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A Comparative Study of Thread Against ZigBee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi

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 A Comparative Study of Thread Against ZigBee,
Z-Wave, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi as a Home-Automation
Networking Protocol.
Nicole Angelyn T. Lopez, Student
ntlopez@student.apc.edu.ph
Joshua O. Morales, Student
jmorales@student.apc.edu.ph
Asia Pacific College
APC
Makati, Philippines
Abstract - The study focuses on Thread, a new networking
protocol tailored for use in a home-device network. Specifically,
the research would be about stating whether Thread is to be
declared as the new home network standard protocol by
comparing it against its competitors. Summarily, Thread is “an
IPv6-based, closed-documentation (paid membership required for
access to specifications) royalty-free networking protocol for
Internet of Things (IoT) "smart" home automation devices to
communicate on a local wireless mesh network. [1]” per its
dedicated Wikipedia page. Discussions shall also cover topics
introducing the concept of a home network, and the competitors
of Thread. The rival protocols which would be stated in this
paper are Bluetooth, Z-Wave and ZigBee which are the most
prominent protocols in the home-network industry.
Comparisons between the varying network protocols would be
done through a statement of each protocol’s capabilities and
drawbacks and comparing them with Thread’s features. By the
end of the paper, the researchers’ aim to provide an objective
and comprehensive guide which would state whether or not
Thread is superior to its competitors.
I. INTRODUCTION
Networking is a relatively old concept, yet its
success still booms and ideas for development are only
getting more imaginative. A private Wi-Fi network is
commonplace in a regular home, IPv4 is now being phased
out for IPv6, and every industry is generally creating new
networking protocols. Now, home automation is the new
“in.”
A smart home is a structure that provides its owners
comfort, security, convenience, efficiency and the functions
of adjusting its various appliances as befits the current
situation with none to minute human interference; hence, the
term home automation.
As of now, of the fast-rising trends in the industry of
networking is creating a network for home devices. A home
network is a state in which everyday devices such as
thermostats, washing machines and even lightbulbs are
connected and are “communicating” with each other;
adjusting their functions as the situation demands through a
networking protocol. The most obvious solution back then
John Ryan B. Pasaoa, Student
jrpasaoa@student.apc.edu.ph
Justin A. Parado, Student
japarado@student.apc.edu.ph
Asia Pacific College
APC
Makati, Philippines
was Wi-Fi, but complications soon rose which stemmed
from Wi-Fi’s high rate of electric consumption 2] A situation
in which Wi-Fi would be counterproductive if it is used on
battery-dependent devices. The batteries would run out in an
extremely inefficient rate rendering the deice and the network
itself inefficient. Additionally, Wi-Fi operates on a “hub-and-
spoke” model which simply means that a single device
collapse would effectively end the network (another name for
this is the star topology) [3].
Thus, the rise for the creation of a new protocol
which are currently competing to be the industry’s standard.
ZigBee, Z-wave, Thread and Bluetooth are the most
prominent ones vying to be the standard as of today (although
there are numerous other protocols which of the same
function but of inferior caliber). Although there is no official
universal standard yet, the de facto standards are that each
network operates in a mesh network (as supposed to Wi-Fi’s
star topology) and that they are 6LowPAN which is an
acronym for “IPv6 over Low Power Wireless Personal Area
Networks. [4]” In IEEE standards, it would be 802.15.4
where the physical layer and media access control are tailored
for low-rate wireless personal area networks (LR-WPAN).
Stated already, of course, is the fact that the new protocol
should be an IPv6 protocol, as addresses from IPv4 have been
virtually exhausted [10].
II. PROBLEM STATEMENT
The research aims to state objective evidence stating
that Thread is superior to other networking protocols
transitively declaring it as the new standard in home
automation protocols.
III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
First, a protocol is defined: protocols are constraints,
rules and requirements to attain communication between
different devices [5]. There are numerous protocols with a
wide range of functions such as basic data communication
(TCP/IP and HTTP) , security (HTTPS and SFTP). In a
condensed version, protocols are required in order for
different devices to be able to link together. More often than
not, protocols are combined to create a protocol suite, and
implementing a suite in a software is called the application’s
protocol stack. This is important as each competing protocol
that we have each have different protocol stacks [5].
