Wireless Home Automation is not a new concept now. In the market, so many wireless technologies, like the ZigBee, Z-wave, WiFi, Bluetooth,RF. So which one do you know best, and which one do you rely on?
10minutes to know Smart Home Technology
What is smart home technology?
Smart home technology is a collective term for information and communication technology used in houses, where the mutiple components are communicating via a local network through technology such as ZigBee, Zwave, Wifi, KNX, EIB, X10 and so on. It is widely used to monitor, warn and alarm, regulate condition and carry out directive ordered by users. Smart home technology also makes item have automatic communication with the surroundings to have linkage and joint performance via the Internet.
Smart home technology can bring you a totally different experience and convenience than does conventional home devices and appliances, because of wire or wireless high-tech base. Traditional home products are signle and secluded, cannot be controlled by a controlling device, thus people should operate them manually as well as at the scene. However, smart home technology allows one center terminal to control your home appliance remotely. Even you are thousands of miles away, smart home can also give you a positive support to help you regulate house conditions. For example when friends visit your house but you are absent, you can use your cellphone or tablet PC to open your door lock remotely.
Smart homes technology can not only offer you great convenient living standard but also support to build a safer and secure house condition. Smart home contains fields of security protection items, such as camera, smoke detector, IR motion detector, etc. Good physical protection is guaranteed in smart home so as to help you no longer to worry about any hidden security risks. Therefore, your family members can enjoy a high-caliber lifestyle.
Sensor
Sensor is used to monitor and measure activities in the surroundings. It can collect surrounding data in the house. For example, temperature and humidity, light, sounds, movement, gas, air, smoke, water and so on. These sensors work as body capillary to sense change and transmitter data to center controller.
Controller
Controllers make choices based on programmed rules and occurrences. Controller can change the scene condition manually or automatically. They turn on or off one or more items to reach a satisfactory effect users’ needed. For instance, smart switch can be turn on by itself or user and smart curtain can also be opened when ambient light outside is enough strong.
Z-wave? Or ZigBee
10:12
Comparison between ZIGBEE and Z-WAVE/Advantages of ZIGBEE
1.ZIGBEE can configure and realize almost all short-distance wireless functions which make it more general than Z-WAVE. Its application standard largely shortens development period of common application. For instance，ZIGBEE can be used in home automation, smart grid and remote control, etc. However, Z-WAVE can only be used in home automation.
2.Z-Wave chip can only be obtained from Sigma Designs. ZIGBEE module can be obtained from many sources such as Ember, Freescale, Microchip, and Texas instruments, Atmel, CEL, Digi, Jennic, Lemos and RFM.
3.Many members of Fortune 500 companies support and join ZIGBEE alliance while Z-WAVE technology alliance has less support. ZIGBEE will be promoted at a large scale. Obviously, ZIGBEE technology is going to be the trend across the world in the future.
4.The typology structures of ZIGBEE are mesh, stellate and tree. Z-WAVE only has a tree structure. ZIGBEE can be used in direct communication. However, most application is based on stellate and tree typology structures. The master node controls other connections, if one connection fails to communicate with another connection, these two connections will be treated as repeater to link other connections in communication range. ZIGBEE has 65000 nodes while Z-WAVE has 232 nodes.
5.ZIGBEE has a more superior transmission speed. The data transmission frequency of ZIGBEE is 250KBPS while the one of Z-WAVE is 9.6KBPS.
6. Even though ZIGBEE protocol is more complex than Z-WAVE protocol, ZIGBEE has more functions. The single channel of Z-WAVE is not capable of this mission. However, FHSS technology of ZIGBEE can be used to its maximum. For the experts of building automation, this function is critical in apartments, office buildings and other short-gapped occasions. Because it stands a great chance that Z-WAVE network will intrude in your network.
1.ZIGBEE can configure and realize almost all short-distance wireless functions which make it more general than Z-WAVE. Its application standard largely shortens development period of common application. For instance，ZIGBEE can be used in home automation, smart grid and remote control, etc. However, Z-WAVE can only be used in home automation.
2.Z-Wave chip can only be obtained from Sigma Designs. ZIGBEE module can be obtained from many sources such as Ember, Freescale, Microchip, and Texas instruments, Atmel, CEL, Digi, Jennic, Lemos and RFM.
3.Many members of Fortune 500 companies support and join ZIGBEE alliance while Z-WAVE technology alliance has less support. ZIGBEE will be promoted at a large scale. Obviously, ZIGBEE technology is going to be the trend across the world in the future.
