What is Zigbee?

Zigbee is a term commonly used in the world of smart lighting. But what exactly is it? In short, it is a wireless communication protocol. Many companies use Zigbee in their smart bulbs, plugs, or LED dimmers.

What is Zigbee?

You could think of Zigbee as a kind of Wi-Fi: it's also a wirelessconnection that allows devices to communicate with each other. However, the difference is that Zigbee is specifically designed for smart home connections. It is a type of standard used by many companies to enable their (smart home) devices to communicate with each other. Since Zigbee is tailored for smart home applications, it has several advantages over Wi-Fi.

The Advantages of Zigbee

• All communication in the Zigbee protocol is two-way: devices confirm the "commands" given to them. This makes Zigbee extremely reliable for smart home systems. It ensures that devices never miss a command.
• Zigbee is quite standardized, especially in lighting. This means it is used as a kind of "standard" communication protocol for many smart home devices. Major brands like Philips Hue and Google Home, for example, also use Zigbee. This makes the standard not only highly reliable but also ensures that you can pair many devices that support Zigbee with each other.
• Another advantage is the fact that Zigbee uses the same wireless band as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth: 2.4 GHz. This means that devices can be easily certified and sold globally.

The Disadvantage of Zigbee

The biggest disadvantage of Zigbee is that you cannot connect these products directly to your phone. Your phone is equipped with different communication methods such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi but cannot receive Zigbee signals. Therefore, you almost always need a smart home hub to connect your Zigbee devices, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Home. This is not the case with communication protocols like Tuya.

You can, however, connect our Zigbee dimmers to other Touchlink-compatible hardware, such as Touchlink remote controls or wireless switches, without the need for a controller or hub.

Conclusion

In short, Zigbee is a powerful, energy-efficient, and affordable smart home technology. It is widely used for lighting by major brands like Google and Philips Hue. In addition to lighting, you'll find it in sensors, switches, blinds, and many other smart home products from various brands. And since the devices are cheaper, you can automate your home for less money. Many brands use Zigbee, but not all. Therefore, when purchasing a Zigbee product, make sure it is compatible with your current smart home system or the one you plan to set up. This way, you can be sure you won’t face any surprises or unexpected costs.

If you have any questions about Zigbee or would like advice on smart home lighting for your home, feel free to contact us. The team of Qub lighting experts is happy to assist you!