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?

  • billwashereEnglish
    5•1 month ago

    I also thought zigbee was more open and had less licensing fees.

    • @deafboyEnglish
      4•1 month ago

      But also more open for the vendors to come up with new and creative ways to violate the protocol.

    • @AA5BEnglish
      1•28 days ago

      I read it’s something like typical $5 price difference and z-wave have to pass compatibility tests

      I initially went with z-wave because

      • 900MHz frequency has better range in my house
      • compatibility is good
      • my local home center had a few z-wave devices but no Zigbee

      But I ended up with both, no problem, and will soon add Thread.

      I strongly prefer local networks instead of WiFi so I know they’re not calling home, it’s cleaner separation, and allows battery devices

      • billwashereEnglish
        2•28 days ago

        Totally agree. There is no way a zigbee or zwave can phone home. Somebody pointed this out earlier and I just hadn’t put any thought into that aspect.