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10 How IoT Short-Range Connectivity Stacks Up in Home Automation This article compares short-range connectivity solutions, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, 6LoWPAN, and the solutions found under the 802.15.4 standard, and discover which of these works best in home automation. • Build cloud-connected Wi-Fi prototypes in under an hour • Popular Digi XBee™ Through-Hole and Surface-Mount footprints • Ideal for Industrial Applications that require fast time to market LEARN MORE 4 Digi XBee ™ Wi-Fi Module By Carolyn Mathas for Mouser Electronics Home automation is the use of networking technology to connect and communicate with other devices inside and outside of the home. Light switches, surveillance cameras, energy meters, and thermostats are integral parts of the smart home, monitored with home automation. Behind home automation technology are a myriad of connectivity and communication standards. Since the inception of the Internet of Things (IoT), standards readily compete against each other to perform pretty much the same task. Of course, advantages and disadvantages exist for each. The challenge becomes wading through the seven most available- but-exclusive solutions that connect IoT over short distances, making IoT the subject of confusion and frustration more often than not. For system and device designers building home automation solutions, IoT connectivity can be understood more readily if we break it down into short-range versus long-range. The topic for discussion in this chapter is short- range technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, 6LoWPAN, and solutions found under the 802.15.4 standard. Short-range solutions require: • IoT devices that communicate with each other over a network, preferably mesh. • The ability to support a large number of networked IoT devices. • Enabling IoT devices to operate on coin cell batteries for years. • Robust security. • The lowest possible complexity and hardware costs. • Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6).

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