What advantages can ZigBee PRO bring to Smart Homes?

Accountable: ZigBee Alliance

Responsible: Users using it to control and connect different devices.

ZigBee PRO has been developed specifically for the concept of Smart Homes, its low-power networking is able to support more than 64,000 devices on a single network and connect with the largest variety of devices recently available. ZigBee Pro offers a different type of network which differentiates itself from Bluetooth and Wi-Fi by the way it connects devices through a mesh network in order to consume less power and yet be just as effective around the house.

This mesh network is required since each ZigBee module can only transmit between 10-20 meters, therefore transmissions between devices or modules allows connection and networks to extent for larger distances.

When talking about 'Home and Leisure' effectiveness and user-interface are essential aspects of this technology. ZigBee PRO was improved based on challenges faced on different versions, such as ZigBee 3.0, this new version is based on successful communication occurring between the user and the devices (people-thing) as well as between the devices themselves (thing-thing). The disadvantages however for such update are that due to its small distance module transmitter many would have to be purchased in order to create an effective home network. Moreover with a ZigBee Pro module costing around 6x more than a normal one immediate cost would intimidate possible users even if in the long-run energy could be saved.

Furthermore as I mentioned before the technology is much more expensive and therefore one could argue that such technology would increase the Digital Divide already present between the rich and the poor, with wealthy people able to connect their homes successfully the applications and usefulness of such product could go well beyond what those that cant afford such technologies ever achieve.

On the other hand with the newly incorporated Green Power feature the ZigBee PRO is able to incorporate battery-less devices into its networks safely as well as reducing the energy wasted if they were connected to the standard electricity grid. This improvements apply to:

- Lighting: Light sensor, remote control, occupancy detector., switch
- HVAC: Temperature sensor, humidity sensor, CO2 sensor.
- Energy Management: Energy Consumption monitoring.

These sensors are incorporated within the network and since they are battery-less the maintenance and energy required to utilize them is minimal.

- http://www.zigbee.org/zigbee-for-developers/network-specifications/zigbeepro/