When it comes to discussing “range” and the various devices in your house, you typically think about how effective your Wi-Fi network is. However, with some smart home scenarios, this also extends to include the ecosystem you choose. As many of these devices can repeat their connection to each other, creating their own mesh network. And when it comes to “range”, Z-Wave is killing it when it comes to both consumer and commercial options.
This is all thanks to Z-Wave’s 800 Series generation of devices and “Long Range” support. These devices seem to have drastically improved upon an already powerful platform, solving one of the only notable issues it ever had (range).
Before now, depending on the size of your home and the distance between devices, you used to run into issues where you’d have to buy into Z-Wave extenders. These were small little devices that you popped into any outlet and acted as a node to help extend coverage to an area further out (a half-way point to bridge things together). But this is no longer needed. In fact, these have even been disappearing (ex: Amazon no longer carries the Aeotec extender) from retailers due to their no longer being needed.
Of course, if you still operate an older-generation Z-Wave network, you’ll still find their extenders useful. However, if you are just now building a Z-Wave network of devices or are looking to upgrade to long-range (I’ll refer to them as LR from here on out) capable devices, then you’ll be able to toss those extenders in the trash (or sell them on eBay so you’re not creating waste).
At the moment, many of the Z-Wave-compatible hubs out there are still functioning on the previous standards, so finding a hub that supports LR devices may be a thing still until more companies roll out updated solutions. However, you can easily build one yourself if you are familiar with DIY solutions (self-hosted) like Home Assistant or HomeSeer. All you need is a proper 800 Series Z-Wave LR adapter, and those platforms will hub things together nicely.
One of the best adapters we’ve tested comes from Zooz and it was their previous-gen Z-Wave adapter (the ZST10 – our review here). So I could confidently say that the company’s Zooz 800 Series Z-Wave LR USB Stick (ZST39 LR) would be a great fit. With that you’ll be able to support the new LR-compatible Z-Wave devices, allowing you to install them virtually anywhere.
Note: Just remember to install the USB stick using a USB extension cable to bring the adapter away from whatever machine you are hosting your hub on as the USB ports on the Raspberry or PC frequently can cause interference.
So thanks to the power of Z-Wave LR, you can pretty much install your devices anywhere around the home. Many of them will still repeat to each other on top of everything. Allowing you to reach that shed in the backyard, or the detached garage on the side of your home. Or even the house next door if you own that too as an Airbnb rental opportunity.
That last part leads to the commercial side of things. Due to the potential distance that Z-Wave LR offers, this greatly improves on the ability to use Z-Wave devices in a commercial setting. Allowing you to build advanced Z-Wave device networks for multi-family communities. This includes apartments, condos, and more. Potentially making the connectivity of large communities much more affordable and familiar (assuming you have any experience building out smart home solutions at home).
In the above interview, we had a conversation with one of the companies taking advantage of Z-Wave LR in its products. The company is “Smart Rent” and they supply devices and services for these larger communities. They support clients who manage everything from dozens of units to even thousands. This quickly shows how versatile the new generation of the Z-Wave protocol really is.
This is a great step forward for smart home and smart community environments all over. Solving one of the biggest hassles in the smart home market and providing a robust and incredibly well-supported and versatile solution for any user.
It doesn’t just stop there since the Z-Wave 800 Series will be expanding in the future with additional perks that also improve upon battery life, or in some cases, may not even require batteries at all. Thus it really is an exciting time for the standard and all of the companies that take advantage of it.
