Peak power consumption is the maximum power(W) that a device uses. Neutron AP's do not continuously draw the maximum power rather only does so when there is need for it such as when there are many wireless clients or there are clients that require fast throughput. When powered via PoE, the peak power consumption listed is also the peak power of powered device (PD) so it does not yet account for the power loss due to the electrical resistance of the Ethernet cable. Electrical resistance is why the power from the PoE port is always higher than power at PD.