So far so similar, but Zigbee does
oļer certain improvements over its
rival. It supports thousands more
devices connected to a single
network, and can pass messages an
unlimited number of hops where
Z–Wave appears to be restricted to
four. Neither of these stats is likely
to make any diļerence in your
home, but they’re there. It’s an
open standard, which helps with
interoperability, but Zigbee has been
hampered by its internal division.
The standard was initially many
standards, split it into individual
device categories with diļerent
command sets and connectivity
options. This has recently been Ľxed
with the introduction of Zigbee 3.0,
bringing it more in line with the
universal standard of Z–Wave.
Zigbee 3.0 ups security and
communication, but it’s dependent
on hardware or Ľrmware updates,
something older kit may not get.
Zigbee doesn’t have the same
range as Z–Wave, which reaches
around twice as far, because it relies
on higher frequency signals. These
are the same wireless wavebands
as Wi–Fi; this gives it licensing
advantages, since it’s working in
slices of the radio spectrum thatIt’s not an entirely open standard,
but motions are being made in that
direction and its speciĽcation is
mooted to be laid bare to hardware
manufacturers this year.
Z–Wave is uniquely suited to
smart home applications, being a
low–powered mesh network; it has
decent range, around 100ft indoors,
and allows certain devices, generally
those not trying to extend their
battery life, to act as repeaters and
pass messages from device to device.
Although the speciĽc frequencies
used by Z–Wave vary slightly around
the world, it operates on its own slice
of the radio spectrum that isn’t likelyto interfere with (or be interfered by)
any other hardware in your home.
It’s not, by modern standards,
especially fast, but at between 40
and 100kbps it’s plenty quick enough
for a system which isn’t designed to
throw around large amounts of data.ZIGBEE
Zigbee, like Z–Wave, is a form of
mesh network. It has its own
alliance, smaller at around 400
members but including a few
companies which are arguably bigger
in the smart home space — names
such as Philips Hue, Ikea, Belkin,
and Amazon.Image rights clockwise from top–left: Samsung, Philips, Apple, Marmitek.TOP HUBS
Philips Hue Bridge 2.0
$59.99, usa.philips.comPhilips is no longer providing updates for
the first–gen Hue Bridge; however, the
second–gen looks set to live for a good
while longer, and it’s perfect for driving
not just Hue bulbs but those from Ikea,
Innr, and more.Apple TV 4K
From $179, apple.comIf it’s HomeKit hardware you want to
drive, Apple TV 4K is the easiest way
to do it. You could use a HomePod or
a plugged–in iPad, but we’d opt for the
Apple TV every time — particularly since
it doubles as a great video streamer.Going old–school
The initial wave of smart home
hardware relied on X10. X10 is split
between RF (radio frequency) and
powerline transmissions, with the latter
more regularly used; it uses four–bit
codes to communicate.
X10 has its own advantages, primary
of which is reliability. Where a Zigbee
device may fall off of the mesh network
now and then, an X10 device is very
unlikely to get lost. Many still swear
by X10, and it hasn't been abandoned;a variety
of modern
controllers
have been
released in
recent years, including
many which can link your phone to your
X10 devices.
Given that X10 first arrived in 1975,
there’s a raft of old kit out there being
disposed of for peanuts — it still works,
if you’re looking for basic automation.Samsung SmartThings
Hub v3
$69.99, samsung.comCompatible with Zigbee and Z–Wave, and
with Wi–Fi to connect onwards with the
likes of Alexa, the SmartThings Hub is
super smart — a great way to join all of
your hardware to one point of control.
Home Life
64 SEP 2020 maclife.com
Home Life