There's so many home automation wireless protocols out there, it can get downright confusing. The thing to know about Z-Wave from Zensys is that's it's supposed to be extremely cost effective. According to this article at The Chicago Tribune:

"From the beginning, the goal was to get each unit down to an ultra-low cost -- less than $1 to manufacture -- to make it easy to integrate into products," said Raoul Wijergangs of Zensys.

"Z-Wave isn't for transmitting a lot of data, like audio or video. It's for sending simple control signals throughout a home. As a result, we were able to pursue a much simpler radio design than competing systems.

"By operating in the 900 megahertz frequency, we maximize battery life while keeping our chipsets simple and more cost-effective."

Read Patience Paying Off for Fans of Home Automation Systems at The Chicago Tribune

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