Z-Wave explained: What is Z-Wave and why is it important for your smart home?

If you have been supplying in the best smart house kit, you have probably noticed a Z wave logo in many of the boxes of its connected devices. And most likely you have asked yourself: “What is Z-Wave?”

If that is the case, you have come to the right place. Here, we will explain exactly what Z-Wave is, why it matters and what you need to know in terms of its smart home configuration.

So what exactly is Z-Wave?

Z-Wave was born from an idea of ​​the Danish company Zensys in 1999, he arrived in the United States in 2002. Z-Wave, such as Zigbee, is a wireless protocol that essentially focuses on connectivity within the smart home.

Hold: What is Zigbee?

As the popularity of the smart home exploits, more and more devices connected to people’s homes are added. Many of these devices (sensors, bulbs, heating controls, locks, plugs and the like, pack in Z-Wave to talk to each other.

In fact, there are more than 100 million Z-Wave devices in smart homes worldwide, with more than 4,500 wave wave certified devices to choose from.

A much lower power alternative compared to Wi-Fi, but with a much larger range than Bluetooth, Z-Wave operates using low energy radio waves to communicate from one device to another.

In addition, keep in mind that another protocol called Thread is ready to play an important role in the future of the smart home, since the Smart Home ecosystem seizes matter.

What is Z-Wave Plus?

You may have seen the “Z-Wave Plus” phrase used for the latest Smart Home devices. Essentially, it was an important update to the platform that took place a few years ago … but it looks good in the marketing material.

Z-Wave Plus, also known as the Z-Wave 500 series, took the technology that was launched in 2004 and added things as a greater range, extended battery duration, OTA update and additional RF channels.

If you are buying a Z-Wave product today, it is very likely that it is Z-Wave Plus, although the recent Z-Wave devices will work in 700 series hardware.

The Z-Wave Plus V2 certification program is the latest version. Includes the improved S2 security frame, as well as SmartStart, a configuration function that allows a true plug and reproduction for the smart home of consumption.

The 700 Z-Wave series, which was actually launched in 2019, made things even faster and durable, with 64% less power used and memory and much higher processing power.

The Z-Wave 800 series is actually the last frame, adding range, battery life and safety updates. However, although there are some dongles and centers that run on the newest platform, it will spend a time before we see the massive adoption of device manufacturers.

Obtaining technicians for a moment, Z-Wave operates in the radiofrequency range of 800-900MHz, but the only reason you could worry about this is that, unlike Zigbee, which operates in 2.4GHz (an important frequency for Wi-Fi), Z-Wave really does not suffer from any important interference problem.

The real frequency in which a Z-Wave device operates depends on the country in which it is being used. For example, the United States uses 908.40, 908.42 and 916MHz; While the United Kingdom and Europe use 868.40, 868.42, 869.85Megahertz. Therefore, it is important to make sure you are buying a Z-Wave device designed for your region.

Confrontation: Zigbee versus Z-Wave, what is the difference?

Unlike Wi-Fi, where devices have to connect to a central center (usually one router or other access point), all Z-Wave devices join to form a mesh network.

The central Smart Home Hub that uses to administer its Z-Wave devices connects to the Internet, but the devices in themselves (sensors, bulbs, etc., do not have Wi-Fi at all, only use Z-Wave connectivity to talk to the Hub, and that connectivity does not have to be direct; the mesh network means that the signals can jump from one device to another.

The technical term is “Mesh Network Topology of origin of origin”. Paste that in your locker if you want to impress your friends.

However, not all Z-Wave devices can repeat a signal, some can transmit yours. That is why wave repeaters are popular; Essentially, a device fed by the “always on” network, such as an intelligent plug that can receive and send a signal from another node to the Hub.

What is Z-Wave LR?

However, Z-Wave Long Range will probably make repeaters a thing of the past. Announced in September 2020, Z-Wave Long Range promising up to a 4x wireless range compared to regular wave signals.

You can have up to 232 nodes on a standard Z mesh network, that is 232 devices for you and me. It is far from the more than 65,000 nodes available in Zigbee, but we assume that it is still enough for its entire Smart Houses Kit.

However, Z-Wave LR increases this to more than 4,000 nodes in a network, so it is directed in the right direction.

Z-Wave Long Range promises a much more important range than the normal Z wave that is limited to 100 m per ‘jump’.

ZWLR has a specification capable of supporting up to several miles, according to the Z-Wave Alliance, and the first implementation of Silicon Labs presents a proven transmission range of a mile.

Unlike the normal Z-Wave mesh network, ZWLR devices work within a topology of the Star Network, in which a central concentrator/concentrator serves as a focal point, facilitating direct point-to-point connections with final devices.

This configuration guarantees a simplified communication route, significantly reducing the latency between the link/center door and the final points.

Z-WAVE LR SOCS (systems in a chip) could also be installed in furniture and places difficult to reach the walls inside the walls, etc., so that the mesh network is even stronger. And the good news is that Z-Wave is fully compatible backwards, so the new long-range devices will work equally with devices from the past years and the devices that will be launched in the future.

Described as “the safest and safest ecosystem of smart devices in the global market,” Z-Wave uses the same Symmetric encryption AES-128 as Zigbee. It is not totally piracy proof (what is it?) But most of the vulnerabilities of the smart home are due to the login procedures in the software of a device, not in its connectivity.