4.The typology structures of ZIGBEE are mesh, stellate and tree. Z-WAVE only has a tree structure. ZIGBEE can be used in direct communication. However, most application is based on stellate and tree typology structures. The master node controls other connections, if one connection fails to communicate with another connection, these two connections will be treated as repeater to link other connections in communication range. ZIGBEE has 65000 nodes while Z-WAVE has 232 nodes.
5.ZIGBEE has a more superior transmission speed. The data transmission frequency of ZIGBEE is 250KBPS while the one of Z-WAVE is 9.6KBPS.
6. Even though ZIGBEE protocol is more complex than Z-WAVE protocol, ZIGBEE has more functions. The single channel of Z-WAVE is not capable of this mission. However, FHSS technology of ZIGBEE can be used to its maximum. For the experts of building automation, this function is critical in apartments, office buildings and other short-gapped occasions. Because it stands a great chance that Z-WAVE network will intrude in your network.
Wireless standards
10:08
Wireless standards
Exceptional changes are underway in the home networking market and a wide range of home systems. Everything from thermostats, light switches, door locks and smoke detectors will become networked. Born from a collective desire to better control our environment and cut our energy consumption, this shift is widely predicted to bring significant market growth opportunities. In the UK, over £2.4 billion is expected to be spent on home energy management devices. However, such devices will have to work with existing home networks and interoperability between devices from different manufacturers is essential for commercial success.
According to IMS Research, over 600-million households worldwide have home networks installed with computers, media players, smart TV’s, printers, network-attached storage (NAS), internet gateways and a growing number of accessories such as mice, headsets and keyboards. Like the home computing networks they join, which are standardized on WiFi, Ethernet and USB, these new home-automation, energy management, care and security (HAECS) networks must standardize to adopt an interoperable technology that gives whole home coverage and long battery life. Furthermore, this standard must be reliable, secure, scalable and simple to set up.Digital Enhanced Cordless .
After 10 years and millions of implementations every year, ZigBee standards prove you can rely on the widest variety of smart and easy-to-use products for just about anywhere you work, live or play. Our innovative standards are designed to let product manufacturers help their customers create their own Internet of Things and M2M wireless sensor networks to gain greater control of, and even improve, everyday activities.
ZigBee lets you easily and cost-effectively add intelligent new features that improve the efficiency, safety, security, reliability and convenience of your products. You can help your customers save both energy and money, or give them the tools they need to gain control of their homes. It's even possible to help people maintain their independence and allow them to closely monitor their health and fitness.
Thanks to ZigBee, it's never been easier to differentiate your products and services while also making them smarter and greener.
If you need more information you may email me direct.
'Smart Homes' Could Be Hacked If Not Choose Wisely:
Do you want your house to be haunted by a complete stranger?
“I can see all of the devices in your home and I think I can control them,” a complete stranger said to Thomas Hatley who lives in Oregon and had been awoken with an early phone call on a Thursday morning.
He and his wife were still in bed. Expressing surprise, he asked this stranger to try to turn the master bedroom lights on and off. Seconds later, not only lights, but also television came on. “I’ll be darned”, Mr. Hatley said in the phone.
This is not a fabricated story, but a true report on Forbes Tech.
The home automation market was worth $1.5 billion in 2012 according to Reuters; there’s been an explosion in products that promise to make our homes “smarter.” Many of these products have smart phone apps and Web portals that let users operate devices, cameras, and locks from afar. The function sounds really amazing, and so many people embrace this new lifestyle without thorough consideration and cautious selection. Here’s problem: as we bring the things in our homes onto the Internet, we run into the same kind of security concerns we have for any connected device: they could get hacked!
To prevent being hacked, you need to pay attention to more than function. All functions provided by different brands are similar, remote monitor, remote control and automation. However, technologies of networking behind functions are so much distinct. It could be as simple as Bluetooth, radio frequency and Wi-Fi, or be more advanced one such as Zwave and ZigBee.
Contrary to lots of smart home brands who were exposed to have hacking problem, Wulian receives zero report of hacking issue. From the very beginning, Wulian sets network safety as its priority. Smart home function only makes sense after safety is guaranteed. Otherwise, how could people feel relieved to let an automation system take over their houses?
Googling a very simple phrase led me to a list of “smart homes” that had done something rather stupid. The homes all have an automation system from Insteon that allows remote control of their lights, hot tubs, fans, televisions, water pumps, garage doors, cameras, and other devices, so that their owners can turn these things on and off with a smart phone app or via the Web. The dumb thing? Their systems had been made crawl-able by search engines – meaning they show up in search results — and due to Insteon not requiring user names and passwords by default in a now-discontinued product, a stranger was able to click on the links, giving me the ability to turn these people’s homes into haunted houses, energy-consumption nightmares, or even robbery targets. Opening a garage door could make a house ripe for actual physical intrusion.
