On the Reolinkcam subreddit they are big on if you are wiring your house internally with ethernet cable do not use Copper Clad Aluminum cable only full copper cabling?
Why is this?
Does it make that much of a difference?
Genuinely curious to know as locally for me the cost is quite high for full copper cabling
Two reasons…
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CCA is a cheap, problematic product that gives the false impression of cost savings.
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CCA can be a fire hazard if used for PoE.
I am surprised this is legal given I think PoE is part of the Ethernet standard.
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CCA has issues with longevity, signal integrity and even safety. The installation process of a cable is always going to be much more expensive than the cable itself, so cheaping out for not much difference at all is just not worth it.
In addition to the good advice everyone else has given, I have had problems terminating CCA cable. I get the cable in the connector and crimp it with my (relatively cheap) crimping tool and it all looks great. Then I hook up the cable tester and it fails all of the tests so I cut the ends off (because they both look to be correct) and try again. I spent over an hour trying to terminate one cable a few months back. I thought it was the crimping tool at first. I had ordered some solid aluminum cable because I need PoE for an access point. When it came, every single cable I made with it terminated correctly first time. That was when I realized how bad the CCA was and tossed it in the trash.
I had a customer with 200 odd CCA cables at a site next to the sea. The terminations would oxidise and stop working all the time. Ended up injecting silicon grease on all the ends.
I wouldn’t go near it.
the cladding temporarily gets rid of dissimilar metals issues
The cabling in your wall is, for all intents and purposes, never going to be messed with again and lives in a place that isn’t accessible. Ignoring any fire or heat related considerations, aluminum and copper expand and contract at different rates. Eventually that cable will fail as the heat from the extra power for PoE will cause deterioration. You’ll just replace the patch cable at the end when that happens, but the main run is a much bigger deal to replace. Don’t save a dollar now to spend it many times over later.