Z-Wave – Basics of wireless technology for the smart home
House Radio
© Lead Image © file404, 123RF.com
Z-Wave connects components in the smart home and ensures that remote commands from the control station take effect on real household appliances. We look at how it works, its range, the security of the protocol, and some basics that every Z-Waver should know.
The door lock opens when the owner's mobile phone approaches the entrance. The light in the apartment switches on when the motion detector senses a being walking around and the light sensor determines that it is night. The garage door closes automatically when the car drives in, and a controller detects that the absent-minded driver once again forgot to press the close button on the garage gate before leaving through the back door, so the gate now closes itself.
These automatic actions are no longer a smart home fiction; they are available right now. However, before pressing the "Buy" button, house owners have to decide which method to use when sensors are picking up signals and report them to the controller, which then in turn initiates actions to control real physical household devices.
Simply Wireless
Not everyone is likely to build their own new home so they are able to route cables in the walls for all kinds of playful extravagances; wireless solutions work around these limitations for the common man. In the 1990s, hobbyists who had a knack for tinkering, mainly in the United States, began to switch lamps or even household appliances on and off with a technology called X10. Signals were transmitted either via power lines or wireless RF technology. But X10 did not offer reliable communication; it was often impossible to say with certainty whether a device had actually received a transmitted signal.
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