There is a strong competition between these three short ranges, low power standards in smart grid devices. They are ZigBee, Z-Wave and Bluetooth. But ZigBee Alliance itself has managed to get another potential contender that is the Wi-Fi Alliance, to work with it rather than against it.
It also announced that the two bodies will collaborate on wireless home area networks (HANs) for smart grid applications. It will initially focus on ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 which is an energy management protocol based on the existing Smart Energy Profile. Its original profile ran on ZigBee itself, in release 2.0 there are profiles for other physical layers, notably the HomePlug Alliance powerline specifications and now with Wi-Fi.
ZigBee Alliance quoted that by combining the two standards will offer "greater choice and versatility in energy management solutions" for utilities, suppliers and consumers. The real motive may be to neutralize a possible contender for the smart grid crown and one that is increasingly finding its way into electrical home products from TVs to fridges.
Wi-Fi is still the dominant wireless technology among vendors. This all new initiative will fully integrate the two in products such as meters, thermostats and appliances, as well as entertainment devices, PCs and cars.
You will be happy to know that this will deliver a higher level of efficiency and cost effectiveness in comparison to the current methods for using ZigBee and Wi-Fi together- notably.
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