This is something we have some experience with at work-
from a safety standpoint, use different holes, as DEnd says.
From an induced current standpoint, your experience will vary depending
on a lot of factors, the first being how much current and how 'ugly' the AC load is.
If you're running a small alarm clock on the AC, the Cat5 will not care. If you're running
2 or 3 VFD's, it might be a problem.
The second big factor is how good the device using the Cat5 is. Good equipment
that makes proper use of the twisted pairs will be very immune to enough induced
current to cause problems. Equipment that does not take advantage of the noise
cancellation inherent in the wire will be a lot more susceptable.
So the real- world experience that we've had in temporary setups is that it's ALMOST
never a problem. Once in a blue moon we'll have to relocate a data line away from
a lighting dimmer feeder- but almost always, things that look ugly work fine.
Practically, in your shoes, I'd try to isolate the two as much as easily possible, and
not worry about it too much. If it's a typical home installation, you're just not
drawing enough current to cause problems. I WOULD use separate holes. I'm paranoid.
hope this helps,
t
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