Home area networks: Zigbee beats WiFi in cost, says GE

Quick take: GE researchers have validated that Zigbee is less expensive than WiFi for networking meters and appliances. Sadly, they did not tackle at least two issues that are far more important. First, they did not consider any of the low-cost ZigBee alternatives. Second, they did not address electro-magnetic emissions, an issue that has some consumers concerned. Although a meter only broadcasts a few times per day, a home area network is always on and permeates the entire house. - Jesse Berst

Zigbee is at least twice as cost-effective and energy-efficient than WiFi, says a recent GE study on energy efficiency and wireless communications for home area networks (HAN) and smart devices. As reported in Electric Light and Power, GE determined the two top technologies for HAN communications are WiFi (802.11/n) and Zigbee (802.15.4). They were evaluated in what would be considered typical HAN and smart device operating conditions. The outcome was that WiFi used slightly more than twice the amount of power than Zigbee. "To realize the benefits of the smart grid, it is critical that the underlying communications technology consume as little power as possible," said David Najewicz, manager for external technology programs, GE Appliances, and an author of the report. "Because of the widespread use of these communications technologies, at the residential level in home area networks and in smart devices, the choice of technologies is critical," he added. Report co-author Jeff Drake, advanced systems engineer for GE Appliances, said "Given that cost-effectiveness and efficiency are key smart grid deliverables, the choice of Zigbee over Wi-Fi should be clear." It could be said that the research was conveniently timed to support the release of GE's new home energy gateway, the GE Nucleusâ„¢ Energy Manager.

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