ZigBee vs. Z-Wave, which should I choose?

Latest update time：2021-09-01 18:18

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The Internet of Things (IoT) market is growing. It is increasingly being discussed among consumers and engineers. Driven by the rise of IoT, more and more new IoT products are emerging, and various IoT ecosystems are flourishing, each claiming to have unique advantages. Faced with so many choices, buyers are in a dilemma. After all, it can be a very tangled matter to choose the technology that best suits their design needs. Among the many IoT ecosystems, ZigBee and Z-Wave are two of the more popular wireless solutions. Both are very suitable for scenarios such as smart home, smart energy, telecommunications, healthcare, remote control (RF4CE, radio frequency for consumer electronics), building automation, and retail services. However, they each have different specifications and applications, and are suitable for different purposes, and it is not easy to understand the difference between the two. This article will compare the two technologies and also provide you with some necessary knowledge about ZigBee and Z-Wave.

ZigBee

ZigBee is a low-power wireless mesh networking standard for battery-powered devices. ZigBee is widely used as a solution for wireless control and monitoring applications in scenarios such as smart homes, data monitoring, management systems, and industrial equipment. ZigBee technology is designed to support the development and deployment of custom profiles, so manufacturers can use it very efficiently to build wireless products for general applications.

Z-Wave

Z-Wave is a proprietary system-on-chip (SoC) smart home protocol designed to support control, monitoring, and status reading applications. Although the technology is not as flexible as ZigBee, thanks to its rigorous certification process, buyers are able to avoid many of the obstacles that are easily encountered in solutions such as ZigBee, and all Z-Wave devices also interoperate seamlessly. A few years ago, Silicon Labs acquired the Z-Wave protocol from Sigma Designs, making Silicon Labs the only manufacturer with Z-Wave chip licenses. The Z-Wave 700 platform from Silicon Labs is one of the latest advances in the Z-Wave product portfolio, which can make smart home applications smarter and allow consumers to control various sensors across longer distances with less power.

Similarities and Differences between ZigBee and Z-Wave

Both ZigBee and Z-Wave can operate as mesh networks. Devices on these networks can last for years on a single coin cell battery in sleep mode, or for months when transmitting a constant signal. Beyond these two major similarities, there are a number of differences between the two technologies, as shown in Table 1:

Table 1: Technical specifications of ZigBee and Z-Wave (Source: Author)

Reasons to choose ZigBee

It is popular among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) because it allows for greater flexibility in profile development.
With so many suppliers, OEMs have more choices.
The open portfolio makes it a highly versatile wireless solution (despite the complexity of the protocol itself).
More devices can be connected, which enables more resources and community support for the apps you are building.

Why choose Z-Wave

The transmission distance is longer than ZigBee. Z-Wave’s line-of-sight transmission distance can reach 100m, while ZigBee’s is only 20m.
Operating at 908MHz, it does not interfere with other wireless signals that typically operate at 2.4GHz, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ZigBee. Interference can cause signal loss or instability.
Power consumption is lower than ZigBee, and a few AA batteries can keep a Z-Wave module running for several years, depending on the application and configuration.
Z-Wave最显著的优势之一是其互操作性。Z-Wave标准能够确保所有部署了它的设备，无论来自哪一家制造商，都可以互相兼容，这一点使得Z-Wave成为了真正的开放系统，消费者因而在选择产品时不再受限。此外，Z-Wave还能够完全向后兼容。对制造商而言，淘汰旧设备或旧技术始终是一大关注点，因而Z-Wave便将确保所有新设备都能与旧设备高效通信作为了必要的条件。

Summarize

ZigBee and Z-Wave each have their own advantages. Although they can be used for many of the same wireless solutions, the choice of one will depend on the requirements of your chosen application.

作者：Tyler Wojciechowicz

Tyler Wojciechowicz is an Application Engineer at Symmetry Electronics with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering and 8 years of practical experience as an electrical engineer. He focuses on IoT applications, microcontrollers, embedded programming, timing, sensors, and power management. In his current role, he works closely with field sales to provide insights on many aspects, including selecting the best replacements for parts and providing recommendations for product development and sales tools. He is skilled in developing instruction manuals, reference designs, tutorials, product comparison matrices, and marketing campaigns for well-known suppliers in multiple market sectors. Throughout his career, he has also been involved in new product development, prototyping, engineering consulting, schematic and board design, 3D modeling, and mechanical design. He is highly involved in the electronics manufacturing community and is always looking for the latest innovations that can drive the next big development.

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