Z-Wave goes Long Range for smart homes

The standards organisation for developing the wireless smart home protocol, says it increases the wireless range fourfold, with 10x node scalability for larger network support and 10-year coin cell battery life. It also maintains Z-Wave backward compatibility.

Basically, Z-Wave connectivity is extended beyond home interiors to support devices such as door locks, garage door sensors and gate access solutions.

“The Z-Wave LR specification is the first of many technical developments to come from within the new Alliance standards development organizational structure,” said Mitchell Klein, executive director, Z-Wave Alliance. “As smart home networks continue to grow, mature, and add more complex devices, there is a need for more robust technology to support them.”

“With Z-Wave LR, we are building upon Z-Wave’s legacy of strong networks by supporting more devices in a home or building with increased node counts and greater range. It’s more important than ever that IoT devices live on strong, reliable networks, and we’re excited to support this with the latest Z-Wave specification.”

The spec has been developed and managed by the new Z-Wave Alliance Technical & Certifications workgroup.

Z-Wave is backed by Silicon Labs, having been acquired from Sigma Designs  in 2018.

You can find more information at z-wavealliance.org