Smart Technology Platforms

One of the most important things when it comes to smart home equipment is making sure that everything can communicate properly. This means with other smart home equipment, your phone, TVs or even your computer.

Let’s focus on the different connection technologies that make this possible. The three main standards are Wi-Fi, Z-Wave and Zigbee.

Wi-Fi

This is probably the most beginner friendly standard there is. Instead of using a special hub to connect your devices, everything is able to connect through your home router. The equipment is typically cheaper than Z-Wave or Zigbee devices as well.

The downside to being less expensive and more beginner friendly is they can also be less secure. You’ll want to make sure you have proper network security in place as you configure your network of devices.

One of the other things to consider with Wi-Fi devices is that you’ll need an internet connection for them as well. This is unlike the Z-Wave or Zigbee devices as they use their own network to communicate and don’t always require internet. However, an internet connection is always helpful in a smart home setup as it allows remote control of many things through your phone or a trusted computer.

Z-Wave

If cost isn’t as much of a concern, you could consider using Z-Wave technology. This requires a special hub with a built in Z-Wave controller to connect your devices to each other.

Z-Wave has some upsides like increased security and control, a mesh network for better coverage and more network range than Zigbee devices. However, they do fall short in range compared to Wi-Fi devices.

Downsides to a Z-Wave setup are lower frequency which means they are the slowest devices and a 232 device limit which shouldn’t be an issue to most users, however as more devices come equipped with smart connection technology, this could become a problem.

Zigbee

Similar to Z-Wave, Zigbee devices require a specialized hub with a Zigbee controller for connectivity. They also operate on a mesh network for better coverage and have a higher level of security. So you can see they are very similar to Z-Wave.

There are some key differences between Z-Wave and Zigbee. Zigbee devices share the 2.4GHz band with Wi-Fi, making them more prone to wireless interference than Z-Wave. They also have a shorter range than Z-Wave or Wi-Fi devices.

The upside of these devices is they do operate faster than Z-Wave and have a much higher device limit at approximately 65,000 devices.

Suggestions for Smart Home Solutions

As you familiarize yourself with the vast world of smart home technology, you’ll wonder where to start. Things like automated lighting using smart lights that you can control the brightness on, a thermostat that adjusts automatically based on learned preferences and assistants that allow you to ask questions or even play music through a built in speaker are all great places to start building your smart home network.