Silicon Labs’ Z-Wave 800 Series SoCs and Modules Offer Long Range, Energy Efficiency, and Security

December 16, 2021

News

Silicon Labs announced that Z-Wave 800 system-on-chips (SoCs) and modules are now available for the Z-Wave smart home and automation ecosystem. Expanding the company’s Series 2 platform, the EFR32ZG23 (ZG23) SoCs and ZGM230S modules provide developers with sub-GHz connectivity for Z-Wave Mesh and Z-Wave Long Range, and can be used for smart home, multi-dwelling units (MDU), hospitality, and lighting applications, supporting both end devices and gateways.

The Z-Wave 800 Series family is a secure, ultra-low-power, wireless solution for high-performance battery-powered Internet of Things (IoT) devices, also featuring over 50% improvement in battery life compared to the Z-Wave 700 series.

Low Power, Long Range and Secure

Silicon Labs’ single-die ZG23 comes with a 78 MHz ARM Cortex-M33 and offers a combination of ultra-low transmit and receive radio power [25.4 mA TX @ +14 dBm, 4.0 mA RX (915 MHz, 100 kbps)] and best-in-class RF performance (+20 dBm output power and -110 dBm RX at 915 MHz, 100 kbps O-QPSK), which makes it possible for IoT end nodes to achieve 1.5+ mile wireless range.

ZGM230S modules simplify development and leverage the low power and RF performance of ZG23, while providing a small footprint at 6.5mm x 6.5mm for Z-Wave modules. These solutions provide up to 10 years of battery life while operating on a coin cell battery.

Both solutions also support Z-Wave 800 standard S2 security capabilities and Silicon Labs Secure VaultTM suite, enabling wireless SoCs and modules with the highest level of security: PSA Certification Level 3.

Simplified and Faster Development with Unify Software Development Kit (SDK)

The Silicon Labs Unify SDK protocol controller offers ready-made protocol-specific translations for Z-Wave with its “design once, support all” capability. Unify SDK simplifies and speeds development by providing a common, well-defined data model API and status definitions for commonly used IoT services such as adding, updating, and removing a device.

Jake Alamat, vice president and general manager, IoT Home & Life, said, “The introduction of our Unify SDK Z-Wave protocol controller will make it easier for developers to futureproof their smart home product designs for multiple protocols, including Matter.”

Silicon Labs will be showcasing a Z-Wave to Matter bridge solution with Unify SDK at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2022.

For more information, visit Silicon Labs.