Z-Wave Alliance members highlighted smart building innovation and the growing momentum of Z-Wave Long Range during a busy week in Europe at Light + Building and Embedded World 2026.
The spring trade show season in Europe highlighted strong momentum for the Z-Wave ecosystem, with Light + Building 2026 in Frankfurt and Embedded World 2026 in Nuremberg showcasing the continued growth of interoperable smart building and IoT technologies.
Across both events, Z-Wave Alliance member companies demonstrated innovative products, strengthened industry partnerships, and showcased the expanding capabilities of Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR), a technology gaining increasing attention across the European smart building market. The events also highlighted the growing importance of reliable smart building wireless connectivity for large scale automation deployments.
Held during the same week, the two events underscored the strength of the Z-Wave ecosystem and the growing demand for secure, reliable, and scalable wireless connectivity.
Light + Building 2026: Smart Infrastructure Takes Center Stage
Light + Building, the world’s leading trade fair for lighting and building services technology, once again brought together global innovators focused on the future of connected buildings. For the Z-Wave ecosystem, the event demonstrated how interoperable wireless technology enables smarter energy management, automation, and control across residential and commercial environments.
One standout highlight came from Shelly Group, which showcased its new Shelly Wave Smart Building Fuse Box (Shelly Wave MCBIBLUMCBZB). The system demonstrated how Z-Wave connectivity can bring intelligence directly to electrical infrastructure by enabling smart power control and advanced circuit level energy monitoring.
By integrating Z-Wave connectivity into a fuse box environment, Shelly illustrated how property managers and installers can gain greater visibility into building energy usage. Solutions like this represent a meaningful step forward for smart buildings, enabling improved efficiency, proactive monitoring, and deeper operational insight.
The innovation on display reinforces how Z-Wave continues to support real world building automation needs by delivering reliable communication, secure interoperability, and long term scalability for connected infrastructure.
Z-Wave Alliance Networking Event Strengthens Community Connections
Beyond the show floor, the Z-Wave Alliance Networking and Happy Hour brought together manufacturers, integrators, and ecosystem partners during Light + Building week.
The event provided an opportunity for industry professionals to connect, exchange ideas, and discuss emerging opportunities in smart home and building automation. Conversations throughout the evening reflected growing excitement around new Z-Wave devices, expanding ecosystem collaboration, and the increasing role of Z-Wave Long Range in larger deployments.
Events like this highlight one of the Alliance’s greatest strengths: a collaborative global community committed to advancing interoperable smart technology.
Embedded World 2026: The Technology Powering Connected Devices
While Light + Building focused on smart building applications, Embedded World 2026 highlighted the technologies enabling the next generation of connected devices.
At the show, Semtech demonstrated the capabilities of their LR2021 chip in its booth, showcasing a live demonstration developed in partnership with Trident IoT.
The demo featured a Zooz Z-Wave window sensor activating the system by sending a standard Z-Wave command to the LR2021, which upon “hearing” the Z-Wave command switched to the FLRC (Fast Long Range Communication) protocol, and within 1.5ms started transmitting video at full frame rate and bandwidth across a different network to be received in real-time. This illustrated the multi-protocol capabilities of the LR2021 platform, which supports both Z-Wave and FLRC. The demonstration showed how developers can build flexible devices capable of supporting multiple wireless protocols within a single platform.
For device manufacturers, this type of multi-protocol capability provides greater design flexibility while maintaining the reliability and security that Z-Wave is known for.
Z-Wave Long Range Gains Momentum in Europe
A consistent theme across both events was the growing interest in Z-Wave Long Range.
ZWLR expands traditional Z-Wave networks by enabling direct hub to device communication over distances of up to 1.5 miles while supporting networks of up to 4,000 devices. These capabilities make the technology particularly well suited for multifamily housing, hospitality properties, campus environments, and light commercial deployments.
In the European market, where building density, energy efficiency initiatives, and scalable automation are increasingly important, Z-Wave Long Range offers a compelling solution. With long battery life, sub-GHz reliability, and support for large scale device networks without complex infrastructure, Z-Wave Long Range is quickly emerging as a key enabler for next generation smart building deployments.
Looking Ahead
The energy across Light + Building and Embedded World 2026 made one thing clear. The Z-Wave ecosystem continues to advance through strong collaboration among Alliance members and a shared commitment to interoperable innovation.
From new smart infrastructure solutions like Shelly’s fuse box platform to cutting edge silicon demonstrations such as Semtech’s LR2021 multi-protocol platform, Z-Wave technology is enabling the next wave of connected devices and smart building applications.
Adoption of scalable IoT infrastructure continues to grow across Europe, and the Z-Wave Alliance together with its member companies remains at the forefront in delivering reliable, secure, and interoperable connectivity for modern smart homes and buildings.
This continued momentum also creates opportunities for industry leaders, developers, and integrators to connect and explore what comes next for Z-Wave.
Interested in learning more about Z-Wave and Z-Wave Long Range? Join us at the Z-Wave Spring Summit 2026, taking place May 27 to May 29 in Vienna, Austria. The Summit brings together manufacturers, integrators, and leaders from across the Z-Wave ecosystem to explore the latest innovations, share insights, and collaborate on the future of smart home and smart building technology. We look forward to seeing you there.
With continued innovation from Alliance members and expanding adoption across global markets, Z-Wave remains a trusted foundation for scalable, secure smart home and smart building solutions.
