PoE camera and 120V floodlight in the same box

Two boxes beat one shared enclosure. Set a 120 V floodlight box and a camera box side by side, or share one enclosure only where a fixed metal barrier splits it into two compartments. The NEC keeps communications cable at least 2 in [50 mm] away from power conductors when no barrier stands. Cat 5e and Cat 6 carry no mains-voltage rating, so the jacket decides the layout, not the 57 V DC on the pairs. Both builds hold the manufacturer-rated NEMA 4X / IP66 rating of our stainless boxes — rated by the manufacturer and not UL listed — when every entry takes a matched gland.

Can a PoE camera and a 120 V floodlight share one box?

They share one enclosure only when a fixed metal barrier splits it into two compartments; without that barrier you run two boxes, because the NEC keeps communications cable at least 2 in [50 mm] away from power conductors.

PoE from a listed switch or injector is a Class 2 circuit, capped at 100 VA. IEEE 802.3bt tops out at 90 W delivered at up to 57 V DC. The jacket around the pairs carries no mains-voltage rating, and the separation rule is written for the jacket. A firmly fixed barrier turns one enclosure into two compartments, and each compartment counts as its own box.

Two boxes stay the default. Each device fails on its own, the floodlight keeps working when the camera dies, and the inspection goes through at a glance. The outdoor junction box article for camera wiring covers sizing and entries for the camera box on its own.

What do you need before you start?

You need one rated enclosure per location, a metal divider for the shared-box build, matched glands for every entry, and a switched mains feed for the light. The list below covers both builds.

• Camera-side box: an 8 x 6 x 4 in 304 stainless wall-mount enclosure, NEMA 4X / IP66, for terminations only; in salt air the same size comes in 316L.
• Shared box: a 10 x 8 x 6 in 304 stainless wall-mount enclosure with room for the divider.
• Size range: wall-mount stainless boxes run from 6 x 4 x 4 in up to 60 x 36 x 16 in (H x W x D), so a wider shared box is one order away.
• Divider: sheet metal fixed full-depth across the box and bonded at both edges.
• Entries: one IP66-rated multicategory gland per data cable, plus a gasketed 1/2 in conduit hub for the mains feed.
• Switching: a relay or contactor for the floodlight, with barrier-type terminal blocks on both sides.

How do you split one enclosure into two compartments?

Mount the divider first, bond it to the enclosure ground stud, and land each circuit in its own compartment. Keep every data conductor at least 2 in [50 mm] from the mains terminals wherever no barrier stands.

1. Mark the divider line so the power compartment takes the smaller share — about 4 in [100 mm] of the 10 in [254 mm] width leaves the rest for the data side.
2. Fix the divider full-depth and bond it to the panel and walls; NEC 250.96(A) requires metal parts serving as equipment grounding conductors to be bonded together so they can carry the fault current. The grounding and bonding guide walks the stud and jumper details.
3. Kill the breaker and verify absence of voltage, then land the mains pair on the relay inside its compartment.
4. Bring your Cat 6 through its own gland into the data compartment and leave a 6 in [150 mm] service loop before the terminals.
5. Hold the 2 in [50 mm] distance inside the wiring duct too, wherever the barrier does not stand between the runs.
6. Label the door 120 V on one side and PoE / Class 2 on the other, so the next hand in the box knows the split.

When both runs travel to the box in one conduit, the same separation logic decides the build. The technical analysis of low-voltage and high-voltage conductors sharing one conduit covers the induced-voltage side.

Which glands keep the box watertight after the cutouts?

Every data entry takes an IP66-rated multicategory gland whose seal range covers the measured jacket — a 0.24 to 0.31 in [6-8 mm] seal fits the 0.28 in [7 mm] jacket common on outdoor Cat 6.

Measure the jacket with calipers before you order, because gel-filled outdoor cable runs fatter than indoor patch cable. One cable per gland; the two-cables-one-gland article sets the narrow exceptions. Hole size and edge finish belong on the drawing, and the cutouts, glands and windows guide covers both. Data ports on a housing follow the same logic; the waterproof USB and ethernet ports article covers covers and pass-through patches.

