One big takeaway from the BICSI Winter Conference: power usage is projected to grow more than 25% year-over-year in the next 4–5 years, forcing a rethink of power distribution and ICT infrastructure design…with AI accelerating everything.

BICSI Winter 2026: Power, distance and why “low voltage” is the wrong term

Attendance was strong at this year’s BICSI Winter Conference in Orlando which was great to see.

The biggest takeaway for me wasn’t about any one product or vendor. It was about power – how much more of it ICT systems will demand, how it’s delivered and why many of our long-standing “low voltage” assumptions no longer hold.

AI was part of the conversation (shocking, right?), but mainly as a force multiplier driving data center growth and the infrastructure pressure that comes with it.

From “low voltage” to “limited energy”

One notable shift in language came up repeatedly: the industry is moving away from the term low voltage in favor of limited energy or limited power.

Why the change?

Because new power distribution approaches, like Fault Managed Power (FMP) and other DC powering options, are operating at voltages up to 450V, which is well outside what the NEC historically categorized as low voltage.

This isn’t just semantics; the wording reflects real-world changes beyond voltage levels, affecting things like:

• Installation practices
• Design responsibilities
• Risk management

For those of us in structured cabling, security, smart buildings or AV (ICT), this matters more than it might sound.

Single Pair Ethernet is maturing fast

Another recurring theme across the technical sessions was Single Pair Ethernet (SPE), specifically IEEE 802.3cg (or 10BASE-T1L).

SPE is gaining traction because it solves several persistent problems:

• Covers long distances (up to 1 kilometer/3,280 ft)
• Lowers power requirements
• Reduces cable and termination costs for many sensors, actuators, controls and other low-bandwidth, low-power devices

Using inexpensive single-pair cable and basic screw terminals, SPE provides Ethernet connectivity for sensors, actuators, controls and automation devices without the overhead of traditional four-pair cabling.

For building and factory automation, this standard is moving from “interesting” to practical.

On AI: infrastructure pressure and the new normal

AI came up repeatedly at BICSI, including in the opening keynote by Thomas Koulopoulos of the Delphi Group. His message wasn’t optimistic or pessimistic…it was realistic.

We’re heading toward a world where distinguishing real from fabricated content will be harder than ever, at least until detection tools and habits catch up. The two cents that I jotted down in the moment: We will constantly be surprised by our future in AI.

From the technical perspective, it’s clear that AI workloads demand a lot from physical infrastructure. In a nutshell, more data centers require more power and both require cabling solutions.

The future of power distribution

While near-term forecasts point to increases in power demand of 4–5%, the longer view tells a different story. Multiple sessions pointed to the growth in power usage exceeding 25% year over year within the next 4 to 5 years, driven largely by data centers, edge compute and the AI workloads we talked about above.

That scale of growth is forcing new conversations around how power is delivered, especially in the low-voltage (or limited-energy/power) environments.

Why this matters now

Taken together, the message from BICSI Winter 2026 was clear:

• Power planning will only get more important
• Distance and reach assumptions are changing
• New standards are reshaping cost and deployment models

If you’re planning projects that involve longer runs, higher power demands or large numbers of connected devices, these trends are worth factoring in now, not after designs are locked. Especially if data centers are becoming your bread and butter.

Capital Electric is always happy to help you think through what that looks like in practice. Give us a call at 262-788-9700, we’re happy to chat!

After more than 30 years of attending BICSI conferences, it’s still possible to walk away with new, relevant takeaways – a good sign that our industry is evolving in meaningful ways!