Z-Wave: What is It and How Does it Support Automation?

1. Are you shopping for the smart-home or home automation devices or thinking about home automation without internet? You might have come across the term ‘Z-Wave’ on various kinds of products and also on the system descriptions. What it is how it works? Is it Bluetooth, ‘repacked’? Z-Wave is the latest kind of wireless technology that smart devices can use to communicate with each other. Although it is similar to Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, Z-wave offers many unique qualities that offer many advantages when it comes to home automation.  It can mix and match devices from various manufacturers, and the Z-wave devices are compatible with each other. Numerous products are available in the market right now that can be used for home automation.  Once you use a device with Z-wave, you will find that there are less interference and hardly and disconnections when it comes to Z-wave devices; there more the better. Each one can amplify the network signal that lets you create robust connectivity. The Z-wave networks operate on a dedicated frequency. It means there is less interference than other networks.  Z-wave is a tech that can’t be hacked easily. Security is a significant priority for the Z-wave developers. It uses the same encryption as used in banking. Z-wave technology creates a wireless network of mesh design. It’s a collection of the devices that mesh-up and communicate

2. with each other without any wires. The devices using the Z-wave technology form a mesh design by sending signals over low-energy radio waves on a dedicated frequency. Each device has a built-in signal repeater that sends and receives the network information. The most significant improvement that Z-wave offers over the Bluetooth is that of signal strength. The signals in the Bluetooth are prone to interference and interruption as various devices send and receive the information on the same band. They have to compete for the available bandwidth. Unless there is a 5GHz Wi-Fi network, the Bluetooth devices compete with the Wi-Fi devices too. But with Z-wave, every Z-wave signal repeater works together to make the network more reliable. Every device plays its part to strengthen the signal. More the number of devices the easy it is to create a network that is strong and is capable of bypassing the obstacles and can pass through the walls, ceilings, and the floors. Z-wave is far better when compared to Wi-Fi in terms of network interference. Like Bluetooth, the Wi-Fi devices compete with one another, so the signal strength and the network speed suffered when the number of devices connected increases. Z-wave sends and receives the data for smart devices, but the one who sends more information requires a more substantial capacity of the Wi-Fi network.