The weakest part sets the assembly rating, so one unmatched plug drops the whole box to that part's level. Set the two entries on the bottom wall, at least 4 in [100 mm] apart, each with its drip loop. In US installations NEC 110.28 states that IP ratings are not a substitute for enclosure type ratings, so the spec carries the NEMA type alongside the IP code.

How much heat does the PoE gear add inside?

Terminations alone warm a 10 x 8 x 6 in stainless box by about 1 K. Add a midspan injector and a relay dissipating 8 W together and the rise is about 9 K, so keep the injector outside.

Worked example for the 10 x 8 x 6 in [254 x 203 x 152 mm] 304 stainless box:

• Surface area: 2 × (10 × 8 + 10 × 6 + 8 × 6) = 376 in² = 0.243 m².
• Internal loss: 8 W, an example input for one midspan injector plus the relay coil; the injector datasheet states its own figure.
• Stainless wall transfer: k = 3.7 W/m²K.
• Rise: 8 W ÷ (3.7 W/m²K × 0.243 m²) = 9 K.

At 35 C [95 F] ambient the interior sits near 44 C [111 F]. That clears the 40 C [104 F] ambient that drives and most electronics are referenced to, which is why you mount the injector on the wall beside the box and only the terminations stay inside. Terminations alone dissipate about 1 W, a 1 K rise, and the compartment stays near ambient.

How high and where do you mount the boxes?

Fix both boxes to a vertical wall with entries at the bottom and a drip loop below every gland. Keep the highest switch or breaker handle no higher than 2.0 m [6 ft 7 in] above the floor or platform, per NEC 240.24(A).

Set the two boxes 6 to 12 in [150-300 mm] apart so both doors swing free and one cable run serves both. Mount the floodlight at least 12 in [300 mm] below the camera sightline and aim it outward; a lamp inside the lens line washes out the night image the moment it fires. A doorway camera works well at 8 to 10 ft [2.4-3 m]. Stand each box off the wall on its mounting feet so water runs behind the back, not through the entries. If you fit a breaker inside, NEC 110.26(A) asks for 3 ft [900 mm] of clear working space in front, Condition 1 at 0-150 V to ground, with room for the door to swing 90 degrees.

What do you check before you close the door?

You close out with four checks: gland seals matched to the measured jacket, a pull test on every cable, continuity from divider to ground stud, and an even gasket line all round the door.

• Seal range: the measured 0.28 in [7 mm] jacket sits inside the gland's marked 0.24-0.31 in [6-8 mm] band.
• Pull test: a firm hand pull on each cable moves no jacket and no gland.
• Bond: divider to ground stud reads a few tenths of an ohm at most on a DMM.
• Gasket: the door closes with even finger pressure and no daylight at the corners.
• Water: a hose spray on the door line and each gland for a couple of minutes finds a bad seat before the first storm does.
• Audit: the mixed-voltage junction box checklist runs the full close-out for combined boxes.

What mistakes cost the rating or the inspection?

The failures repeat every season: an open knockout, a shared entry, a short barrier, an injector cooked inside, or cables sealed with duct compound instead of a rated gland.

• A hole packed with duct seal: compound is maintenance, never a rated entry, and the assembly drops to the lowest part's rating.
• Cat 6 sharing the mains entry: separate entries, 4 in [100 mm] apart, one voltage class per compartment.
• A barrier that stops 1 in [25 mm] short of the top: both compartments share one air space and the separation is gone.
• An injector inside without the heat math: 9 K of rise lands on it at 35 C [95 F] ambient.
• An open vent drilled to fight condensation: the breather vent article explains when a vent keeps a NEMA 4X rating; use a manufacturer-rated accessory or a desiccant pack.

So: two boxes when the runs are independent and you want the simplest inspection. One enclosure with a full-height, bonded barrier when both devices share one mount and one cable pull. Either way the rating survives on matched glands, a bonded divider and a 2 in [50 mm] distance wherever the barrier does not stand. We build each box to the size, grade and cutouts you set — the custom enclosure builder takes the inputs — and delivery is 10 business days, counted from drawing approval for custom work.

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