Additionally, it is unavoidable that the competing protocols
are incompatible since they suffer from a Type II
incompatibility which is known as protocol incompatibility
wherein the order of interactions that protocol A engage in
are executed in a different as that of protocol B, as defined in
the paper by Marlon Dumas [6]. Once again, the group
reiterates that it is imperative that a new standard is to be
found to ensure universal compatibility among the protocols.
In this study, the researchers aim to objectively prove that
Nest Labs’ Thread is superior and thus should be adhered to.
A. Wi-Fi
As a placeholder for all the standards that all the
other major protocols have, let us first list Wi-Fi’s features.
Wi-Fi (which is an acronym for “Wireless Fidelity”. Wi-Fi is
a technology that uses radio waves as a medium for
connection. Using an antenna, the signals are transmitted to a
wireless device. The device then sends its requests to the
router which is a decoder; once decoded, the data is then
sent/received from the internet [7]. Wi-Fi is probably the
most commonly used protocol to date, with almost all
technological consumer products in the communication
industry using it.
Judging from the standards embraced by the home-
automation protocols, the research safely states that Wi-Fi is
no longer feasible for a home-automation protocol. To sum it
up, is stated that Wi-Fi is more suited to be called as “Internet
of People” -delivering visual effects and delivering various
media - rather than as an “Internet of Things” -where devices
like home appliances are interconnected in a single network.
1) Advantages of Wi-Fi as a home automation protocol
First, an advantage that Wi-Fi has is its high rate of
data rate. It can range from 2.4gHz with a data rate of 2-54
Mbps (protocol Legacy 802.11/b/g) to 5GHz with a data rate
of 54 Mbps (protocol Legacy 802.111) [8]. In the case of
transmitting low mass data from small devices, it can reach
150-200 Mbps [9]. The fact that setting up a Wi-Fi topology
is relatively inexpensive compared to the others. Also, Wi-Fi
is also ideal in the sense that it is already universally
accepted. Ideally, all devices would be branded with the
official “Wi-Fi” sticker, marking its compatibility with Wi-
Fi. The number of compatible devices is also a plus.
Theoretically, 255 devices can be connected to a single router
simultaneously, but a realistic setting proves the otherwise
for as much as 5 devices attached to a single Wi-Fi network
already incurs significant sluggishness [10]. On average, as
much as 45 devices communicating simultaneously can
effectively function as a network for low-power, low-data
devices as the demand for data is not high for home devices
[11].
2) Disadvantages of Wi-Fi as a home automation protocol
As a home automation tool, Wi-Fi’s greatest flaw is
that it consumes too much power. In a study made by Carroll
[12] where they reviewed phone (specifically an Openmoko
Neo Freerunner) components and functions and their impacts
on its battery life. Wi-Fi reached 352.8 mW of power
consumption when browsing functions are applied. Note that
this is a high rate of power consumption compared to
Bluetooth Low Energy and ZigBee as they average a power
consumption of 10-100 mW in short bursts as opposed to Wi-
Fi’s constant 860 mW consumption. Another exploitable
flaw is that Wi-Fi does not possess the de facto mesh
topology that other protocols have. Wi-Fi for home
automation is implemented in a star topology. Sparrow [13]
states that a star topology has a single paint of failure - which
is in this case a hub or switch- causes the collapse of the entire
network and that number and performance of nodes are
dependent on the central device which varies widely. Thomas
[14] also states that any wireless network is vulnerable to
sniffers and inevitable hackers. For example, if a smart
thermostat puts itself into a “vacation mode”, it might as well
be statement that declares the house’s unoccupied status
leaving it open to burglars. It is also possible to hack into
other devices when one device has already been cracked,
compounding risks and emphasizing the fact that individual
networks for home automation and a personal home network
should net be integrated for security concerns.
TABLE I. WI-FI SPECIFICATIONS
Specification Wi-Fi Data
Design Focus Connection to WLAN for devices
IEEE Standard 802.11 standards
Network Type Star
Network Wi-fi
Distance 20 meters
Max Nodes Router-dependent
Connected
Operating Band 2.4 gHz UHF and 5 gHz SHF ISM radio bands
Spread Spectrum Direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS)
Throughput 900 Mbps
Data Transporting data
Voice Capable Yes
Security Wi-Fi Protected Access encryption (WPA2)
Power Consumption High
Modulation Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)

B. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
Bluetooth is wireless technology for exchanging
data over short distances. Bluetooth functions on an IEEE
standard of 802.15.4, the standard for LW-WPANS as stated
before. Bluetooth was initially created for small devices such
as mobile phones, wireless headphones and speakers,
microphones, etc. However, using it for home automation is
not feasible, for though it consumes remarkably less power
than Wi-Fi, is still consumes too much. This is where
Bluetooth Low Energy comes in.
