Zigbee Hub - A Definitive Guide
Over the past few years, there has been a blast in Smart home Technology. Home Automation, Internet of Things are very friendly things to our daily lives. New smart home devices pop up every week and we have got the camera, heating, sensors, and many more devices to drag your home into a connected future. Let’s dive more into Zigbee hub.
What is Zigbee?
Right, let’s start by trying to cover what is ZigBee protocol is. Zigbee is based on the personal-area network (IEEE’s 802.154 standards). Many major brands have developed Zigbee-based products, including Philips Hue, GE, and Nest. It is a wireless communication protocol that was designed by the ZigBee alliance group. This group includes Samsung, Amazon, Huawei, Qualcomm, Toshiba, and many other home appliances companies.
Zigbee technology has become the standard in the field of smart devices. You can connect all Zigbee devices in your home to a central unit with the help of such a hub. It can control all your connected devices and connect them to the internet. For example, Zigbee hubs are necessary for Philips Hue Smart lighting, so you can able to control many lights at the same time.
Want to add Zigbee devices to HomeKit?
If you're keen to know about Zigbee HomeKit, see How to add Zigbee devices to HomeKit?
Specifications of Zigbee
What is ZigBee Hub?
Zigbee hub is called differently by other smart home device manufacturers. This control center is also called “Gateway”. And, Zigbee hub doesn’t require a direct internet connection. So, thanks to the Zigbee bridge, smart devices can be controlled if the internet connection is interrupted. Also, different automation can be saved on a Zigbee hub so that you can control your lamps, lights, and door locks at certain times or for certain events without your smartphone or other devices.
Furthermore, a Zigbee hub is required when movement is detected. It communicates with voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. So, you can control smart devices with Alexa and Google Assistant when you are away by your voice command.
You know what it offers a special feature which is that each connected device amplifies the signal. So, the signal reaches the last lamp over greater distances hence a mesh network is formed. Also, Zigbee is a wireless network that is widely considered an alternative to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It is great for smart home technology hence it operates in a mesh network.
It also acts as a centralized spot from which you can control all of your various smart devices together. When you lock your door, a smart home hub can tell your lights to turn on or off. It uses common language and low energy across your Smart home devices. So, Smart devices can communicate with each other without standard communication like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Why do you need a Zigbee hub for your home?
Zigbee creates a mesh for communication purposes between your other Zigbee devices. It supports lots of devices simultaneously to maintain a smooth flow of communication between many other devices and the ability to support thousands of devices at any given movement.
Best Zigbee hubs
If you are looking to kick off your ZigBee Smart home, try the following best Zigbee hubs.
- TEEKAR Tuya ZigBee Hub
TEEKAR Tuya ZigBee Hub is an upgraded version of Zigbee 3.0 Gateway which has been upgraded from connecting 50 devices. It is compatible with all Tuya ZigBee devices and provides a stable connection as well as automation control for Tuya ZigBee devices. Also, you can control your home automation system using Smart Life App. Set up process is easy as no need to connect to the network cable. You just want to power this smart gateway hub on and connect it with the Smart Life App.
You may buy the TEEKAR Tuya ZigBee Hub from Amazon for $26.99 via the link below.
- Moes Tuya Zigbee 3.0 Hub Gateway
The Moes Tuya Zigbee Hub connects with many devices (up to 50 devices). It supports 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. This Zigbee gateway is necessary to use Google Assistant or Alexa for Zigbee devices to achieve voice control. If you are the owner of the Tuya smart home system, this hub enables you to control all of your Tuya products through the Smart Life App. You can create a complete set of home ecological chains via Zigbee hub. It is safer and more stable than the Wi-Fi system. It is designed for quick and easy set-up with no wiring and technical skills required.
You may buy the Moes Tuya Zigbee Hub from Amazon for $27.99 via the link below.
- LEOMOCA Tuya Zigbee 3.0 Hub Gateway
LEOMOCA Tuya Zigbee 3.0 Hub Gateway is a Smart wireless gateway that works with 2.4G Wi-Fi and ZigBee HA 3.0. This Tuya ZigBee smart wireless gateway is an integrated Zigbee module and Wi-Fi module. So, Tuya ZigBee subdevices can be controlled via the Zigbee network or remotely via Wi-Fi on the app. You don’t need to worry about a weak network. You can easily control more connected smart devices via ZigBee than Wi-Fi protocol. You can place it in different places and share devices with your family members.
You may buy the LEOMOCA Tuya Zigbee 3.0 Hub Gateway from Amazon for $26.98 via the link below.
