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Zigbee and Z-Wave are low power, low bandwidth wireless mesh networking protocols for smart home devices such as light bulbs, smart plugs and switches, thermostats, and other devices. Both options are a great way to add locally managed smart devices to your home without having a bunch of devices clutter up your Wi-Fi network. Whether you should use Z-Wave or Zigbee (or wait for Thread – more below) depends on what devices you already have at home and what services you use to integrate them.
Smart home devices that support Zigbee and Z-Wave are more responsive than those that rely on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. They also use less power and tend to have more reliable connections. These devices do not connect directly to the Internet or the rest of your home network, but to a hub or bridge (and then to the rest of your Internet or smart home setup).
Because both Zigbee and Z-Wave are mesh protocols, each connected device only needs a strong enough wireless signal to communicate with the next device on the network. Both protocols have lower maximum data rates (up to 250kbps for Zigbee and 100kbps for Z-Wave), making them ideal for sensors, locks, lights, and other smart devices that don’t need to transfer a lot of information.
Zigbee and Z-Wave are not interchangeable – they use different protocols, operate at different frequencies, and have different technical limitations (although most of these limitations don’t matter on a family scale).
The most significant difference between Z-Wave and Zigbee is that Z-Wave devices must be certified (look for the logo on the product packaging) to work, while Zigbee is a set of protocols that manufacturers can implement in a variety of ways.
The Z-Wave Alliance states that any Z-Wave hub should be able to control any Z-Wave device, making it easy to integrate multiple Z-Wave devices. Conversely, while any manufacturer can create a Zigbee hub or device, these devices do not need to be compatible with the rest of the ecosystem. Many Zigbee hubs only work with a small subset of devices, and many Zigbee devices have limited functionality with third-party hubs.
If you use Google Assistant or Alexa to control your smart home, you can use Z-Wave or Zigbee to control deadbolts, smart plugs, light switches, and sensors.
Matter, the smart home networking platform that is almost always here, will not replace Zigbee or Z-Wave. It aims to make smart home devices from different manufacturers compatible, and Amazon, Google, Apple and Samsung SmartThings are all partners. Matter is run by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (formerly known as the Zigbee Alliance), so Zigbee is involved.
The Z-Wave Alliance is not part of Matter, but Z-Wave hubs will be able to add the Matter support that Samsung has promised to add to its SmartThings system.
Z-Wave is perhaps a wonderful technology. It uses lower radio frequencies than Zigbee, so it has a longer range and is less likely to interfere with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. If you already have a home security system that uses Z-Wave, such as Ring Alarm Pro or Abode, it makes sense to add to that system, especially if it integrates with the voice assistant of your choice. (Ring only works with Alexa; Abode works with all three smart home ecosystems, but its Z-Wave devices don’t show up in Apple HomeKit.)
If you don’t already have a Z-Wave security system, consider a hub like the Aeotec Smart Home Hub, which runs on Samsung’s SmartThings platform, includes Z-Wave and Zigbee radios, and works well with Alexa and Google Assistant. Most hubs that support both Z-Wave and Zigbee require a monthly fee (like Wink) or have a steep learning curve (Hubitat, Home Assistant).
However, Z-Wave is not suitable for smart lighting. Z-wave lamps exist, but they are rare and expensive. We haven’t seen a HomeKit-certified Z-Wave hub in the US, so it’s not the best option for Apple users just yet.
Universal Zigbee gateways, such as SmartThings hubs or the Zigbee radios built into some Amazon Echo devices, are great for adding latches, switches, and smart plugs. They also work with a variety of sensors – door and window sensors, motion sensors, air quality sensors, temperature sensors, leak detection, carbon monoxide and smoke sensors, and more.
Universal Zigbee gateways can also control Zigbee lighting from Cree, Sylvania, Ikea, Innr and others, but don’t have as wide a range of options or features as dedicated lighting hubs.
There are other types of Zigbee hubs that work well in their own device ecosystem but are not very compatible with other brands of Zigbee devices. These include lighting hubs such as the Ikea Trådfri Gateway, Philips Hue Bridge and Sengled Smart Hub, as well as sensor hubs such as Aqara.
If you want to control the color or color temperature of your lighting, a Zigbee hub is the best choice. Philips Hue is our favorite smart lighting system and is the first step towards Zigbee and smart lighting.
Hue lamps work with some other Zigbee controllers, but the Philips Hue Bridge gives you access to more color options, geofencing, scheduling, automation, better lamp grouping, and firmware updates. Hue Bridge also integrates with Alexa, Google Assistant and HomeKit and works with SmartThings and almost every other smart home platform.
Since Hue Bridge is a Zigbee 3.0 hub, it can also control some Zigbee light bulbs and ribbons from other brands, including Ikea Trådfri, Innr, Cree, and more. But third-party indicators won’t show up in HomeKit, they still need to be plugged into the original hub for firmware updates.
Unfortunately, like most lighting-focused Zigbee hubs, the Hue Bridge and Trådfri gateways do not support smart locks or any sensors other than a motion sensor.
Zigbee devices also work with the Apple HomeKit ecosystem. For Zigbee devices to appear in HomeKit, both the hub and the device must be authenticated, which is why universal gateways like SmartThings have emerged. Even if Ikea Trådfri and Philips Hue are certified, Hue bulbs on IKEA gateways won’t show up in HomeKit, and vice versa.
HomeKit users have another problem: multithreading. Thread is a low-power, hubless mesh networking protocol built on the same technology as Zigbee, an integral part of Matter, a higher layer protocol that attempts to tie together multiple smart home ecosystems.
Google and Amazon will support Thread as well, but Apple is one step ahead: the HomePod Mini and the latest Apple TV 4K act as Thread’s edge routers. Stream border routers act as a gateway between stream-enabled gadgets and your internet connection (wireless or ethernet), passing data directly from your local device to the router. Several HomeKit-compatible Thread devices are already available, including Eve sensors and smart plugs, and Nanoleaf lights.
Thread will not replace Zigbee, although some Zigbee gateways may be upgraded to support Thread, and some Zigbee devices may be upgraded to Thread. But Thread is a great solution to Zigbee compatibility issues, and now HomeKit users can take advantage of it.
Many hubs have Z-Wave and Zigbee radios, from SmartThings to powerful (but not beginner-friendly) options like Hubitat and Home Assistant. So when does it make sense to use both?
If you have a Z-Wave home security system but want to use smart bulbs, or if you have a Hue lighting system but want to add unsupported devices like deadbolts, it might make sense to run both options. But keep in mind that Zigbee and Z-Wave are designed to work with a wide variety of devices, and you won’t benefit from having just a few of each type of device.
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Post time: Sep-01-2022