IoT in our homes

about 9 years ago | By: Animus Press

Today, in the world of IoT (Internet of Things), there are a lot of expressions and technicalities that could be difficult to comprehend. All the different smart home device brands, their products and all the talk about Z-Wave, Bluetooth and secure integration can be a bit confusing. But don’t worry, we are going to explain it for you. Before we get into all the details, let’s just take a step back and explain the basic concept of the smart home.

How is it possible to communicate with our home devices and how can we control everything through a smartphone? A common way is to use a central hub that connects all your devices, similar to a router that allows your home to get WiFi access. With everything connected, you can now setup your own scenarios and control them with your smartphone through your hub. However, the hub doesn’t only use WiFi to access your home devices, it uses other so called protocols. We are going to clarify, once and for all, the most common wireless communication protocols that you usually encounter in smart homes and the differences between them.

433 MHz

433 MHz is a license free communication radio band and is commonly used for remote keyless applications. It operates around 433 MHz which is also a common frequency for radio amateurs. It has a long range but interference and encryption issues.

Pros	Cons
+ Cheap solution	- Low security
+ Long range	- Low reliability
+ Low energy consumption	- Interference issues

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi, also known as a wireless local area network (WLAN), suits applications where network configuration is possible and high data speeds are required. It mainly uses the 2,4 GHz and 5 GHz radio band. 2,4 GHz is a crowded frequency which means that there are a lot of devices transmitting on that frequency, increasing chances of interference. 5 GHz is less crowded and it allows a greater data transfer than the 2,4 GHz band. The range is about 20 m indoors and longer outdoors (the 2,4 GHz will have a slightly better range). A new technique called Passive Wi-Fi has been created by researchers from the University of Washington (UW) which will consume 10 000 times less power than regular Wi-Fi! This promising technology will definitely compete against current modern IoT standards like Z-Wave and ZigBee, which are explained further down. Implementing Passive Wi-Fi in home automation applications would lead to new possibilities like high data transfer with low energy consumption.

Pros	Cons
+ Transfers a great amount of data	- Energy consuming
+ High security	- Uses a crowded radio band

Bluetooth

Bluetooth, also known as a wireless personal area network (WPAN), works well for simple connections between two devices with minimal configuration. It uses the crowded band around 2.4 GHz. However, it allows different channels around that frequency to avoid or reduce potential interference. The range is usually 10 m, but an open space can allow up to 100 m.

Pros	Cons
+ Transfers a decent amount of data	- Uses a crowded radio band
+ Low energy consumption possibilities

Z-wave

Z-wave is very common for home automation. It is designed for reliable and fast transmission of small data (up to 100 kbit/s). For basic communication between devices, you usually don’t need more data for simple devices. The data transfer speed is the reason why you won’t find any cameras or speakers that uses z-wave, there is simply not enough capacity to transfer audio and video in an acceptable pace. Z-wave devices builds a mesh network so that devices in the network can communicate even though they don’t have a reach to each other. The message will simply be passed by the devices in between. It operates in different frequencies depending on the region and has a range up to approximately 100 m.

Region	Frequency
Europe	868.42 MHz
United States	908.42 MHz
India	908.42 MHz
Australia/New Zealand	865.2 MHz
Hong Kong	919.82 MHz
Russia	869 MHz

Pros	Cons
+ Easy to embed in consumer electronics products	- Can’t transfer a higher amount of data than 100 kbit/s, so it’s not suitable for downloading files or streaming.
+ Reliable and secure	- Uses different frequency in different regions, so check the frequency of your location before buying products online.
+ Avoids interference with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other systems that operate on the crowded 2,4 GHz band
+ Uses a mesh network

Zigbee

ZigBee is an exclusive protocol intended to be simpler and less expensive than other WPANs. It allows fast transmission of small data (up to 250 kbit/s), it has low energy consumption and is, therefore, targeted at long battery life devices. The range is usually from 10-20 m, but can come up to 100 m in open areas. It uses different radio bands depending on your worldwide location and it has a smart and modern network structure for connection between devices.

Pros	Cons
+ Low energy consumption	- It can’t transfer a higher amount of data than 250 kbit/s, so it’s not suitable for downloading files or streaming.
+ Reliable and secure	- Uses a crowded radio band
+ Smart and modern network structure

In conclusion, smart home devices today implements the proper communication protocol for a specific product depending on the application of use. However, some protocols are more expensive than others or are considered “unnecessary” to implement which is why some products lack of quality, causing interference or security issues. For home automation, protocols like Z-wave and ZigBee get more popular which is understandable and justified. Moreover, great encryption, smart and reliable communication systems and low energy consumption are appealing qualities for the customer. New technologies like Passive Wi-Fi provides new possibilities and it will be interesting to see what it has to offer. The home automation industry continues to grow and Animus Home is proud to be a part of it.