Some Xiaomi smart home devices have a prefix – “Zegbee”. What is Zegbee and what does it mean? – It is one of the higher protocols similar to Wi-Fi. It is one of the three known standards of wireless communication and is designed specifically for the automation of the smart home. Using this protocol, they can synchronize, transmit information to each other, and so on. Its distinctive feature is that ZigBee devices communicate directly with each other, without going through a control center every time.
Advantages and disadvantages of the protocol and comparison with competitors
The devices and sensors (working on the ZigBee) use much less power than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. This was achieved by reducing the idle time. That is, the “unused” point goes into so-called sleep mode. At the same time, its throughput rate is no more than 250 KB/second.
With Wi-Fi under the same conditions, the speed can reach 500, 1000 MB/second – ZegBee does not need such bandwidth, because the load on the system is small and data have to be transmitted many times less. Most of it is electrical device reports. WiFi is busier, it needs to ensure that the client receives information in Life mode. Due to this energy savings, the operating time from one battery (from 2 to 4 months).
Earlier, Bluetooth was used in the bundle of smart home systems. However, bluetooth was unreliable and inconvenient because of the long delays. The radius of signal propagation does not change much. By the way, bluetooth could have such delays up to several tens of milliseconds, while ZigBee – this system takes a few milliseconds. Thanks to this, any action takes place immediately, on the signal of the device. In terms of speed, the ZicBee showed the best option available.
This protocol has significantly more nodes than the Wi-Fi protocol. Experienced users know that connecting a large number of devices to a Wi-Fi router greatly overloads the system. Average typical router is not able to work simultaneously with more than 15 devices (with a constant load).
After a while, when you connect an excessive number of devices router may fail, hang, overheat or shut down. As a matter of urgency, the router will require a reboot. At ZigBet all these nuances are observed. Such a network can have several thousand nodes and still show uninterrupted operation. This is a very important and significant factor for a smart home, because otherwise it will not be able to function properly.
Zigbee devices are cheaper than those based on Wi-Fi. The fact is that the ZigBe sensor has a lower cost and is most profitable for manufacturers. For example, a light bulb with a ZigBee sensor from Ikea will cost almost 3 times cheaper than a similar bulb from TP-Link. At the same time they perform the same functions and look the same.
The communication range is superior to devices with other protocols. So, for example, the sensor with the control center in the form of Wi-Fi is less reliable at long distances or in the presence of obstacles (a concrete wall, for example).
The ZegBee protocol has three presenting devices:
- The coordinator is the main link that generates the network. In the case of the Xiaomi smart home, the gateway handles this role. The management of the entire system also takes place here.
- The router is a device that has constant power. Here it is the switches and sockets installed throughout the house. Supports the work of devices that are in hibernation mode. One router can work with up to 32 devices.
- Closing devices – which are powered by batteries. They also include sensors.
Devices in this protocol work according to the MESH scheme. The signal is passed from one to the other without interrupting the circuit. In contrast to the Star scheme, where the signal is interrupted or loses speed at each obstacle and only applies to a specific area.
Features
Has the latest communications standard - IEEE 802.15.4.
Power consumption is low.
Data transfer rate is 250 kb/second.
Standard frequency range is 2.4 GHz.
There is no IP support.
Can work as in "MESH" topology.
It can be controlled by Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon Alexa.Keep in mind that not everything with a ZegBee prefix is compatible. Ideally, use sensors and devices from the same manufacturer throughout the house. That way you can avoid system failures and conflicts.