Although there is still a long way to go, the Internet of things or IoT has been a reality for a long time and more and more devices are connected and technologies around this industry. An industry with which the cost of data storage is being reduced and in which a wireless standardization is being carried out, hence in addition to the famous WiFi or Bluetooth , other terms such as Zigbee or Z-Wave have begun to be heard, between others.
Now, what exactly are these wireless technologies and what are the main advantages or disadvantages between them. If you are thinking of buying a connected product such as smart light bulbs, for example, then surely you have already heard about these technologies.
And when it comes to transmitting data, most of the products we find in the market have turned to technologies such as popular WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee or Z-Wave. Next, we will show what each of them consists of and what are the main differences, advantages or disadvantages between them.
Features and differences between Bluetooth, WiFi, Zigbee and Z-Wave
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is born from the hand of Ericsson and a group of companies in the technology sector that were later joined by other companies such as Microsoft itself with the aim of finishing. The joint work of all of them made this technology quickly accepted by manufacturers.
Thanks to this wireless technology it is possible to connect several devices and exchange information between them in a comfortable and simple way. So much so, that we have been using Bluetooth for a long time to transfer content between devices or to connect from them to some systems such as hands free. And it is a technology for the transfer of voice and data.
Since its birth, this technology has been evolving and improving until today, where Bluetooth 5.0 is able to offer a connection between devices at a greater distance and a transmission speed that reaches up to 2Mbps . But that is not all, since in addition, this latest version of the standard offers a power consumption of up to 2.5 times less than the previous version, which guarantees a lower battery consumption of the devices.
Among the main features of this technology, we find:
- It operates in the free ISM band between 2,402 and 2,480GHz , so it does not require a license.
- Its range depends on the emission power available to the transmitting equipment and whether we are indoors or outdoors.
- It is oriented to the point-to-point connection or mesh network of few nodes.
- Maximum data transmission speed 2Mbps.
- Difficulty crossing certain obstacles such as walls.
- Its use is mainly focused on desktop computers, laptops, mobile or audio output devices, hands-free, sports or home automation devices and even toys, medical technology or industry.
WIFI
WiFi comes from Wireless Fidelity or what comes to be the same, Wireless Fidelity. It is a wireless data transmission technology used for Internet based on radio waves, such as the radio itself, television or mobile telephony. However, the frequencies used are different, specifically the WiFi uses 2.4GHz and 5GHz .
The latest WiFi connectivity standard that we will begin to find from now on more and more devices is WiFi 6 , formerly known as WiFi 802.11ax. However, recently the WiFi Alliance has renamed the numbering of the versions becoming WiFi 6, WiFi 5 and WiFi 4 which would be previously the standard 802.11ax, 802.11ac and 802.11n respectively.
A new standard that basically comes to offer greater speed, better performance, greater capacity to have many devices connected and better energy efficiency. In the ten years that separate WiFi 4 from WiFi 6, we can say that the maximum transfer speed has increased from 600 Mbit / s offered by WiFi 802.11n in 2009 to 9608Mbit / s of WiFi 6, through a speed Maximum of 6933 Mbit / s of WiFi 5 or 802.11ac.
As far as uses are concerned, WiFi technology offers us access to the Internet from different devices when connecting to a particular network, while linking different devices to each other wirelessly.
The range of WiFi networks depends on several factors such as frequency band, radio power output, receiver sensitivity, gain and antenna type, etc. In addition, remember that it is also possible to extend its reach with the use of directional antennas or repeaters.
Among the main features of WiFi, we must highlight:
- It operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz frequency band
- Its range depends on many factors but is much greater than Bluetooth.
- It allows the Internet connection of different devices and can also be used to connect devices to each other within a network.
- Maximum data transmission rate 9.6Gbps for WiFi 6.
- Difficulty crossing certain obstacles and may find interference with other waves emitting at the same frequencies.
- Its use is perhaps the most widespread and hence we can find a lot of connected devices today.
Zigbee
For its part, Zigbee a wireless communication protocol that makes use of low-energy radio waves to allow certain devices to communicate with each other. In this way, it is possible to create a small wireless network with devices that connect to each other through a mesh or mesh network .
That is, they use a common communication language between them without the need for each one to be connected to the router individually. For this, it is necessary to use a bridge or hub, a device that will be the one that connects to the Internet and is responsible for distributing the signal among the other devices connected to it.
The main advantages of this technology is that it helps avoid network saturation, something very important when there are many devices connected to the same network, it is simpler and less expensive than Bluetooth or WiFi and offers low energy consumption. The main drawbacks on the other hand is the need to use a device that acts as a bridge and that the transmission distances are smaller. In addition, the fact that Zigbee is an open protocol (despite being managed by the Zigbee Alliance), allows certain manufacturers to modify it so that the hubs are only compatible with their own devices.
That said, it can be said that the Zigbee wireless connection protocol is intended for applications that require low power consumption and do not require large data transfer speeds. The most common application areas are home automation, wireless network sensors, smoke or motion sensors, medical data collection and even specific industrial control systems.
Therefore, among the most notable features of Zigbee, we find:
- Requires the use of a bridge or hub device.
- Mesh network system.
- The devices do not connect individually to the Internet.
- It offers low energy consumption .
- Reduced range , between 10 and 20 meters.
- Very low data transfer speeds, defined speed of 250 kbit / s.
- Mainly for home use, sensors, data collection that do not require high speeds, toys, etc.
- It is an open protocol.
Z-Wave
Z-Wave is together with Zigbee the two wireless communication protocols alternative to WiFi or Bluetooth. Now, although both function as a mesh network system, there are certain differences between the two. The first difference is that Zigbee is an open protocol managed by the Zigbee Alliance, while Z-Wave is private . Something that without a doubt, can be a double-edged sword, that is, an advantage in certain aspects and for another an inconvenience.
And the fact that it is closed, guarantees that all compatible devices can function without any problem between them. However, with Zigbee it can be given that certain manufacturers adapt it to their whim and that they only allow the compatibility of devices of the manufacturer itself.
Z-Wave has a greater range or range than Zigbee ( up to 100m ) and usually offers greater stability in connections, while Zigbee supports more connected devices, 65000 compared to just over 200. However, this is a detail That will not influence us if the use will be domestic.
Needless to say, like Zigbee, Z-Wave also requires the use of a hub or bridge to connect and manage the IoT devices we use. As far as compatibility is concerned, the fact that Zigbee uses the 2.4GHz frequency means that if at any time we want to take our devices to another country, we will have no problem using it. However, Z-Wave uses different radio frequencies in different countries, which means we cannot use them in countries where different frequencies are used.
Therefore, as main features of Z-Wave, it should be noted:
- Requires the use of a bridge or hub device .
- Mesh network system .
- The devices do not connect individually to the Internet.
- It offers low energy consumption .
- Maximum reach 100m.
- Very low data transfer speeds, maximum speed of 100 kbit / s.
- Mainly for home use, control of household items, sensors, electronic security elements, start-up of electronic devices or entertainment.
- It is a closed protocol.