Z-Wave in the age of Matter: key facts to know

Z-Wave has long been a reliable player in the smart home space, ensuring seamless communication between devices. But with Matter’s growth, the game is changing. Let’s explore how Z-Wave is evolving and why it remains essential for your smart home setup.

Z-Wave: a brief overview

Developed in 1999 by Zensys, Z-Wave is a wireless protocol designed for home automation with key features of low latency, high power efficiency, and long transmission distance. Now it’s owned by Silicon Labs after an acquisition in 2018, which is also known to make Zigbee and Thread radio chips.

It allows devices like smart locks, sensors, and lights to communicate over a mesh or star network, which boosts both reliability and range. Operating in the sub-1GHz frequency range, Z-Wave avoids interference with crowded 2.4 GHz shared by Zigbee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Thread.

Notably, Z-Wave offers coverage ranging from hundreds of meters to several kilometers, depending on the environment, outpacing many other smart home protocols.

Over the years, it’s seen several updates. The Z-Wave 800 series chip, introduced in 2021, delivers enhanced power efficiency, faster speeds, and improved performance.

Z-Wave’s strategic adaptations

Z-Wave has made some key changes in the past a few years to align with the growing smart home market:

• Open-Source Transition: Z-Wave transitioned to an open-source model to encourage broader innovation. This change allows developers to contribute to its development. However, companies still require certifications and memberships to use Z-Wave commercially, similar to how Matter operates.

• Introduction of Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR): Launched in 2024, ZWLR extends the communication range of Z-Wave devices up to 1.5 miles line of sight, according to Silicon Labs. This enhancement reduces the need for mesh networks and repeaters, offering more reliable connectivity for devices like locks, lights, and sensors.

• Integration Efforts with Matter: Recognizing the importance of interoperability, the Z-Wave Alliance has been actively working to integrate Z-Wave into Matter ecosystems through standardized bridges as The Verge reported. This initiative aims to unify smart home platforms, enhancing user experiences and preserving Z-Wave's relevance in a Matter-dominated future.

So, how does Z-Wave’s evolution fit into the larger Matter ecosystem? Let’s take a look at how Z-Wave benefits Matter and vice versa.

Why it’s important for Matter

Matter can benefit from Z-Wave’s evolution rather than it be a direct competitor as the former is an application level standard while Z-Wave covers more on radio protocols.

• Enhanced Device Compatibility: The integration of Z-Wave with Matter ensures that a broader range of devices can communicate seamlessly, enhancing the overall smart home experience.

• Improved Connectivity: ZWLR technology addresses common connectivity issues by offering extended range and reliability, ensuring that devices maintain stable communication over greater distances.

• Extends Matter to industrial applications: Z-Wave’s key features like long-distance communication make it a perfect fit in industrial applications, with the efforts to bring Z-Wave to Matter, we may see unified industrial adoption of both open-source standards.

Z-Wave + Matter = more interconnection?

The integration between Z-Wave and Matter represents a pivotal step toward a more interconnected and versatile smart home. This could mark a turning point for Z-Wave, which has faced slow adoption in the consumer market in recent years.

For example, Samsung’s “Hub Everywhere” strategy doesn’t include Z-Wave, opting for Zigbee and Thread instead, despite earlier hubs supporting Z-Wave through a partnership with Aeotec.

By combining Z-Wave’s strength in long-range communication with Matter’s focus on universal compatibility, we can envision setups where a wide range of devices work seamlessly together.

However, under the hood, like Zigbee, such devices still require a specific hub or gateway to work with Matter, that’s the key difference between a native Matter device and a “Matter-compatiable” one.

(Source: Silicon Labs, Z-Wave Alliance, The Verge, CSA)