Smart Hubs
Complete Buyer’s Guide

Different Protocols

Various technologies came along at different times, resulting in the thousands of devices that people now use to run their smart homes. Some of the devices are connected by wiring while others are wireless. Furthermore, those wireless devices might operate on different radio frequencies.

The challenge is making these different smart devices and protocols work seamlessly together. You also want them to all be able to link to the internet so you can operate them remotely from a laptop or smartphone.

Let’s start with a better understanding of some of the leading protocols powering your home automation devices today.

• Z-Wave – With a menu of more than 2,400 devices, Z-Wave is probably the most common household smart device protocol. Operating on a low radio frequency (RF), wireless Z-Wave won’t interfere with your home’s Wi-Fi or microwave signals.
• Zigbee –Although this wireless smart device protocol can be vulnerable to interference with Wi-Fi, it’s faster than Z-Wave technology and can support thousands of smart devices on one network. The approximately 2,500 Zigbee-connected smart devices include motion detectors, lights and lawn sprinklers.
• Insteon – This smart device protocol runs about 200 smart home devices on a fast mix of home hard wiring and RF technologies. Principle smart devices using Insteon include lights, dimmers, cameras and thermostats.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth – These technologies directly handle a limited number of home automation devices. However, Bluetooth has a limited range and the batteries of devices with Wi-Fi radios can drain quickly.