Before you buy a domotica system, ALWAYS ask which communication protocol it uses and supports.
There is a huge difference between them, so asking yourself this question is crucial for relaxing in your home/office.
You want a system that supports several protocols, so that you are ready for the future in case one becomes standard.
Z-Wave
+ Wireless
+ Cheap hardware
+ Range from 30m to 120m
+ Mesh network (every devices extends the range of your entire network)
+ Very secure (encrypted communication via zwave plus)
+ Feedback after switching a device (did it succeed?)
+ Bidirectional
+ feedback whether switching devices worked or not
+ Easy to find a lot of hardware that supports z-wave
+ Proprietary radio system, making certain all devices speak the same language
Our rating: 9/10
EnOcean
+ Wireless
+ No battery, no power connection: they get power from temperature, motion, temperatuur, rotation and light
+ Bidirectional communication, routing and encryption at a datarate of 125kbit/s
– More expensive then z-wave
– Bit more noisy, as switches are producing energy
– they make a clicking noise
– No multisensors
– Requires active repeater if you extend over more then 2 devices
– Older hardware is unidirectional
– More difficult to find the hardware in stores
Our rating: 7/10
x10
+ Wired and wireless
+ Very cheap
+ Oldest domotica protocol
+/- Control up to 264 devices
– No feedback after switching a device (did it succeed?)
– Limited range – Difficulties penetrating walls & floors
– Impossible to know the current state of your devices
– No encryption in communication
– Only for hobby, no professional use recommended
– Original company went bankrupt in 2011, since then no new developments have been made
Our rating: 3/10
CoCo, klik-aan-klik-uit, rfxcom, …
Variation on the X10 protocol, but they are not compatible with X10.
Same evaluation as X10 above, except for the last line.
Our rating: 5/10
Zigbee
+ Speed up to 250kbit/s
+ Range from 10m to 100m
+ Mesh network (every devices extends the range of your entire network)
+ Hardware not country specific
– More Interoperability problems then Z-wave, since no proprietary radio system
– Many Zigbee devices cannot work together. This is a major setback.
Our rating: 6/10
KNX
+ Very big and well known protocol
+ Industrial quality
+ Lots of devices available
– Very expensive
– Difficult to connect to webservices
– If they offer webbased solutions, the link is not often shared to other domotica systems
– Needs expensive software to program your devices
Our rating: 7/10
IP based
+ Fast data transfer
– Less reliable: wifi signals can easily be jammed or disturbed
– No universal API or way of communication, every device needs to be supported individually
Our rating: 7/10
Insteon
+ All devices act as Controller and Slaves
+ Mesh network (every devices extends the range of your entire network)
+ Backwards compatible with X10 + Both wired and wireless
+ Bidirectional communication
+ Automatic inclusion of new devices
– Limited type and range of products available
– Limited heathing control
– Only 1 vendor
– Benefits of Insteon only start for bigger (commercial) networks
– The wireless devices are based on X10, just look at the many negative points above…)
Our rating: 7/10
Overview
| Protocol | Z-Wave | EnOcean | X10 based | IP-devices | KNX | Zigbee | Insteon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Low | Medium | Lowest | Higher | High | Low | Low |
| Success feedback | Yes | Only new hardware | No | Partially | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mesh network | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Security protocol | Highest | High | No | Medium | High | High | High |
| Easyness to find hardware | Easy | Difficult | Easy | Easy | Easy | Medium | Medium |
| Devices use same language | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | +/- Yes | No | Yes |
| Device range | High | High | Lowest | High | High | High | High |
Please do reach out in case something is missing in here. We really want it to be correct!
We also recommend taking a look at the best domotica systems of 2017.