Zigbee or ZWave to begin with?

Hi
I’m playing with HA for the first time.

Should I start with Zigbee or ZWave?

The only thing that puts me off Zigbee is the 2.4Ghz frequency as we’re not entirely 5Ghz here yet.

Any comments?

Olly

Z-Wave vs. Zigbee: Which Should You Choose? (safewise.com)

I donot use zwave but from what I read …zigbee devices are cheaper.
2.4Ghz also means a larger range…I would not easily forget that element

Thanks for the info. Yes, cost is a consideration, but it doesn’t seem to be a massive difference given the investment I’ll have to make.

As an aside, technically speaking, the higher the frequency the less far it travels. One of the issues with the 5Ghz spectrum is that the the coverage is actually less than 2.4ghz, hence the rise in the booster boxes you see. In the old days, Very Low Frequency signals could travel around the planet, now my 5ghz wifi can’t make it as far as my toilet.

Olly

And in most (all?) cases you donot need 5Ghz, we are not talking large data streaming :slight_smile:

Both…

:slightly_smiling_face:

But kidding aside I would (and did/do) use both.

There are times when you can’t easily find a device that you want in a certain protocol. If you use both then you aren’t limited. And if you have two options in a device then you can pick the cheapest/better quality device.

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If you have not started, another option is to wait for matter. Matter ‘should’ be available then Zigbee and Zwave in the future. Some Zigbee devices might be able to get flashed to Matter.

Things to consider: if you live in a densely populated area Zwave might be better for you since Zigbee frequencies overlap with WiFi. I have both Zigbee and Zwave but started with Zwave. Zwave is more expensive but my experience they also have much better battery life (for battery operated devices).

There are hubs that have Zwave and Zigbee.

To be bulletproof, go for both options as mentioned above - not so high investment needed.
From available device range perspective, zwave was quite strong in relays/dimmers modules untill wifi (shelly) become reality. I moved from zwave modules to wifi shelly, mainly because the possibility to controll them directly and with option to integrate them with different platforms, without the need of re-pairing.
For sensors, zigbee rules in terms of product range available so far and price as well. But you need to think about zigbee routers (main powered zigbee devices) to have solid network.

Care to detail a bit, till now I have always been able to find Zigbee…not at all stating I am a reference of course :slight_smile:

I have both. I find zwave more reliable, but also more expensive. Zwaves frequencies are less affected by building structure, and existing WiFi, but they do cost more. As they are both mesh networks, I would recommend doing your best to build out a strong resilient network with one or other of them. If you go down the “both” route, then you risk diluting (at least initially) the resilience of one or other, or wost of all, both networks.

That’s not accurate

Lower frequency = longer range, and better penetration through objects.

Lower frequency means less bandwidth

Z-Wave in the US is in the 900mhz frequency, so it far exceeds ZigBee at 2.4 in pure range, at the same power levels <10mW

Zigbee has more data throughput in comparison. But definitely not more range or penetration through objects

I choose Z-Wave, all devices will work together, the protocol is standardized, and backwards compatible with previous generations. My house has 102 devices currently, and works :ok_hand::ok_hand:

Zigbee on the other hand, the protocol is not standardized, so some devices don’t work with some hubs or don’t report their data points in a standardized fashion, which can be frustrating.

Wait for Matter.

Matter won’t matter… Lol it’s whole purpose is to tie ecosystems together, which home assistant already does.

Matter licensed ZigBee devices aren’t going to change anything because ZigBee will still remain an open protocol, and not all devices will be harmonious. Unless all manufacturers follow and join, but even then there will be things that don’t work and relics from the past or manufacturs not standardized.

Z-wave alliance has existed from the beginning of z-wave, by comparison, you don’t have ‘devices’ that don’t work or report in a standardized fashion. If you order a z wave device, it will work properly and report as it should because it’s a standardized protocol for almost two decades now

Why? Or do you mean wait for Thread? And in any case, I’ll be happy to wager that there will be a Thread/Matter → MQTT gateway developed at some stage as there has been for Zwave and Zigbee.

If you don’t mind the extra cost, I’d recommend Zwave and 700 series chips. I have somewhere around 50-60 ZigBee devices and while primarily less expensive, they need more attention.

As mentioned before, some ZigBee devices don’t play well together. My Zwave devices just work and I’m growing those in place of my failing ZigBee devices when I can.

I was just a few days ago looking for a combination motion, temp & humidity sensor.

I found several zwave devices but no zigbee that had all three. I ended up with a Zooz 4-in-1 so I got luminance as a bonus. Buying two zigbee devices to get all three (not including luminance) would have cost about the same as getting one zwave device.

Both excellent points.

as long as you have a few mains powered devices of each protocol spread around a bit it should be fine.

no more than 2 or 3 for a mid sized place or a couple more for a larger house should do it. If you’re in a Mansion you’ll need more…But if you live in a mansion then you likely wouldn’t care about the cost :money_mouth_face: and zwave would definitely be the way to go for the reason above…reliability and standardization.

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