and mixed-use buildings.
• Low-voltage contractors, integrators and security/AV firms who care about labour hours, callbacks and long-term serviceability.
• Architects, electrical engineers and LEED consultants looking for a credible, spec-friendly way to reduce cabling material and “hidden carbon”.
• Developers and owners who want smaller risers, smaller telecom rooms and simpler tenant improvements over the life of the building.

Best GRID / POE-Jack® Combos by Scenario

The table below summarises the most common Canadian use cases and the GRID Networking + POE-Jack® combos that usually beat “just run more Cat6 and drop in a desk switch” designs.

For many Canadian projects, you can start with one of these patterns and tweak for local constraints (existing conduit, unions, riser space, etc.).

What Is an In-Wall PoE Switch (PoE Wall Plate / PoE Wall Jack)?

In search terms, people will type things like “in wall poe switch,” “poe wall plate switch,” “in wall ethernet switch” or “poe wall jack” when they’re trying to describe POE-Jack®. Technically, POE-Jack® is an Active PoE wall plate switch:

• One PoE or PoE++ uplink (from a GRID PoE switch) enters the wall plate.
• The plate has a tiny managed/semimanaged switch inside, which splits that uplink into several local RJ45 ports.
• Those local ports can power and connect devices like laptops (via PoE-to-USB-C), VoIP phones, APs, cameras, signage players, touch panels and more.

From the user’s perspective, the wall looks like a clean multi-port data plate. From the network perspective, you’ve moved a small part of the switching fabric to the edge – but power is still centralized and managed at the GRID PoE switch.

POE-Jack® vs Desk Switches & Traditional Cabling

Almost every Canadian project that adopts POE-Jack® is replacing one (or both) of these patterns:

1. Legacy star cabling: Four home-run Cat6 cables per desk or suite, every jack back to the wiring closet, plus a 48-port PoE switch sized for all those ports.
2. One jack + cheap desk switch: A single Cat6 drop to each desk, then a plastic unmanaged 5-port switch with a power brick to feed all the devices on the desk.

Problems with legacy star cabling

• Overbuilt risers: Hundreds of cables in trays and shafts that are expensive to install, fire-stop and support.
• Oversized telecom rooms: More rack units, patch panels, ladder rack and clearance space than the building actually needs.
• Dark ports everywhere: Many of those four jacks per desk will never be used, but you still pay for them in copper, labour and switch ports.

Problems with the “one jack + desk switch” pattern

• Unmanaged, unmonitored switches multiplying across the floor, often with no documentation or inventory.
• Power bricks and power bars under every desk (extra heat, clutter and trip hazards).
• No clean path to DC microgrids or LEED stories – you’re pushing more AC into occupied spaces, not less.

How POE-Jack® fixes both

• Fewer, smarter home runs: One 23-AWG Cat6e home run per POE-Jack® plate, sized and placed to support an entire pod or suite.
• No desk switches or bricks: Power is delivered once from a GRID PoE switch; everything downstream is PoE-powered.
• Better documentation: Each in-wall PoE switch is a deliberate node in your design, not a random device someone added later.

75% Cabling Reduction: Old Star vs Distributed Edge Switching

The “up to 75% less cable” claim isn’t marketing fluff – it’s simple math. Here’s a simplified comparison for a 100-desk Canadian office floor.

In real projects, the exact percentages vary, but the pattern holds: you dramatically reduce copper and hardware in risers and IDFs while improving edge behaviour.

Why 23-AWG Cat6e Matters for PoE++ in Canada

POE-Jack® is designed around 23-AWG Cat6e permanent links like POEJC6E-CMP. That’s not just a catalogue choice; it’s a reliability decision:

• Lower resistance: Thicker copper means lower voltage drop over long PoE++ runs, especially important at −30 °C in Canadian mechanical rooms and parkades.
• Less heat in bundles: PoE cable bundles in plenums run cooler when the conductors are thicker, which aligns better with TSB-184-A guidance and AHJ expectations.
• More headroom for cascades: When a single uplink powers an in-wall PoE switch and several devices, every volt matters.

For short patching near switches and panels, GRID uses SlimPatch Cat6A (e.g. POEJK6A-xxx-GR/CL and GRP6A-xxx-RW) to keep racks tidy, but permanent links to POE-Jack® are 23-AWG wherever possible.

For a deeper dive on gauge, voltage drop and bundle behaviour, see the dedicated guide: “23-AWG Cat6e vs Cat6 for PoE in Canada”.

