Technology Overview
The Z-Wave protocol is an interoperable, wireless, RF-based communications technology designed specifically for control, monitoring, and status reading applications in residential and light commercial environments. Mature, proven, and broadly deployed (with over 100 million products sold worldwide), Z-Wave is by far the world market leader in wireless control, bringing affordable, reliable and easy-to-use ‘smart’ products to many millions of people in every aspect of daily life.
For a more complete look at Z-Wave technology for non technologists, and to learn more about Z-Wave’s role as a key enabling technology for the Internet of Things and connected objects, please visit www.z-wave.com.
Z-Wave Technology Essentials:
- Low Powered RF communications technology that supports full mesh networks without the need for a coordinator node
- Operates in the sub-1GHz band; impervious to interference from Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies in the 2.4-GHz range (Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc)
- The Z-Wave PHY and MAC layers are defined by ITU-T Recommendation G.9959. More detail regarding the frequencies used by Z-Wave can be found in Z-Wave Alliance Recommendation ZAD12837, “Z-Wave transceivers – Specification of Spectrum Related Components"
- Designed specifically for control and status apps, supports data rates of up to 100kbps, with AES128 encryption, IPV6, and multi-channel operation
- Full interoperability through layer 6 with backwards compatibility to all versions
- Successfully bridged and trialed with OpenADR, SEP 1, SEP 1.1 and other Smart Energy protocols
- Shares the same position in the NIST / SGIP Catalog of Standards as the IEEE 802.11 and 802.15 and 802.16 families
For more in-depth technical materials on Z-Wave, please visit our Developer Section, or consider membership in the Z-Wave Alliance.
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