Business security
PoE security lighting: lights that respond to Ajax alarms and camera events
PoeWit fixtures run on the same Cat6 cable as your cameras. An alarm or a camera event can bring a parking lot or a driveway to full light in under a second. Here is how it works, where it fits, and where line-voltage lighting still wins.
PoE security lighting runs PoeWit LED fixtures on the same Cat6 cable as your cameras, with no 120-volt wiring at the fixture. It programs them to react to an Ajax alarm or a camera event in under a second. Rivas Technology Group installs it low voltage for South Sound businesses and estates from Kent.
By Ivan Rivas, Owner and Sales Engineer · 2026-09-17 · Updated 2026-09-17
What is PoE security lighting?
Lighting powered and controlled over a network cable, programmed to react to a security event. A PoE switch sends low-voltage DC power and data to each LED fixture over one twisted-pair cable, so there is no 120-volt wiring at the fixture (Cisco, PoE lighting). Because every fixture is a network device, it can take instructions from a camera, an alarm output, a motion sensor or a control system.
PoeWit builds the fixtures and the triggers we use for this, and the same cabling that carries your cameras carries the lights. Our commercial PoE lighting page covers the panels and wall packs for interiors; this post is about the security use outdoors and at the perimeter.
What is PoeWit?
A Fort Lauderdale company, founded in 2019, that makes Power-over-Ethernet lighting, sensors and drivers for smart homes and commercial buildings (PoeWit catalog). Its outdoor line includes OS-series floodlights and WP-series wall packs, some with PoE pass-through ports that power a camera and a motion detector from the same cable (PoeWit). Around the fixtures sit an MD-1 outdoor motion and light sensor and an IP-1 dry contact and voltage trigger (PoeWit IP-1).
An MV-1 driver runs 12 to 30 volt landscape lights, sirens or strobes (PoeWit MV-1). Everything is configured in the free PoeWit app, and there are Control4, Crestron and URC drivers (PoeWit). PoeWit also publishes direct integrations with Verkada, Rhombus, Avigilon Alta and Eagle Eye Networks camera platforms (same source). Rivas Technology Group is an approved PoeWit dealer.
How can lighting react to an Ajax alarm or a camera event?
Through a dry contact, a webhook from the camera platform, or Control4 programming. Four paths, from simplest to most integrated:
- Ajax alarm to lights. An Ajax Relay Jeweller is a dry contact relay that runs scenarios by alarm, by arming and by schedule (Ajax Relay manual). The PoeWit IP-1 reads two dry contact inputs and two voltage inputs. When an input is assigned to a lighting group, it turns those lights on at a set intensity, steady or flashing, for a set duration (PoeWit IP-1). Relay closes on alarm, IP-1 sees it, the lot goes to full.
- Camera analytics to lights. On a supported camera platform, an analytic event such as motion or loitering sends a webhook to PoeWit's cloud. The cloud routes the response to the right fixture group. PoeWit states typical end-to-end latency of 180 to 220 milliseconds (PoeWit outdoor security). Eagle Eye Networks documents this as an event-based API integration (Eagle Eye Networks).
- Motion sensor to lights. A PoeWit MD-1 on the same switch triggers lights on motion and ambient light level, with different intensities by time of day (PoeWit MD-1).
- Control4 programming. Where a site runs Control4, both Ajax and PoeWit have drivers, so an Ajax alarm event can fire a PoeWit lighting scene alongside cameras and notifications.
The IP-1 also has two voltage outputs, so the same event that lights the lot can fire a strobe or a siren on the MV-1 (PoeWit IP-1). Full light does two jobs: it makes the intruder visible and it lets the camera record in color instead of infrared. That is why PoeWit calls it the active half of a camera system, and why we pair it with the cameras on our business security page.
Why is PoE lighting a low-voltage install?
Because the fixture carries Class 2 power over data cable, which Washington regulates as limited-energy electrical work. The state's (06) limited energy specialty covers signaling and power-limited circuits, including intrusion alarms, lighting control systems and similar low-energy equipment in all occupancies (WAC 296-46B-920). That work still requires an electrical contractor license, and Rivas Technology Group holds WA electrical contractor license RIVASGL799DR, active, bonded and insured (L&I lookup). Cable design follows the National Electrical Code.
Bundles carrying more than 60 W per cable fall under the ampacity table in NEC 725.144, which sets bundle sizes by wire gauge and temperature rating (Ethernet Alliance). We size the PoE switch budget, the cable gauge and the bundle count per project. The 120-volt feed to the switch and the UPS is line-voltage work; on commercial sites that goes to our licensed trade partners under our design and supervision.
What are the energy and control benefits?
Per-fixture control, metered power and lights that run through an outage. Every PoeWit fixture dims, schedules and groups on its own. A lot can sit dimmed after hours and go to full on an event instead of burning at full all night (PoeWit). A managed PoE switch reports power per port, so you can see what each fixture draws.
With a UPS on the PoE switch, exterior lights and the cameras on their pass-through ports stay up when the building loses power (PoeWit outdoor lighting). The control side folds into the same scenes as the rest of the building through the Control4 driver. One Close scene dims the interior and arms the perimeter, the way it does on our smart lighting page.
Where does PoE security lighting fit?
Parking lots, warehouses, gated estates and new construction. In each case the cabling is either already going in or already there:
- Parking lots and building perimeters. Wall packs on the same runs as the cameras, at full on a camera event and dimmed the rest of the night.
- Warehouses and yards. Fixtures along the fence and loading doors tied to the Ajax outdoor detectors, with the IP-1 in the same closet as the hub.
- Gated estates. Driveway, gate and dock lighting on the MV-1, triggered by an Ajax DualCurtain Outdoor or a camera line crossing, with the intercom and gate on the same network.
- New construction and tenant improvements. The cheapest case: one low-voltage crew pulls lighting, cameras and access points on the same day, in the same pathways, before drywall.
Where does line-voltage lighting still win?
High-output pole lights, long distances and sound existing wiring. Ethernet runs top out at 100 m from the switch, so a fixture at the far corner of a five-acre lot needs a closet nearby or a different approach. Large lots lit from 30-foot poles need more lumens than a PoE fixture delivers.
A building whose line-voltage lighting is in good shape and not being remodeled rarely justifies pulling it out. Sites with no power at all, such as a construction yard or a remote gate, are a case for our solar security tower. It carries its own cameras and lighting. When line-voltage is the right answer, we say so and design the controls to work with it.
What drives the cost?
Fixture count, switch PoE budget, cable runs and UPS runtime. PoE fixtures cost more than conventional LED per unit; the saving is in installation, because low-voltage cable runs with the cameras instead of a separate electrical mobilization. Every proposal is fixed price, and the instant quote gives you a first figure in minutes.
Need it designed?
Rivas Technology Group designs and installs PoeWit security lighting with Ajax and cameras from Kent across south King County and Pierce County. That includes Tacoma, Auburn, Puyallup, Federal Way and Gig Harbor. It shares a rack with the cabling on our commercial infrastructure page. Book a site assessment and we will show you what the lot looks like at full light.
