WIFI Vs Zigbee , Which the best for home Automation?
Hello guys 👋, I hope that you are exciting about today blog , which will be talk about home
automation protocols (or standard) ,any smart devices need a standard in order
to operate monitored ,communicate and
interact with other devices , so for this case smart home company used various
communication protocols , we have two types of protocols wireless and wireline protocol in this post we will talk
just about wireless protocol because we will make a whole section about wired home
automation protocol called KNX system ,soon.
Now we come
for wireless communication protocols, the first question that we posed is why we use wireless protocol?
Why we useWireless protocols?
There are
two main reasons for this choice is the cost wireless devices are low-cost devices comparing to wired devices , the second reason and the strongest one is with wireless protocol we don’t
need for any house work, new installation with just few modifications we build
our smart home system.
In this Blog we will talk about Bluetooth, WIFI and Zigbee , beginning by Bluetooth.
Bluetooth:
one of the oldest wireless protocols we
have all use it to share files music and other files in the past, but in these
years, it will be the main protocol for headphones, it can be use it in home
automation but for very limited functions like monitored a bulb to turn On and
OFF or dimming Up and Down, this limitation come for his capacity to support up
to 7 devices and the distance can be reached by their wave , which make
Bluetooth not a good choice for home automation.
WIFI:
On the
other hand, WIFI take important place in the home automation protocols, is one
of the most used protocols in smart home system for many reason.
-
WIFI provides
a high-speed internet connection, enabling seamless integration of smartphones,
tablets, and computers with smart devices. With Wi-Fi, users can remotely
control lights, thermostats, security systems, shutter roller and more. and
easy to be integrated with all voice assistant (google home, Alexa) through
dedicated mobile applications like Tuya and eWelink.
.png "App control in smart home system")
So, for the
reason of the traffic on the router a new protocol been developed specifically,
the for smart home system which is Zigbee protocol, developer are makes a big
innovation in this protocols that solving all problems that we face it in WIFI,
so what is Zigbee?
Zigbee:
Zigbee is a wireless
communication protocol that use local network have same frequency as WIFI and
Bluetooth (2.4GHz) but work in different way, specifically designed for home
automation for low-power devices. It operates on a mesh network topology, which
mean that each device acts as a node, extending the range and reliability and
the power of the network. Zigbee devices consume minimal energy, allowing for
long battery life and reducing the need for frequent battery replacements or
recharging. This makes it an ideal choice for smart sensors, door/window
sensors, motion detectors, and other devices that require long-term,
energy-efficient operation.
There is some of the crucial point of Zigbee protocol:
- Less Traffic system: Zigbee devices often require a central hub or a bridge to connect to the internet and interact with other devices so the router see only the bridge which mean all Zigbee devices in the system is considered as one devices which is the bridge , This hub acts as a coordinator, managing the communication between Zigbee devices and other protocols like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
- local network: which mean that the system can operate without
internet which make the system more secure we said that Zigbee is encrypted
system (we don’t worry about hacking our information)
- Low power network: benefiting of the low-rate transfer of data Zigbee
devices consume less energy than other devices work with WIFI or Bluetooth
which increase the battery life and energy consumption of the system.
- Mesh network: mesh network structure ensures that even if one device fails or loses connection, the network remains intact, as the signals can be routed through other devices to reach their intended destination. This self-healing capability makes Zigbee highly reliable and resilient in large-scale smart home deployments.
.png "zigbee communication protocol in smart home system")