In CES 2025, the Alliance revealed that there are now more than 100 long-range certified devices, such as a new SMART HOME HOMEL DEVICES DE ZWLR SMART Home.

Until now, ZWLR has been purely for the United States, but the specification for ZWLR for the European market (even in the United Kingdom) has been completed and will be available for member companies in an upcoming release.

Who and what does Z-Wave use?

The great victory of Z-Wave is that its devices are completely interoperable. All Z-Wave devices, without exception, work with other Z-Wave devices, and that is due to the Z-Wave alliance that is owned and maintained by a private organization.

Sigma Designs bought Zensys Zensys in 2009, and Silicon Labs recently acquired the business for $ 240 million, and is responsible for signing the software and hardware of Z-Wave certified devices.

The Z-Wave alliance now has more than 700 members, with more than 4,500 certified products of these brands in the world.

There are more than more than 100 million devices in the market with Z-Wave inside; That covers 70% of the intelligent domestic market.

In the Z Wave Alliance 2023 Ecosystem report status It was revealed that the most popular Z-Wave devices are:

• Smart water closure valves
• Smart Security Systems
• Smart Household Control Systems
• Chair or dining pressure sensor
• Flood sensors and/or leak detectors

The future

The great news for Z-Wave in recent years is that the Z-Wave alliance is now a standard development organization (SDO), opening the Z-Wave network layer and the communication protocol for the Z-Wave specification, which means more freedom for the Z-Wave alliance.

“It is a process that will come there and the first process was really to obtain the Z-Wave alliance, and Z-Wave in general, as an independent platform away from Silicon Labs. You can imagine that it was a great effort. We really achieved it in eight months, which is a miracle,” said Mitch Klein (former Executive W-Wave Alliance and director of strategic associations, Silicon Labs).

“The next step is to create the Open Z-Wave battery, which will allow other silicon companies to come out.”

Z-Wave: Should you import?

The good thing about Z-Wave is that, although it will undoubtedly make its smart home configuration more fluid, it doesn’t really have to do anything to make the most of it. The Z-Wave devices will be found in your home, creating a strongest mesh network, and depends on you if you want to take things beyond linking different brand kit using applications or the centers mentioned above.

The increase in Big Name’s intelligent attendees integrated into speakers such as Amazon Echo or Google Home also means that, fortunately, it does not need to worry too much why protocols are running their intelligent devices. There are some benefits of having all its devices that are executed in the same protocol, a single application that is the Biggie, but the reality is that it is extremely unlikely, especially given what is Z-Wave of low power … It is not good for the Vide HD in the security cameras, for example.

Therefore, although it is a good idea to take into account that certified wave label in the box, there are always other ways to make your connected kit well on different platforms.

There will be an important change in terms of communication and compatibility, thanks to the Smart Home Matter initiative.

Zy Subject Onda

Looking from the outside, it may seem that Z-Wave could be a victim of this shake, since it is not a communication protocol, the new initiative is making use and the subject is an initiative essentially directed by the rival of Z-Wave Zigbee, under its new guide of the alliance of the connectivity standards.

However, instead of seeing matter as a thread, Z-Wave is apparently enthusiastic to the perspective of a more interoperable intelligent home.

Avi Rosenthal, managing partner of Bluesalve Partners, who currently sits as president of the Z-Wave Alliance Board, explained to us:

“I see matter as competition? Absolutely yes. Do I also see the matter as an opportunity? Absolutely I do.”

Rosenthal was anxious to extend an olive branch to the CSA in order, he believes, so that all harvest the fruits of those opportunities.

“We are willing to help; we are willing to be part of the conversation.” Explained. “We do not see it as a scenario of us and them, we see it as an opportunity for everyone to work together.”

The president of the Z-Wave Board told us in CES 2025: “There is no technical reason why a Z-Wave device cannot be controlled or controlled a matter device, a thread device, a Wi-Fi device or a Bluetooth device. It is simply an evolution of software development to allow that to happen.”

Z-wave hubs and applications

Although the Z-Wave kit talks to each other throughout the network, many systems with it baked inside are still very separate and have their own applications and centers. However, there is a load of excellent Z wave options, both hardware and software, so that everything works under the same roof.

On the side of the hardware concentrator, the Aetec and Samsung Smartthings centers do a great job not only by joining all their Z-Wave devices together, but also are compatible with Zigbee, so they can also offer some cross-platform automation options.

For specific wave centers, see the AEON LABS AEECTOTE Z-WAVE Z-STICK, which simply connects to the USB port of its PC, or on the edge of Vera.

Due to the open nature of Z-Wave, many of the brands with the Z-Wave Kit have excellent applications that not only control their own native devices, but also of a third-party Z wave technology.

Check out the big names such as Aeotec, Samsung, Inteon and La Morada, but also consider Openhab, Homey, Zooz, Home Assistant Companion and Imperihome.

Z-Wave devices to try

• Fibaro flood sensor
• Kwikset Obsidian Smart Lock
• Door sensor/ring window
• Oomi dual switch on the wall
• Logitech Home Harmony would have extended
• August Smart Lock
• PRO HOMEY PRO
• Ezlo sure
• Zipato bulb 2
• Aeotec Smartthings Hub
• Link door
• Yale Keyfree Connected
• D-Link’s Mydlink sensors
• Somfy Ilt Series Persian
• ADT security hub
• GE lighting control

Frequent Z Wave Questions