But first, what is mesh? Mesh is a topology wherein
each device is connected to another device instead of solely
to the hub or switch. In the application of home technology,
mesh is invaluable as it is an “enabler.” Hunn [15] states that
mesh’s primary function in home automation is to extend the
range of devices without having them to increase transmit
power leading to battery consumption. As an analogy using
more familiar concepts, each device is like an amplifying
antenna but with the added functionality that each antenna
also has the right to put in its own messages to other devices.
BLE is implemented in a mesh network which as
was mentioned earlier, is now a standard. Bluetooth
seemingly remedies Wi-Fi’s weaknesses in power
consumption and network topological implementation. In
fact, Bluetooth is one of the more contested home automation
protocols besides Z-Wave, ZigBee and Thread. BLE has a
frequency of 2.4 GHz, hopping along 40 channels, enabling
it to reach its 1 Mbps data speed.
1) Advantages of Bluetooth Low Energy as home
automation protocol
Mentioned earlier, BLE is of a mesh network. No
single point of failure is present, making the network very
reliable and fault tolerant [14]. With mesh implementation, it
also guarantees a certain degree of scalability, which means
that a high number of devices can be connected without
immediate apparent drawbacks. Meshing is also important in
the sense that each low-power device -or node- acts as an
amplifier, making physical distance from the hub or main
remote unimportant. BLE also has an exceptionally large bit-
rate of 1 to 3 Mbps. Between those 1-megabit bursts, the
device “sleeps.” This is a feature that is not present in
traditional Bluetooth; hence, the energy-saving standard is
observed.
2) Disadvantages of Bluetooth Low Energy as home
automation protocol
As a crippling flaw, BLE can only support as much
as seven devices per Master/Slave connection or simply a
single network dongle. Considering that smart homes have at
least 15 devices on average per home, buying a new dongle
every time the number of devices exceed by a multiple of
seven on the top of implementation costs seem very
impractical as compared to using a protocol like Thread or Z-
Wave who can support at least a hundred devices. To reduce
confusion as to the earlier statement about having a high
number of devices connected to a BLE mesh network, this is
technically true, but a purchase of a new network dongle,
inserting it into your hub, and implementing a new mesh
topology for the additional devices is not exactly user-
friendly. Furthermore, BLE has the shortest range among the
five protocols discussed in this paper. While short range is
not an issue in a home environment, it compounds the
problem by being highly susceptible to jamming and
interference especially in high-density population areas like
cities. In some cases, some devices fail to carry out an order
due to signals being jammed, rendering issued commands
useless. BLE is not impervious to cyber-attacks. Steinberg
[16] states that hacking a Bluetooth device can cause it to
crash, drain its batteries, send false or harmful data and so on.
Since it is a mesh type, a large number of devices is available
for a hacker to exploit, inserting malware for instance, into a
single device, using it as an access point to reach the gateway,
possibly damaging more devices in the process.
TABLE II. BLUETOOTH SPECIFICATIONS
Specification Bluetooth Data
Design Focus Exchanging data over short distances
IEEE Standard 802.15.1 (no longer maintains it)
Network Type Mesh
Network Bluetooth
Distance Approximately 10-100 meters
Max Nodes 7
Connected
Operating Band ISM band, 2.4 to 2.485 GHz
Spread Spectrum Adaptive Frequency-hopping spread spectrum
(AFH)
Throughput 24 Mbit/s
Data Exchanging data
Voice Capable Yes
Security Confidentiality, authentication and key
derivation
Power Consumption Low
Modulation Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK)
C. ZigBee
“ZigBee is a low-cost, low-power, wireless mesh
network standard targeted at the wide development of long
battery life devices in wireless control and monitoring
applications. [16]” It is 802.15.4-based specification for a
suite of high-level protocols. On the areas of energy
conservation, ZigBee is similar to BLE. In an ideal setting,
ZigBee has 100 meters of line-of-sight transmission. ZigBee
has a data rate of 40-250 kbps and has a frequency of 915 own networks (e.g. adding more devices) is extremely
MHz. difficult and is quite a hassle.

1) Advantages of ZigBee as home automation protocol ZigBee also has compatibility issues which stems
from the fact that it has various silicon chip manufacturers.
