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I'd like to use z-wave but as an Australian we have different allowed frequency bands (specifically the USA-market gear uses frequencies that are reserved for t
by waste_monk 2mo ago
I'd like to use z-wave but as an Australian we have different allowed frequency bands (specifically the USA-market gear uses frequencies that are reserved for telecom use over here, and anything that can interfere with the ability to call emergency services is Very Illegal), and thus the few devices that get built supporting the AU rf bands are overly expensive due to the (lack of) economy of scale.
As a result my home automation stack is a mix of zigbee, Matter (over both Wifi and Thread), and just plain WiFi. All of which uses the 2.4Ghz (and 5Ghz but mostly 2.4 for the IoT stuff) ISM band(s) and is thus cheap and plentiful.
Not sure how many other regions suffer the same issues, but I suspect that z-wave will be outcompeted by the more modern alternatives in the coming years.
/rant
- SEJeff 2mo agoHey mate, Z-Wave in Australia operates on the 919.8 MHz regional frequency, which is different from the US (908.4 MHz) or Europe (868.4 MHz). They have AU certified zwave kit.
- waste_monk 2mo agoThat was my main gripe - AU z-wave kit exists, but since we can't share devices with the USA (or as I understand between regions in general e.g. UK, USA, and AUS z-wave are mutually incompatible) the range of products in AUS region is severely limited, and the ones that are released here are far more expensive than the USA region equivalents (after adjusting for currency conversion) due to the smaller volume of manufacture. Whereas you can pick up a zigbee or thread device, put it down on a different continent, and after pairing etc. it'll just work.
- SEJeff 2mo agoYeah that majorly sucks mate. Perhaps zwave devices just don’t work well upside down?