The Z-Wave Alliance supports Z-Wave as the enabling technology for the age of anywhere/everywhere wireless control and monitoring.
Established in January 2005 by a group of leading manufacturers, the alliance has a membership of more than 450 companies around the world that promote the pillars of Z-Wave, including interoperability, security and diversity. Z-Wave Alliance members lead the home controls market, providing systems that deliver increased comfort, convenience, safety and security. In the Z-Wave ecosystem, the whole is greater than the sum of the partners, according to Mitchell Klein, executive director of the Z-Wave Alliance.
“The Z-Wave Alliance is comprised of members throughout the globe who are dedicated to the development and extension of Z-Wave as the key enabling technology for ‘smart’ home and business applications,” Klein said. The following IMARK suppliers are part of the Z-Wave Alliance: Intermatic, Legrand, Leviton, SATCO and Stelpro.
The Z-Wave technology was created by Danish company Zensys, which was acquired by Sigma Designs in 2008. Z-Wave is a wireless communications protocol used primarily for the residential control and automation market. It is intended to provide a simple and reliable method to wirelessly control lighting, HVAC, security systems, home cinema, automated window treatments, swimming pool and spa controls and garage and home access controls. Like other protocols and systems aimed at the home and office automation market, a Z-Wave automation system can be controlled via the internet with a Z-Wave gateway or central control device serving as both the Z-Wave hub controller and portal to the outside.
“Z-Wave is an open internationally recognized International Telecommunication Union standard and is the leading wireless home control technology in the market today,” Klein said. “There are more than 1,700 certified interoperable products worldwide and the Z-Wave standard is a key enabler of smart home solutions for safety and security, energy, hospitality, office and light commercial applications.”
To assure this interoperability, each Z-Wave product must pass a stringent conformance test to assure that it meets the Z-Wave standard for complete compliance with all other devices and controls. The Z-Wave Alliance is also committed to ensuring that all Z-Wave devices are the most secure on the market. In April 2017, the Z-Wave Alliance added a new requirement that all new certified devices must implement the Security 2 (S2) framework, the most advanced security for smart home devices and controllers, gateways and hubs in the market today.
“This security mandate guarantees that consumers’ devices are protected and that their homes are safe from hacking,” Klein said. “Z-Wave has always offered high encryption levels in its protocol and with the S2 mandate, that security is enhanced even further. Devices including S2 will also be backwards compatible with existing devices on the market.”
For manufacturers, Z-Wave offers a powerful and broadly deployed ecosystem for innovative control and monitoring applications. Z-Wave’s light overhead in cost and power consumption make the technology practical for almost any sphere of product development. For service providers, Z-Wave offers an environment where deployments can be easily extended or enhanced, with full confidence in the backward and forward compatibility with existing products and services.
The Z-Wave identity mark assures consumers, integrators, dealers and manufacturers that their products will reliably perform with any other Z-Wave device.
“This interoperability between products and brands is unique to Z-Wave, which each alliance member has adopted as its wireless technology of choice,” Klein said. “Z-Wave products and applications fall into every conceivable area of control and monitoring for residential and light commercial environments. They are powering revolutions in home safety and security, healthcare and independent aging, hospitality and real estate management and energy conservation. Z-Wave is at the forefront of green energy management technologies, allowing automated meter readings and enhanced demand management.”
Representing a broad range of industries, channels and consumer touch points, the Z-Wave Alliance members all share a common goal: to bring advanced yet practical wireless products and services to market that work together seamlessly, regardless of brand or vendor.
The mission of the Z-Wave Alliance is to:
- Promote consumer awareness and recognition of Z-Wave technology as the trusted standard for wireless control.
- Ensure interoperability between systems and devices from all members.
- Provide opportunities and processes for collaboration on future products and services.
- Accelerate the adoption of Z-Wave control products.
- Offer trainings for developers, engineers and integrators that extend the knowledge base and broaden Z-Wave penetration worldwide.
The alliance’s vision is one of a common standard that allows simple wireless control for almost any residential or light commercial product or application. Z-Wave Alliance welcomes new members who are interested in how Z-Wave can fit into their business goals. There are several levels of membership.
“The Z-Wave Alliance offers a wide array of services for manufacturers, developers, service providers and integrator members,” Klein said. “Three different levels of membership provide resources about Z-Wave technology, training and education, collaboration and networking with other member companies, a membersonly website, access to participate in tradeshows and events, collaborative working groups and more.”
The Z-Wave Alliance is the only organization dedicated to supporting and promoting the Z-Wave standard in the market.
“There are other organizations dedicated to advancing competing or complimentary smart home protocols,” Klein said. “The Z-Wave Alliance is among the most comprehensive and has the largest product ecosystem specifically dedicated to the smart home and residential IoT applications with more than 1,700 certified products available worldwide and 70 million devices shipped into the marketplace to date.”
In 2016, the Z-Wave Alliance introduced a brand-new installation toolkit to make installation and testing of a Z-Wave smart home mesh network even easier for the pro installer community.
“The Z-Wave Certified Installer Toolkit is a robust tool that removes guesswork from installations,” Klein said. “A maint