Top 5 Home Automation Technologies
Updated: Feb 28, 2022
Aura is an IoT Platform that allows you to control and connect to any ‘Smart’ device using any other Device (mobile, tablet, voice). Its backend architecture allows the platform to interconnect more than 3500+ brands and devices that may or may not operate using the same technology. For example - A wireless device operating on Z-wave and a wired device operating on KNX can talk to each other and exchange commands via Aura.
Aura uses various Home Automation technologies.
The primary technologies Aura operates on are as follows -
Z-Wave (Wireless)
KNX (Wired)
Wi-Fi (Wireless)
BLE (Wireless)
IR (Wireless)
RSTP (Wired)
SIP (Wired)
Each technology and its utility as part of the Aura technology ecosystem has been discussed in further detail below.
Z-Wave (Wireless Installations)
Amongst others, Aura utilizes Z-Wave home automation technology for wireless implementations due to the flexibility on offer in terms of interoperability and robustness. Z-Wave is a wireless technology that lets you connect small sensors and smart home devices to an Internet gateway for remote control and access. It is based on a mesh network topology, which allows remote control and monitoring of devices and systems over the internet long range. This means if one "hop" in the network fails or is down, Z-Wave can communicate with other devices on the same network allowing the operation to continue without interruption without needing to add more repeaters to extend the range. Having a Z-wave network in your home can allow control of lights, switches, thermostat controls, etc from anywhere in the world. While Z-Wave signals can readily pass through most walls, floors, and ceilings, the devices can also intelligently navigate around barriers to provide seamless, comprehensive whole-home coverage.
While Z-Wave has a range of 100 meters or 328 feet in the open air, building materials reduce that range, it is recommended to have a Z-Wave device roughly every 30 feet, or closer for maximum efficiency. The Z-Wave signal can hop roughly 600 feet, and networks can be linked together for even larger deployments. Each Z-Wave network can support up to 232 Z-Wave devices allowing you the flexibility to add as many smart home devices as you’d like to make sure your Smart Home is optimum. The emergence of the Z-Wave Long Range has taken the range to greater heights. The theoretical limit of the Z-Wave Long Range enabled by the Z-Wave 700 Series chipset is up to a mile!
Z-Wave offers low communication latency, utilizes extremely low power, and eliminates dependence on wi-fi entirely as it operates in a different bandwidth compared to wi-fi thereby reducing chances of any external noise interference. Z-wave also has the largest home control community.
KNX (Wired Installations)
Aura primarily uses KNX for its wired installations. KNX is the home automation technology that controls the automation of integral functions of any residential, commercial, or industrial building such as HVAC, lighting systems, multimedia, security, energy management, and more.
A system that avoids the problem of isolated devices speaking "different languages" is necessary to convey control data to all building management components (or smart home devices/functions). Lighting, blinds and shutters, HVAC, security systems, energy management, audio-video, white goods, displays, and remote control are all managed by KNX devices. KNX is the only open standard for home and building control in the world, and it complies with EN 50090, EN 13321-1, and ISO/ IEC 14543.
Unlike proprietary protocols (which are solely supported by the vendor), KNX is an open global standard with over 300 different manufacturers providing products that smoothly interoperate. KNX ensures that all components, devices, features, and operations of any building (or outdoor space) interact instantaneously and remotely using a common language.
The key central nervous system for all home automation is the KNX bus line. During a new construction or remodeling project, a green cable is added in addition to the regular mains supply. In accordance with the KNX standard for building automation, all of the various building home automation technology devices are then connected to one another via the primary KNX bus line. Sensors, detectors, parameters, and so on are then used to manage the cable system, which can subsequently be readily handled by end-users using a laptop, smartphone, or tablet device.
The KNX bus is routed in parallel to the electrical power supply to all devices and home automation systems on the network linking -
Sensors (e.g. push buttons, thermostats, anemometers, movement) gather information & send it on the bus as a data packet.
Actuators (dimming units, heating valves, displays) receive data which are converted as actions; Controllers & other logic functions (room temperature controllers, shutter controllers & others)
System devices and components (e.g. line couplers, backbone couplers).
Some of the key features of the architecture for KNX systems are -
Interworking and distributed application models for the building automation various tasks.
Schemes for configuration and management of resources on the network, and to permit the binding of parts of a distributed application in different nodes.
A communication system with a message protocol and models for the communication stack in each node (capable of hosting distributed applications (KNX Common Kernel).
Models for the realization of these elements when developing actual devices to be mounted and linked in an installation.
KNX solutions simplify home automation by controlling and managing services such as lighting, blinds, HVAC, security systems, entertainment, smart home devices, and more with dependable, intelligent, and user-friendly home automation.
The KNX system is a flexible smart home (or smart-building) alternative that may be converted or implemented very easily in existing building constructions. The KNX system is also an extendable system with a standard that is future-proof. This implies that any KNX system may be easily extended or reprogrammed when system updates are required or desired.
When Aura (with KNX) is deployed, the system adjusts to individual needs whenever lifestyles, tastes, or working situations change.
Aura and KNX provide the ideal long-term solution for a wide range of residential, commercial, and industrial building projects since the entire system is easily modifiable as technology evolves and new KNX compatible items are brought to the market.
IR (Infrared)(Audio-Visual Systems)
Aura utilizes IR wireless home automation technology to control and connect to devices or systems that convey data through infrared (IR) radiation.
IR wireless is used for short and medium-range communications and control. Some systems operate in line-of-sight mode; this means that there must be a visually unobstructed straight line through space between the transmitter(source) and receiver (destination). Other systems operate in diffuse mode, also called scatter mode. This type of system can function when the source and destination are not directly visible to each other. An example is a television remote-control box. The box does not have to be pointed directly at the set, although the box must be in the same room as the set, or just outside the room with the door open.
Aura uses IR wireless technology to control intrusion detectors (motion sensors) and home-entertainment control units such as Home Theatres, TVs, and speakers. Aura comes preloaded with a vendor IR database of all the major brands in use today. While Aura maintains such a database, the platform allows users to onboard new vendors who utilize IR by leveraging the IR learning feature which enables the user to record new IR commands belonging to the new vendor and add them to the local and global database for the Aura community to take advantage of.
Bluetooth
Aura uses Bluetooth (BLE - Bluetooth Low Energy) technology to build short-distance pairings for rapid and effective control and information sharing with devices such as your smartphone, smart speaker, and a variety of other compatible devices. Bluetooth home automation technology is high-speed, low-power wireless communication used to connect phones and other portable devices.
It is a standard (IEEE 802.15.1) for using low-power radio communications to connect phones, computers, and other network devices across short distances without the need for cables. Bluetooth wireless transmissions generally reach small distances of up to 30 feet (10 meters). It is accomplished by incorporating low-cost transceivers into the devices. It operates on the 2.45GHz frequency spectrum and can accommodate up to 721 KBps as well as three voice channels.