If you've been stocking up on smart home kit, you've probably noticed a Z-Wave logo on many of the boxes of your connected kit. And, chances are, you've wondered to yourself, "What is Z-Wave?".
If that's the case then you've come to the right place. Here, we'll explain exactly what Z-Wave is, why it matters, and what you need to know in terms of your smart home setup.
So, what exactly is Z-Wave?
Z-Wave was born out an idea by Danish company Zensys of a more simpler, and less expensive, alternative to Zigbee. Zigbee and Z-Wave are wireless protocols that essentially focus on connectivity within the smart home.
Hold up: What is Zigbee?
As the smart home's popularity explodes, more and more connected devices are being added to people's houses. A lot of these devices - sensors, lightbulbs, heating controls, locks, plugs and the like - pack in Z-Wave to talk to each other. A much lower power alternative than Wi-Fi, but with a much bigger range than Bluetooth, Z-Wave operates using low-energy radio waves to communicate from device to device.
How does Z-Wave work?
Getting technical for a moment, Z-Wave operates on the 800-900MHz radio frequency range, but the only reason that you might care about this is, unlike Zigbee that operates on 2.4GHz (a major frequency for Wi-Fi), Z-Wave doesn't really suffer from any major interference issues.
Unlike Wi-Fi, where devices have to connect to a central hub (usually a router, or another access point), Z-Wave devices all link up together to form a mesh network. There's usually one central hub that does connect to the internet but the devices themselves - sensors, bulbs and so on - don't have Wi-Fi at all, they just use Z-Wave connectivity to talk to the hub, and that connectivity doesn't have to be direct; the mesh network means signals can hop from device to device. The technical term is "source-routed mesh network topology". Stick that one in your locker if you want to impress your pals down the pub.
Essential reading: Zigbee vs Z-Wave
You can have up to 232 nodes on this mesh network - that's 232 devices to you and me. It's a far cry from the 65,000+ nodes available on Zigbee, but we'd guess that it's still enough for all your Z-Wave packing smart home kit.
The latest Z-Wave platform was launched at CES 2018 and is called the 700 series. It boasts a range of 100m for point-to-point contact and operates at such low power that some sensors will last 10 years on just a coin cell. With sensors - think temperature, motion, door/window and the like - fast becoming one of the most common smart home devices, this is obviously a big deal.
Z-Wave SoCs (system on a chips) could also be fitted into furniture and hard to reach places inside walls and so on, to make the mesh network even stronger. The good news is Z-Wave is completely backwards compatible, so new 700 series devices will work just as well with devices from years gone by and devices launching in the future.
Described as "the safest, most secure ecosystem of smart devices on the global market", Z-Wave uses the same AES-128 symmetric encryption as Zigbee. It's not totally hack-proof (what is?) but most smart home vulnerabilities are down to login procedures on a device's software, not the connectivity of them.
Who and what uses Z-Wave?
Z-Wave's big win is that its devices are completely interoperable. All Z-Wave devices, without exception, work with other Z-Wave devices - and that's down to the Z-Wave Alliance being owned and maintained by a private organisation. Sigma Designs bought Z-Wave from Zensys back in 2009 and is responsible for signing off on the software and hardware of Z-Wave Certified devices.
The Z-Wave Alliance now boasts over 700 members, with 2,400 certified products from these brands out there in the world. There's a staggering 94 million devices in the market with Z-Wave inside, that covers 70% of the smart home market.
Z-Wave hubs and apps
Although Z-Wave kit talks to each other across the network, many systems with it baked inside are still very separate and have their own apps and hubs. However, there are a load of great Z-Wave options out there, both hardware and software, for getting everything running under one roof.
On the hardware hub, side the Wink 2 and Samsung SmartThings do a great job of not only throwing all your Z-Wave devices together, they are also Zigbee compatible too, so can offer some cross-platform automation options too.
For specific Z-Wave hubs, check out the Aeon Labs Aeotec Z-Wave Z-Stick - which simply plugs into your PC's USB port - or the VERA Edge.
Because of the open nature of Z-Wave many of the brands with Z-Wave kit have great apps that not only control their own native devices, but also third-party Z-Wave tech too. Check out the big names such as Wink, Samsung, Insteon and Honeywell but also consider openHAB, Home Assistant Copmanion and Imperihome.
Z-Wave devices to try
- Fibaro Button
- Kwikset Obsidian Smart Lock
- Oomi Dual In-Wall Switch
- Logitech Home Harmony Hub Extender
- August Smart Lock
- Zipato Bulb 2
- Yale Keyfree Connected
- D-Link mydlink sensors
- Somfy ILT Series blinds
- ADT Security Hub
Z-Wave: Should you care?
The good thing about Z-Wave is, while it will without doubt make your smart home setup more seamless, you don't actually have to do a thing to make the most of it. Z-Wave devices will find each other in your home, creating a stronger mesh network, and it's up to you if you want to take things further by linking different branded kit up using apps or the hubs mentioned above.
The rise of big name smart assistants built into speakers such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home also mean that, thankfully, you don't need to care too much about what protocols your smart devices are running on. There are some benefits to having all of your devices running on the same protocol - a single app being the biggie - but the reality is that's extremely unlikely especially given how low-power Z-Wave is… it's no good for HD video on security cameras, for example.
So, while it's a good idea to look out for that Z-Wave Certified sticker on the box - there are always other ways of getting your connected kit playing nicely across different platforms.