Just like other electronic systems, smart devices all run on variety of different protocols. That is, sets of rules and standards for communication between electronic devices.
If we got a device which speaks ZigBee and another speaking ZWave, and they don’t communicate each other, then the fully automated environment can’t be achieved.
There are only few devices which can be multi lingual
X10
This is grand daddy of home automation protocols. X10 has been around since mid 70s. It started as a power line based system (meaning, it is hard wired into the walls) but eventual went wireless.
If someone is just beginning home automation, then better start with devices which are compatible with newer standards, as X10 systems are typically more difficult to install in comparison.
UPB
Universal Powerline Bus is a power line only communication protocol designed to use a higher voltage and put out a stronger signal than X10. The only problem is that since it is power line only, it is rather expensive and hard to install.
We don’t need to worry much about this one, because it is not baked into many of our devices, and there are better options out there.
INSTEON
Insteon is a home automation protocol designed to bridge gap between power line based and wireless protocols, so it uses both. It is also compatible with X10 devices. So, it is not a bad choice if we got home filled with X10 based devices and trying to transition to the Wireless ones.
There seems to be a good range of products available with INSTEON and it can be browsed through their website, link given in the reference section
Z-Wave
Z-Wave is a home automation protocols that runs on the 908.42 MHz frequency band. it is relatively new in terms of home automation protocols. but has grown quite rapidly in past few years. The group behind it, Z-Wave Alliance now boasta about 1000+ devise are compatible with it.
One of the key features of ZWave is that it uses a mesh network. The advantage of mesh network is that, one unit will transmit the signal to the other until it reaches the final destination. This relay mechanism extend the range of the protocol and device. IT is also extremely low power one, and is ideally for device that rely on battery power.
ZIGBEE
Zigbee is an IEEE 802 standard built by IEEE. Much like ZWave, this has significant growth in recent years and can be found relatively large number of devices. It also consumes less power and uses mesh network structure to offer excellent range and speedy communication between devices. However, some users have noted that Zigbee devices frequently have difficulty in communicating with those made by different manufacturers. So, it may not be the best option if looking for seamless interoperability.
WiFi
WiFi is fairly ubiquitous, so, it is not surprising that a broad range of manufacturers have begun making smart home devices that work with it. If we already have a wireless router, then we don’t need to pick up a hub/access point in order for the compatible devices to connect to it.
This has a bandwidth issue because if the house if already connected full of WiFi devices, then smart devices will have low bandwidth and potentially slower to respond. WiFi also consumes lot of power, it is not ideal for battery operated devices.
BLE
BLE doesn’t use much power, but also has fairly limited range compared to other networking protocols. So, it is treated as not a great stuff that needs to stay connected all the time like security sensors and motion sensors.
Conclusion,
As far the reading goes, the better one looks to be ZIGBEE or ZWave, while if we have lot of older X10 compatible devices, then ISTEON could be an option as well.
Reference:
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