- eMylo ZigBee Hub
eMylo ZigBee Hub is all in 1 Smart Gateway with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. It is available in ZigBee 3.0 and BLE multi-protocol communication. It has an ultra-small appearance and a simple design. And, this smart hub can control your devices anywhere via Tuya Smart App. It is the same as the other ZigBee hub as no need to connect to the network cable. So that it is easy to set up. You just want to power this smart gateway on and then connect to the app. Also, it supports up to 128 smart devices.
You may buy the eMylo ZigBee Hub from Amazon for $26.99 via the link below.
Instead, check out KNX Smart Home to know other smart home system.
Feature comparison of Zigbee hubs
How to choose the best smart home hub for you?
When choosing a smart hub that is best for your needs, first you have to think about what you want to control, and what you want to do with it. Every smart device uses some wireless technology such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, or Z-Wave. You want to remember that Zigbee hubs are sold by various manufacturers. Also, they offer different price ranges. If you are thinking of a new smart home, you want to take a closer look at the functions of the Zigbee hubs. You can find the options that offer Zigbee hub, the functionality you want, and the assistant you use. These things should be considered before buying the Zigbee hub.
Decision making factor of Zigbee Smart Home Hub
- Voice Assistant support
- Mobile app
- Works without the internet
- Built-in Backup Battery
- Built-in speaker
How does ZigBee work?
All smart home devices want one of the wireless communications to take commands from ZigBee Gateway hubs and the apps. Wi-Fi uses a lot of power. So it is bad for battery-powered devices as well as smart home devices that want low power consumption like a smart light bulb.
If you are the owner of the bigger Smart Home, having too many devices on a single home network is not a great idea. What’s more? There are many advantages such as it uses less power than Wi-Fi, it is specially designed to support hundreds of smart devices on a network. Most importantly, you can spread ZigBee devices all around the house even in your garden.
Best ZigBee products
Now, you know all about Zigbee hubs and there many Zigbee products are available to your home. Here are some devices and brands to look out for.
- Amazon Echo
- Adobe
- Belkin WeMo
- Bosch Security System
- Hive
- Honeywell thermostat
- Aeotech
- Senic Outdoor Switch
- Philips Hue
- Samsung SmartThing
- Yale
- Innr
- Aurora
How to add Zigbee devices to HomeKit? (Zigbee HomeKit)
You already know that HomeKit and Zigbee are generally incompatible technologies. And, they use different wireless standards and their own set of commands. But, you can easily add your Zigbee devices to your HomeKit. There're a few ways to integrate Zigbee into Apple HomeKit. It's time to create amazing home automation.
Solution 1: Using Homebridge
If you are more into Apple HomeKit, you must know about Homebridge. Haven't ever heard about it? Simply, it is open-source software that aims to add incompatible devices into HomeKit. You can download and download this Zigbee plugin (homebridge-zigbee-nt). Want to know more information? Read our How to add any smart home devices to HomeKit article.
Solution 2: Using HOOBS
HOOBS is the second solution that you can use to add Zigbee to Apple HomeKit. Simply, HOOBS is a plug-and-play hub. It is one of the hardware solution that simplifies the installation process of Homebridge.
Solution 3: Using Raspberry Pi
You can also add the Zigbee devices to HomeKit using the Raspberry Pi. It works like a mini computer and it is the cheapest solution to add your Zigbee devices to HomeKit.
Difference between ZigBee and Wi-Fi
Price comparison
Our pick
A hub is necessary if you are planning to automate your home using multiple ZigBee Devices. And, ZigBee hub Google & Alexa acts as a central switching station for your Zigbee devices. Further, we can use smart hubs to tie all your smart devices together, along with platforms like Tuya, Apple HomeKit, and Samsung SmartThing.
If you are interested in the Brilliant Smart Home Automation System, you can find it here.
FAQs about ZigBee Hub
01. Is Alexa compatible with ZigBee
Yes. You can can connect your Alexa-enabled devices to ZigBee hub. Alexa devices are ZigBee certified and come equipped with the built-in Zigbee hub. So, Building your Alexa smart home with ZigBee is very easy now.
o2. Why is ZigBee so expensive?
When making the ZigBee certified devices, company should pay ZigBee Alliance for licensing. So, they add this cost with their devices.
03. Is ZigBee Secure?
Don't worry! ZigBee devices is secure as they use built-in encryption. It protects against hacking. Do remember! There're no technology is completely secure.
04. Is Google Home compatible with ZigBee?
The answer is no. Google Home isn't compatible with ZigBee. But, you can connect Google Home to ZigBee protocol using a bridge. Philips Hue bridge act as a bridge between ZigBee device and Google Home.