ont power/current draw - Verizon FiOS (2024)

pghpooh
join:2003-03-05

pghpooh

Member

2018-Jul-28 1:43 pm

· actions · 2018-Jul-28 1:43 pm ·

gs0b

Member

2018-Jul-28 2:56 pm

If you want actual worst case specs, do some googling or look at the ratings on the ONT power supply.

In reality, it typically doesn't draw much. It's in the same class as modems and routers, maybe a bit more due to the coax amp and laser amp. If your circuit breaker pops when the ONT is added, you've already got a very heavily loaded circuit and the ONT is the least of your problems.

Good idea skipping the Verizon "power reserve." It has to be turned on manually during outages, only powers phone service and is not rechargeable. Basically useless and overpriced. Buy a UPS and use it to power not only the ONT but your networking equipment as well. This will keep internet service up during outages, which in my opinion, is more useful than a phone line.

Note that Verizon does not install BBUs anymore and removes them when working on old installations. You will not get a BBU from VZ. Get a UPS and be done with the backup power issue.

Good luck.

· actions · 2018-Jul-28 2:56 pm ·

batterup to pghpooh

Premium Member

2018-Jul-28 3:11 pm

150 watts.
»fccid.io/ANATEL/02746-08 ··· 68C1/PDF

Edit: The 150 watts is what the optional battery backup provides. Never mind.

· actions · 2018-Jul-28 3:11 pm ·

Shady Bimmer
Premium Member
join:2001-12-03

Shady Bimmer

Premium Member

2018-Jul-28 10:47 pm

I think you missed a decimal point.

From the doc you referenced the I-211 peak consumption is listed as 'Not exceeding 15.0 W with all services active (2 POTS on-hook and 1 Ethernet for data operational)'

My power monitoring has shown the ONT typically runs under 10 watts.

· actions · 2018-Jul-28 10:47 pm ·

batterup

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 8:42 am

What about if one is online downloading a gig a second wile the battery is being charged and the phone rings?

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 8:42 am ·

Packeteers to Shady Bimmer

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 8:49 am

are you ethernet based internet only?

i am, and my well ventilated ont feels pretty warm for a 10w consuming device

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 8:49 am ·

batterup

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 9:03 am

15 watts isn't the maximum, that is with phones on hook and one ethernet port being used. What about if one is watching TV.

The FCC documentation has all the information but it is very technical. The OP could put an inductive meter on the power cord and get a reading. That said I'll bet the maximum it could ever draw is around 150 watts with ethernet, one POTS talking one POTS ringing, battery charging and RF TV being watched.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 9:03 am ·

Shady Bimmer
Premium Member
join:2001-12-03

Shady Bimmer to Packeteers

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 10:59 am

No that is with triple-play.

I had done some more formal measurement over a period of time several years ago that is buried in these forums somewhere. Indeed the power consumption is pretty low.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 10:59 am ·

Shady Bimmer to batterup

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 11:15 am

???

Whether one is watching TV or not would not make a difference. The ONT is still bridging the video between optical and coax all the time. With analog phones there is potentially additional draw for the connected devices so the doc specifies the max that would be supported.

Yes I went through the doc. I didn't see any of the models listed with a 150W max draw. The MDU & business units that support a large number of analog phones had large values but none approached 150W.

150W would be a ridiculous amount of power for such a device. It would run very hot and would not be able to be in the outdoor enclosures that are often used (even indoors) without active cooling (fans). For passive cooling it would need to be all heat-sink (metal fins) and have very good airflow. Just think about how hot a 60W bulb gets as a reference (less than half of your 150W)

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 11:15 am ·

batterup

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 1:41 pm

What is the maximum the unit can draw if everything was running and battery is charging? The battery back up supplies 24 watts just for POTS. Odd it doesn't list maxim draw.

Even at maxim draw it isn't enough to worry about. A 110 vac household outlet can putout 1500 watts.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 1:41 pm ·

gs0b

Member

2018-Jul-29 2:23 pm

Verizon hasn't installed BBUs with rechargeable batteries in years and is actively removing them. Given that the OP had FiOS installed last week and stated they opted out of the battery backup, there is no need to consider a BBU's battery charging power consumption to answer their question.

