Z-Wave Alliance kicks off 2024 with a triad of news

On the heels of announcing the newly elected Board of Directors, the bevy of announcements from the Z-Wave Alliance marks an explosive start to 2024.   

OliverIQ joins the Z-Wave Alliance

Officially launched at CES 2024, OliverIQ (Venetian Expo Booth #51932) is on a mission to put smart home automation in reach for everyone with their Smart Home as a Service (SHaaS) solution. With OliverIQ, a single user-friendly app unites third-party connected devices within the home, backed by unlimited always-on support. OliverIQ has joined the Z-Wave Alliance at the manufacturer level and has meticulously engineered their Smart Home as a Service solution to seamlessly integrate user’s most desired smart home devices – many of which are Z-Wave-certified – into a single streamlined experience. This new solution provides users with a consolidated app and access to control over third party devices, optional live security monitoring, remote monitoring, and management, as well as comprehensive technical service and support.

New Z-Wave Long Range resources

Z-Wave Long Range (Z-Wave LR) has been engineered to provide significantly extended wireless range, support robust networks, and extend Z-Wave connectivity beyond the interior boundaries of the home to improve wireless transmission range of peripheral Z-Wave devices. The technology responsible for ushering in a new era of Z-Wave connectivity and bringing expanded options for the smart home, multi-dwelling units, and hospitality use cases is the chosen topic for the latest round of published educational content produced by the Z-Wave Alliance. The Z-Wave Alliance announces availability of the Z-Wave Long Range eBook and Alarm.com Water Dragon and Z-Wave Long Range case study.

Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR) is the latest addition to the “WHY Z-WAVE” educational eBook series created by the Z-Wave Alliance and is now available via the Alliance website. Produced for industry partners, members, and the market at large, the WHY Z-WAVE eBook series serves as the definitive guide to Z-Wave technology and how the Z-Wave protocol addresses existing and emerging markets. As the latest published volume, the Z-Wave LR eBook covers network topology, showcases how the technology increases range, coverage, scalability, dynamic power management, and discusses benefits of Z-Wave LR for everyone including manufacturers, developers, installers, and consumers.

To showcase Z-Wave LR applications and benefits in the market today, the Z-Wave Alliance announces availability of the Water Dragon case study, published in partnership with Alarm.com and Silicon Labs. Available for download, this informative case study examines the challenges faced by Alarm.com during the product development process and highlights how the Z-Wave 700 Series module from Silicon Labs with support for Z-Wave LR presented a clear solution to those challenges. As one of the premier brands in smart security and technology, the case study explores why Alarm.com chose to implement Z-Wave LR within the Water Dragon solution to achieve increased range capabilities and dynamic power control offered by the technology. The combination of these two features is critical in supporting future-proof Z-Wave installations since one of the most compelling use-cases for sensors, especially those needing increased battery life, is the ability to deploy them in hard-to-reach places such as attics, basements, or behind walls.

CES 2024 presence and support

With over 30 member companies exhibiting at CES 2024, Z-Wave technology will be broadly displayed at the event. The full list of exhibiting Z-Wave Alliance membership companies will be available within the Z-Wave Alliance suite located at Tech West, Venetian, and Palazzo Hospitality Suite #32-139.

The Z-Wave Alliance is hosting a series of informative fireside chat sessions designed to excite and educate attendees about the state of Z-Wave technology and explore opportunity-rich verticals. Each of the three sessions will feature a presentation topic followed by a cocktail and networking event. The fireside chat series and topics are as follows:

• 1/9/24 – The state of Z-Wave chips
• 1/10/24 – Parks Associates Presents: The rise of smart homes in multifamily living
• 1/11/24 – Learning to build smart home devices with Z-Wave Long Range