Bluetooth, BLE, WiFi, ZigBee, Z-Wave, Thread, which one is the best protocol for smart home?

Deciding which is the best protocol for smart home can be an overwhelming task. Not only are there a huge number of smart home protocol currently available, but it’s also a moving target with new technologies regularly being introduced.

Based on the intended functionality of your product, it should be relatively simple for you to immediately determine which is the best protocol for smart home you need to consider.

Bluetooth

The best known peer-to-peer wireless technology is Bluetooth, also called Bluetooth Classic. When you connect your phone to a Bluetooth speaker that is a peer-to-peer wireless connection between your phone and the speaker.

Because of the relatively short operating range, Bluetooth is fairly low power. It consumes much less power than WiFi, but still significantly more than technologies such as Bluetooth Low-Energy or Zigbee.

BLE

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a wireless protocol which uses much less power than traditional Bluetooth. The protocol supports mesh networking and uses AES-128 encryption for security.

BLE connects a wide range of IoT devices, from home appliances to smart grid meters and asset trackers. Devices such as wearable technology or fitness trackers can use it. BLE is convenient for use with coin-cell batteries that have a lifespan of many years.

The protocol uses microwave frequencies in the 2.4GHz ISM band to send data between devices. And, it’s most commonly used for sharing small amounts of data over relatively short distances (less than 100 meters). 

As with all of the technologies discussed in this section, BLE supports mesh networking. In fact, it allows mesh networks with up to 32,767 devices!

WiFi

Wi-Fi has been a staple in our homes for quite some time now. Devices that run on Wi-Fi connect to the internet via your home router the same way your smartphones and computers do.

Wi-Fi allows you to connect devices such as smart TVs and refrigerators without extensive wiring.

The protocol uses 2.4GHz and 5 GHz, depending on the amount of data that devices send over it. Wi-Fi routers using the 2.4 GHz band can cover up to 150 feet indoors and 300 feet outdoors.

There are several different Wi-Fi protocols and data rates. Wi-Fi networks support some of the fastest smart home protocols. An 802.11a, for example, can reach a maximum speed of 54Mbps, while the 802.11b can achieve a speed of 11Mbps.

Setting up Wi-Fi is easy, and you don’t need a hub to connect to devices. The technology can be helpful in IoT apps that don’t have to worry about power drain or require a long range, such as a home security system.

Zigbee

ZigBee is an open standard, wireless mesh network. The technology was developed with the unique needs of low-power, low-cost wireless, and Internet of Things (IoT) networks in mind.

The protocol supports data rates of up to 250 kbps and can operate in the 2.4 GHz frequency. It has strong interoperability capabilities with up to 65,000 devices per network. It also supports secure data transmission via AES-128 encryption, making it a great choice for complex smart home systems.

ZigBee is one of the main protocols used for many smart home hubs to control devices like light bulbs, thermostats, and door locks. Alexa uses it, for example, to interact with smart devices in a home.

Z-Wave

Z-Wave is a proprietary wireless technology (acquired by Silicon Labs in 2018) that primarily competes with Zigbee and BLE in the home automation market.

Unlike BLE and Zigbee, which use the popular 2.4 GHz band, Z-Wave instead uses a sub-1GHz band. The exact band varies across many countries which can cause complications if you wish to sell your product globally. In the U.S., Z-Wave operates at 908 MHz, whereas in Europe it uses 868 MHz. Other countries and regions use everything from 865 MHz to 921 MHz.

There are two significant advantages of the lower carrier frequency: increased range and reduced interference. Lower frequency radio waves propagate further. The 2.4 GHz band used by BLE and Zigbee is also used for WiFi, Bluetooth Classic, and even your microwave oven, so there is a lot of potential for interference.

The frequency bands used by Z-Wave tend to be much less crowded. The downside of the lower carrier frequency is a lower data transmission speed which ends up being almost 10 times slower than Bluetooth LE.

Z-Wave supports smaller mesh networks up to 232 devices, which is more than sufficient for most applications.

Thread

Thread is an open standard, IPv6-based, low-power, mesh networking protocol. This makes it a great choice for homeowners who want to create a smart home without locking themselves into a specific ecosystem.

The Thread Group is a consortium that created the protocol. It includes Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, Silicon Labs, and other major technology companies.

Thread uses the IEEE 802.15.4 standard protocol, operates on the 2.4 GHz frequency, and can securely connect (using AES encryption) over 250 devices. This means enabled devices consume less energy and communicate faster.

At the moment, there are a limited number of devices that support Thread. But this is likely to change as the protocol becomes more popular. Some of the devices that currently support Thread include Nest thermostats and Yale locks.

Conclusion

Which one is the best protocol for smart home? There are many reasons to choose either Bluetooth, BLE, WiFi, ZigBee, Z-Wave, or Thread. Each has its place when it comes to meeting the design and application requirements in terms of cost, transmission speed, communication distance, time, performance, size, security, and many other factors.