How POE-Jack® Helps Purchasers, Contractors, Integrators & IT

For IT / network managers

• Fewer unmanaged switches hiding under desks or above ceilings – everything stays on your managed PoE infrastructure.
• Cleaner port maps: One uplink per desk pod or suite, easily labelled and documented.
• Better troubleshooting: Combine POE-Jack® with LED keystone jacks and POEJK-LEDT to identify circuits instantly.

For low-voltage contractors & integrators

• Fewer pulls, fewer terminations: One well-planned drop per node instead of four per desk.
• Faster racks: SlimPatch cords, cable combs (e.g. GR-COMB) and LED jacks cut rack build time and reduce callbacks.
• Standardised BOMs: Repeatable patterns for desks, pods, rooms and floors.

For architects, engineers & LEED consultants

• Dematerialisation you can prove: Fewer cables, trays, panels and AC circuits with clear before/after diagrams.
• Better LEED MR/EA narratives: Centralised DC, fewer wall warts, better PoE efficiency – not just “green-label” cable.
• Simpler Division 27 specifications: One ecosystem (GRID + POE-Jack®) that can still be written in vendor-neutral language.

For owners & developers

• Smaller risers and telecom rooms that free up rentable space.
• Lower first cost on copper, labour and hardware for the same or better capability.
• Easier tenant improvements – fewer home runs to move, fewer surprises in ceilings.

LEED v4/v5: Turning Cabling into a Credit Contributor

In most LEED projects, Division 27 is an afterthought. You get a generic Cat6 spec, a large bundle of copper in the riser, and dozens of wall-wart power supplies the LEED team never sees. POE-Jack® flips that script.

Materials & Resources (MR)

• Less copper, plastic and metal than a four-drop design; you can quantify the reduction in cable length, patch panels and trays.
• Higher quality, Red-List-conscious plenum cable (e.g. POEJC6E-CMP) instead of generic, high-PVC options.

Energy & Atmosphere (EA)

• Centralised DC with fewer conversion losses: One PoE power plant vs hundreds of individual AC/DC bricks.
• Easier UPS and control: It’s much simpler to back up one PoE core and edge than 300 random wall warts.

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

• Less clutter in plenums and occupied spaces: Smaller cable bundles, fewer mystery power strips above ceilings and behind screens.
• Better coordination with HVAC: DC loads are easier to model for cooling than scattered bricks.

Innovation (IN)

• Converged low-voltage / DC microgrids with documented material savings and resilience can be presented as innovation credits.

The key is documentation: include before/after riser diagrams, cable take-offs and PoE power plans in your LEED submission so reviewers can clearly see that POE-Jack® is not just a brand name, but a measurable reduction in material and energy waste.

Example: 100-Desk Canadian Office – Before & After

Let’s put it together in a concrete example: a 100-desk floor in a new Canadian office building.

Baseline: traditional 4-drop per desk design

• 4 × Cat6 home runs per desk (400 total)
• At least 400 patch panel ports, often more for future growth
• Two or three 48-port PoE switches, many ports dark on day one
• Multiple cable trays and heavier fire-stopping work in risers

POE-Jack® design: one uplink per desk pod

• One 23-AWG Cat6e home run per desk or per 2-desk pod (~100 cables)
• APOEJK2-WH at each desk/pod location, giving multiple data ports locally
• One or two GRID PoE switches (e.g. POEJK-S48-750E or POEJK-S48-3600) sized to actual devices + growth
• Up to 75% less copper in risers, fewer panels, smaller trays and a simpler LEED story

On paper this can easily deliver 20–30% project savings once you add up copper, patching, switch ports, rack space, labour and power – all while making the network easier to manage, not harder.

When POE-Jack® Is (and Isn’t) the Right Choice

Great fit for

• New builds and major TIs where you control routing, risers and IDF layouts.
• LEED and sustainability-driven projects where material reduction matters.
• Offices, MDUs, schools, healthcare, hospitality with many low-power IP devices per location.
• Rural / industrial projects where centralised power and fewer field joints are a big win.

Use with caution or avoid when

• You have very high-power non-PoE loads that exceed what PoE and PoE splitters can comfortably supply.
• The network design requires strictly centralised switching with no edge switching at all (rare in practice, but some policies exist).
• You’re dealing with extreme EMI environments or distances that truly demand fibre right to the device.

In those edge cases, POE-Jack® may still play a role for desks and light loads, but you’ll combine it with more traditional fibre or specialised industrial solutions for the tough bits.

FAQ: Common Questions About POE-Jack® in Canada

If you’re planning a specific Canadian project and want help turning this into a bill of materials, design notes and a LEED-friendly narrative, reach out to the GRID / POE-Jack® team for a project-specific design review.