The ZigBee technology is a perfectly suitable choice for developing smart home. Its strict encryption is born for resisting hacking. Wulian is an advanced member of ZigBee Global Alliance and participates in the establishment of home automation industry standard. From network reliability to the safety of user data on server, Wulian has all considered thoughtfully.
Do you want your house to be haunted by a complete stranger?
“I can see all of the devices in your home and I think I can control them,” a complete stranger said to Thomas Hatley who lives in Oregon and had been awoken with an early phone call on a Thursday morning.
He and his wife were still in bed. Expressing surprise, he asked this stranger to try to turn the master bedroom lights on and off. Seconds later, not only lights, but also television came on. “I’ll be darned”, Mr. Hatley said in the phone.
This is not a fabricated story, but a true report on Forbes Tech.
The home automation market was worth $1.5 billion in 2012 according to Reuters; there’s been an explosion in products that promise to make our homes “smarter.” Many of these products have smart phone apps and Web portals that let users operate devices, cameras, and locks from afar. The function sounds really amazing, and so many people embrace this new lifestyle without thorough consideration and cautious selection. Here’s problem: as we bring the things in our homes onto the Internet, we run into the same kind of security concerns we have for any connected device: they could get hacked!
To prevent being hacked, you need to pay attention to more than function. All functions provided by different brands are similar, remote monitor, remote control and automation. However, technologies of networking behind functions are so much distinct. It could be as simple as Bluetooth, radio frequency and Wi-Fi, or be more advanced one such as Zwave and ZigBee.
Contrary to lots of smart home brands who were exposed to have hacking problem, Wulian receives zero report of hacking issue. From the very beginning, Wulian sets network safety as its priority. Smart home function only makes sense after safety is guaranteed. Otherwise, how could people feel relieved to let an automation system take over their houses?
Googling a very simple phrase led me to a list of “smart homes” that had done something rather stupid. The homes all have an automation system from Insteon that allows remote control of their lights, hot tubs, fans, televisions, water pumps, garage doors, cameras, and other devices, so that their owners can turn these things on and off with a smart phone app or via the Web. The dumb thing? Their systems had been made crawl-able by search engines – meaning they show up in search results — and due to Insteon not requiring user names and passwords by default in a now-discontinued product, a stranger was able to click on the links, giving me the ability to turn these people’s homes into haunted houses, energy-consumption nightmares, or even robbery targets. Opening a garage door could make a house ripe for actual physical intrusion.
The ZigBee technology is a perfectly suitable choice for developing smart home. Its strict encryption is born for resisting hacking. Wulian is an advanced member of ZigBee Global Alliance and participates in the establishment of home automation industry standard. From network reliability to the safety of user data on server, Wulian has all considered thoughtfully.
Both ZigBee and Z-Wave wireless technology are applied in remote monitoring and control. However, their specification and application are quite different.
1.ZigBee can configure and realize almost all short-distance wireless functions which make it more general than Z-WAVE. Its application standard largely shortens development period of common application. For instance, ZigBee can be used in home automation, smart grid and remote control, etc. However, Z-WAVE can only be used in home automation.
2.Z-Wave chip can only be obtained from Sigma Designs. ZigBee module can be obtained from many sources such as Ember, Freescale, Microchip, and Texas instruments, Atmel, CEL, Digi, Jennic, Lemos and RFM.
3.Many members of Fortune 500 companies support and join ZigBee alliance while Z-WAVE technology alliance has less support. ZigBee will be promoted at a large scale. Obviously, ZigBee technology is going to be the trend across the world in the future.
4.The typology structures of ZigBee are mesh, stellate and tree. Z-WAVE only has a tree structure. ZigBee can be used in direct communication. However, most application is based on stellate and tree typology structures. The master node controls other connections, if one connection fails to communicate with another connection, these two connections will be treated as repeater to link other connections in communication range. ZigBee has 65000 nodes while Z-WAVE has 232 nodes.
5.ZigBee has a more superior transmission speed. The data transmission frequency of ZigBee is 250KBPS while the one of Z-WAVE is 9.6KBPS.
6.Even though ZigBee protocol is more complex than Z-WAVE protocol, ZigBee has more functions. The single channel of Z-WAVE is not capable of this mission. However, FHSS technology of ZigBee can be used to its maximum. For the experts of building automation, this function is critical in apartments, office buildings and other short-gapped occasions. Because it stands a great chance that Z-WAVE network will intrude in your network.