What Types of Wireless Communication Technology can be Used in Home Automation?

 

A wireless home automation system uses a wireless protocol to allow its devices to communicate and make the smart home a single coherent system. In wireless home automation, smart homes use a minimal amount of wires and utilize wireless technology to integrate devices into one another.

Having a wireless home automation system for a smart home posses benefits in both aesthetic and technical aspects. Aesthetic-wise, a wireless home automation system makes devices look less intimidating and easy to install without sacrificing the style and look of your home. The wired system can make your home look like a typical house straight out of a dystopian cyberpunk novel. 

When it comes to the technical side, a wireless home automation system makes communication between devices much more efficient. Such a setup would also make remote control much easier for you.

Protocols of Wireless Home Automation

Various types of protocols are used for communication in wireless home automation. Some systems use only one of the types, but some systems use a mix of two or three types of protocols. Here are the protocols used for wireless home automation:

1. ZigBee. ZigBee is one of the most popular protocols used in wireless home automation. A lot of smart home devices utilize ZigBee for wireless communication. It is a protocol that uses radio bands 868MHz, 915 MHz, and 2.4GHz with a physical range of up to approximately  10 to 20 meters. It is low-cost and low-power which makes it popular and efficient to use in almost every smart device. Its name is a nod to the waggle dance made by honey bees after they return to the beehive.

2. Z-Wave. Z-Wave is another protocol used in wireless home automation. It has a frequency of around 800-900MHz and a physical range of 100 meters. It is gaining popularity in smart home technology in recent years due to its efficiency as it uses less power while running on a mesh network. In 2017, there are an estimated 1,700 Z-wave products which grew to 2,600 so far in 2019. Its popularity can be attributed to its allowance to be controlled via the Internet from a smartphone or tablet. 

3. Bluetooth. Bluetooth is a protocol used in wireless home automation that is more familiar to people. This protocol has been around with people even before the surge of popularity of smartphones. Today, it is still used in smartphones and it is utilized in wireless home automation as well. A typical Bluetooth range is about 10 meters running on 1Mbps. But, more advanced versions of the protocol can have a range of as far as 40-400 meters.

4. Wi-Fi. People have known Wi-Fi as the gateway to the Internet. It is used in many homes as a means to distribute Internet signals to a certain location. Most Wi-Fi devices use a frequency of 2.4GHz and are enough to effectively distribute and control signal around a certain area. W-Fi has now been used as a protocol in wireless home automation as well. The use of Wi-Fi in smart homes allows users to connect their smart devices to the Internet. By doing so, they could monitor their home using those devices through the Internet using a smartphone application.

5. Infrared. Infrared radiation is also used as a protocol for wireless home automation in some smart home systems. It is used mainly for short-range communication. It is mainly used in television remote controls as well as security devices in homes.

The various types of protocols are important for these wireless home automation devices as they allow efficient and fast communication between them. Wireless protocols are the very reason why a smart home is a system. Besides, wireless protocols not only allow efficient communication between devices but fast communication between devices and homeowners as well.

Types of Wireless Home Automation Devices

Here are some of the devices used in wireless home automation:

1. Camera. Cameras are one of the most prominent devices in wireless home automation. They provide visual surveillance for homeowners to their own homes. This makes them a staple in smart homes of any type

Cameras that use Wi-Fi protocols can be connected to the Internet. By doing so, any footage caught by the camera can be directly uploaded to cloud storage for safekeeping. Homeowners that are at work or traveling can also view what their cameras at home are recording using a smartphone application.

Protocols are also valuable for outdoor cameras in wireless home automation. Outdoor cameras are installed outside of your home and need a great degree of flexibility that cannot be simply provided within a wired setup. Wirelessness allowed outdoor cameras to be easily installed outdoors and efficiently deliver information even when they are outside the quarters of a house.

2. Motion sensor. Protocols are also necessary for a motion sensor to function in wireless home automation. Motion sensors are devices that could detect movements. These devices could be used in home security or automating other wireless home automation devices.

In home security, motion sensors are used to detect unrecognized movements around the home. In automation, motion sensors are used for automatic switching and turning off other smart devices. For instance, motion sensors are used to automate smart lights. In such a setup,  motion sensor will detect a movement which it will take as the owner. Once it detects the movement, it turns on the lights so the homeowner will not come into a dark hall.

Protocols of wireless home automation are used by motion sensors to efficiently deliver information. An efficient transfer of information is important, especially in times when the motion sensor detects unauthorized movements.

3. Smart Lock. Wireless home automation protocols are also used prominently in smart locks. Most models of smart locks drop using physical keys as a means of locking and unlocking. This feature is also one of the primary selling points of smart locks. Now, developers of smart locks had to find new ways or methods to replace the physical key. As an answer, wireless protocols are used to replace the physical key and do the task of being a tool that locks and unlocks.

Wireless protocols also act as the smart lock’s means of communication between other smart devices in wireless home automation. Homeowners may also use the wireless protocol as a means to remotely monitor the entry and exits recorded by the smart lock.

4. Smart thermostat. Smart thermostats are important components of smart homes in colder parts of the country. Protocols are also important for these devices so that they could function well in a wireless home automation system. Wireless protocols in smart thermostats allow homeowners to adjust their heating remotely and monitor their home’s temperature even if they are outdoors.

While they cannot be physically seen, protocols play an important role in keeping the wireless home automation system in one piece. Just as language plays a huge role in communication between human beings and the construction of societies, protocols are important in connecting smart devices and keeping the smart home as one coherent system.