Read a white paper on passive optical LAN that flipped my thinking

I was always dead set against bringing fiber into enterprise buildings because I thought copper was simpler and cheaper. Then I found a study from a university in Texas that showed a 40% power reduction and 65% less cooling needed with a passive optical network over traditional switching. The numbers were so specific it made me stop and actually read the whole thing. Has anyone here made the switch to POL and seen real savings on their power bill?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileygonzalez1d ago

40% savings on paper doesn't mean squat when your electrician triple charges for fiber terminations.

evan_anderson1d agoMost Upvoted

We had the same problem a few years back. Ended up getting three bids and making the electrician break out their termination labor separate from materials. Once they saw we knew the industry rates, the price came down by almost 40% on that line item. Sometimes you just have to call their bluff and walk away if they won't negotiate.