Power over Ethernet (PoE) describes any of several standards or ad hoc systems that pass electric power along with data on twisted-pair Ethernet cabling.
PoE works by having a PoE capable injector or network switch. When the switch connects to a device, the switch tries to make a handshake with the device.
If you already have an IEEE 802.3af-compliant PoE router or switch, with this HAT you can provide both network connection and power supply for your Raspberry Pi ...