The OP is trying to size a UPS and make sure they haven't overloaded the circuit. The 15W number in the doc you posted looks like a good one to use for sizing a UPS. If adding 15W to the circuit trips a 15A breaker, they've got other electrical issues that need to be addressed.

For a triple play customers, all ONT outputs are always on. POTs power is a little variable, as it will draw more during ringing and during calls, but it's not a huge amount. Ring current depends heavily on the type of phones attached. An old phone with an actual bell will draw a lot more than a modern electronic phone. Lookup REN for some more info. Even so, it's internment current that doesn't have significant impact on UPS run time.

Another data point would be to look at the ratings on the ONT power supply used on non-BBU installs. That will give us some idea about an absolute max power draw, as the power supply is most likely specified to exceed the maximum ONT power draw. I might look later, but my ONT and power supply aren't easily accessible.

Enjoy.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 2:23 pm ·

mlohr to pghpooh

Member

2018-Jul-29 3:20 pm

Just measured with battery full with P3 P4400 Kil meter watt 13 Watts internet only 24 watts with phone ringing. Easy to measure with battery disconnected. 150 exceeds early Ps3 and they had two fans. Previous ONT used 17 watts internet only.

Tv Boxes are terrible drawing 34 watts on or off.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 3:20 pm ·

Branch

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 4:03 pm

What STBs do you have? That seems high.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 4:03 pm ·

Shady Bimmer
Premium Member
join:2001-12-03

Shady Bimmer to batterup

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 5:37 pm

What do you mean by 'everything running'?

As I already noted if analog phone devices are connected they may themselves add a small additional draw. When a phone rings there is a potential additional small momentary increase depending on ringer types. Analog phones that draw power from the phone line would be the largest variation in power consumption by the ONT.

An old PSU I have from the original BBUs indicates 50W max output. That would have been for charging battery and running ONT at max usage with several analog phones, and was intended to be used for several different models. Current ONTs no longer leverage rechargeable batteries or battery chargers. Even the current "battery reserve" unit uses non-rechargeable D cells.

Where are you finding 150W and on what are you basing that value? Some actual references would be useful.

I used the actual details in the doc that you indicated as well as my own personal measurements.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 5:37 pm ·

batterup

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 6:35 pm

I get 150 watts from the modular "APC 150 W 48 V dc UPS". It is listed on the data sheet as an optional accessory.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 6:35 pm ·

Shady Bimmer
Premium Member
join:2001-12-03

Shady Bimmer

Premium Member

2018-Jul-29 8:09 pm

Ah.

That 150W would be the largest load that could be supported by that UPS, but not that any load connected to that UPS would necessarily draw 150W.

You do know that the UPS size by itself is not any indicator of the actual load, yes? It is normal for a UPS to be sized quite a bit larger than the nominal or even peak load.

For instance, if I have a 700W UPS on my PC it does not mean my PC has a max draw of 700W.

· actions · 2018-Jul-29 8:09 pm ·

mlohr to pghpooh

Member

2018-Jul-30 9:46 am

The ONT was a Nokia G821M A. Original HD boxes were changed after a problem and replacement HD STB CHS335HDC 10.8 watts booting but 15.7 watts on or off.

SD DCT 700US DRAW 8.7 watts booting or on or off.

Just for accuracy

· actions · 2018-Jul-30 9:46 am ·

rbeck692 to pghpooh

Member

2018-Jul-30 7:18 pm

You can use a meter to check that and the power draw of many other things in your house.

Killawatt

Option 1

Option 2

· actions · 2018-Jul-30 7:18 pm ·

mlohr to pghpooh

Member

2018-Aug-1 12:26 pm

· actions · 2018-Aug-1 12:26 pm ·

aaronwt to pghpooh

Premium Member

2018-Aug-1 3:59 pm

I think it's around 10 or 15 watts. I have my ONT, router, and three main switches attached to an APC 1500 UPS with an extended runtime battery pack attached. I will get 18 hours of runtime during a power outage in my setup before the ONT BBU kicks in.

This past Winter was the last time I had to test that when my power went out for a day and a half. My UPS lasted 18 hours with the ONT, an Asus router, and three Asus switches attached. In 24 years at my current location, that was the longest outage I have ever seen there.

