I see a lot of posts about people who like their Zigbee and Z-Wave products. As I’m setting up the hardware in my home, I’m using Wi-Fi products because I already have Wi-Fi. I don’t see much difference in price. What is the actual benefit of setting up a separate network for home devices? Is there a reason that I should consider setting up one of these networks?

  • tankplanker@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    1 day ago

    I prefer zwave and zigbee because they give me 12 months plus on small batteries, and I can not get this on WiFi devices. This greatly improves where I can install sensors and the like.

    Even when I have a larger battery, such as the 60ah battery I use for my back garden lighting, I still use them as it reduces power draw over a WiFi controller.

    I can also directly connect them to smartthings and more recently home assistant thst I have migrated to rather than connecting to a WiFi device via a Web service. This improves reliability and speed on average.

    I get no problems with running a large network of such devices, I have over 100 bulbs, relays, plugs, and sensors that are connected. My WiFi is decent and supports 8 nest cams that are outside plus another 20 or so devices that are inside, so it offers a similar range for me.