· actions · 2018-Aug-1 3:59 pm ·

Mike Wolf to pghpooh

Member

2018-Aug-2 3:28 am

· actions · 2018-Aug-2 3:28 am ·

mlohr to pghpooh

Member

2018-Aug-2 3:06 pm

APC Rs 1000G power readout is somewhat low on light loads.

My ONT measures 14 watts on a P4400 Kill A Watt meter. But Linux drivers for APC on sever reports 10 watt 1%.

APC gets way more accurate at 1/2 load.

· actions · 2018-Aug-2 3:06 pm ·

Robert Morrisson
join:2000-03-31
Silver Spring, MD

Robert Morrisson to gs0b

Member

2018-Sep-13 5:56 pm

Once again Verizon is finding new and ingenious ways to make their customers unhappy with them.

For years Verizon touted their 4-8 hour backup thanks to the BBU. Now they provide nothing, unless you don't mind going into the basem*nt or the garage to switch the phones back on in the dark.

One site I maintain has an ONT for Internet only. We will be converting our copper lines to FiOS this week due to two grounded pairs and one failed pair. I will be installing a 1000 VA UPS on our ONT. Hopefully that will keep our elevator emergency phone up for the required four hours.

Remember when the telephones just worked reliably and we never thought about them? Now we have to switch them into and out of backup mode and to replace batteries at $12-$36 per set of 12 after about 24 hours of outages.

· actions · 2018-Sep-13 5:56 pm ·

gs0b

Member

2018-Sep-13 9:04 pm

Let me re-arrange a couple of points from your post:

Copper worked well for years because MaBell put the time and money into maintaining the copper network. Fiber requires much less maintenance than copper. It is not susceptible to water damage, field powered equipment issues (remote terminals, e.t.c.) or electrical issues (grounded pairs, for example). It is much more reliable than copper.

As for power backup, you now have the ability to make your own run time vs. cost decision. If you want longer run times, buy a big UPS and/or generator. Yes, this can cost more than copper but considering the better reliability of fiber, I consider this a good thing.

You mentioned this is for an elevator phone. Do you have emergency power for the elevator or related systems? Could you tap into that for the ONT? Verizon might also have other power solutions for non-residential phone lines, but you'd have to ask them.

Good Luck.

· actions · 2018-Sep-13 9:04 pm ·

Robert Morrisson
join:2000-03-31
Silver Spring, MD

Robert Morrisson

Member

2018-Sep-14 1:11 am

It took Verizon about five minutes to find the faults on the copper lines. One must wonder if they do those checks any more on a routine basis. My guess is that they do not.

I have a 1000 VA UPS that I will test to see how long the phone lines stay alive. If I can't get four hours out of it I have an 1800 VA UPS coming available that I can use.

I understand the logic of having a phone in the elevator shortly after the power fails, in case someone is trapped. If you manage to get into an elevator a few hours after the power has gone out then you have a problem. Even so, the requirement is four hours in this area. This is a single elevator that sees minimal usage and there is no backup for it.

Verizon has totally lost it with regard to serving their customers. The battery backup issue is just their latest SNAFU. If we had an alternative solution available I might embrace it. Comcast is available but their business Internet service is asymmetric and it is expensive. Perhaps their business customers receive better phone service than their residential customers but I would not want to entrust my business to them.

Are there any other options?

· actions · 2018-Sep-14 1:11 am ·

dplantz

Member

2018-Sep-14 1:19 am

· actions · 2018-Sep-14 1:19 am ·

Lexatt
join:2017-02-22
USA

Lexatt to Robert Morrisson

Member

2018-Sep-14 2:06 am

They do not. They do not do any proactive maintenance whatsoever, for the most part.

They neglect the copper plant and then charge people 90 bucks a month for a phone line. It's criminal.

· actions · 2018-Sep-14 2:06 am ·

Robert Morrisson
join:2000-03-31
Silver Spring, MD

Robert Morrisson

Member

2018-Sep-14 3:34 am

Verizon is shooting themselves in the foot. They are an octopus, with plenty of feet to shoot.

Every old timer I have run into is eagerly awaiting their time to retire. Newcomers are poorly trained and they have no pension awaiting them.

· actions · 2018-Sep-14 3:34 am ·