As mentioned before, ZigBee is also very power- The result is that while devices are ZigBee certified, they do
conserving like BLE. It isn’t the only similarity it shares with not work when they come from different manufacturers [19].
BLE as it is also implemented as a mesh in the home- For users not oriented with this fact, it can take them hours of
automation business. Thus, its network is very robust and is frustration before finding out the problem. Strategically, this
“self-healing”. A single node acts as both as an amplifier and is not wise, as customers’ rule-based logic assumes that
a receiver of data. One advantage that ZigBee has over BLE products of the same brand are compatible. This is the
is that is operates in a sub-gigahertz frequency, which means adverse effect of having a large supply of silicon and
that interference from Wi-Fi signals is not an issue. This is products.
very useful for areas that have a high density of internet users.
One affable quality of ZigBee is that all appliances in the TABLE III. ZIGBEE SPECIFICATIONS
same network are fully compatible [17]. Setting up a network
is relatively inexpensive. ZigBee devices have what is called Specification ZigBee Data
Design Focus Support networks for home automation, smart
a low latency. Latency is the number of data that is attempting grid, and remote control
to pass through a node at a single point of time. Low latency IEEE Standard 802.15.4
means that there is little to no chance of data clogging up a Network Type Mesh
single node causing what is called a “bottleneck”. Remote Network ZigBee
Distance Approximately 10-20 meters
access management is another plus, since this is a feature that Max Nodes 65,536
BLE cannot fully support due to its short range. Devices Connected
issues with the official ZigBee certification have extremely Operating Band 2.4 Ghz, 915 MHz and 868 MHz (license-free
durable battery lives, extending as much as seven years even ISM band)
with the added power weight of managing the network. Spread Spectrum Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
ZigBee has a node capacity of 65,645, enabling a large degree
Throughput 110kbps maximum
of scalability. Additionally, security is AES encrypted, Data Monitoring and control data
making it more secure than BLE, although it is not yet Voice Capable Yes
necessarily entirely impervious to cyber-attacks. Popularity- Security AES encryption, cipher block chaining
wise, many heavyweight industries have allied up with message authentication code
Power Consumption Low
ZigBee. Seven of these are remarkably known brands and Modulation Quadrature phase-shift keying (OQPSK)
have also elevated themselves to the title of promoter: Ember,
Honeywell, Invensys, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Samsung, and
Philips. Having known brands among them immediately D. Z-Wave
raises selling point and marketability of products. Another
factor which boosts the availability of the product is the Currently, Z-Wave is the protocol constituting as
number of manufacturers that a company has for their silicon ZigBee’s foremost rival. Both feature intelligent mesh
production. ZigBee has several silicon vendors, guaranteeing networking as discussed earlier. The two share some striking
availability as opposed to Z-Wave. Finally, ZigBee does not similarities in a utilitarian point of view, but they do have
rely on a hub or switch. some not-so-subtle differences. Z-Wave, like ZigBee, is a
pioneer in the home-automation industry. Z-Wave is
2) Disadvantages of ZigBee as home automation protocol primarily primed for home appliances like lights, door locks,
sensors, smart thermostats, etc. Z-Wave is under the standard
Devices must be proximally close as the range of of 802.15.4 radio frequency. It currently has a frequency
each node cannot extend more than 10 meters. With regard to operating band of 915 MHz and 868 MHz. Also, it has a data
frequency, 915 Mhz only applies to the US. It would have to rate of 40 kbps. Line-of-sight range is 100 meters. Like
switch to a national equivalent according to which country it ZigBee, these are also under ideal conditions only.
shall be issued to [18]. For instance, it would require an 868
Mhz in Europe and so on. This frequency also overlaps Wi- Were one to search which protocol is recommended
Fi and BLE to some degree, increasing interference in high- for them, Z-Wave would most likely be the one at the top of
population density areas. Logistically, the distribution of the list. However, like all protocols, Z-Wave has some
these devices would be extremely slow. Consequently, imperfections under its belt. Here are some of its advantages
product replacements would then be very expensive. and disadvantages.
Furthermore, users report that attempting to manage their
 Specification Z-Wave Data
Design Focus Wireless communication for home automation
and security E. Thread
IEEE Standard 802.15.4
Network Type Mesh Thread is the newest device protocol to hit the
Network Z-Wave industry. Like all the other protocols, it is IPv6-based on
Distance 100 meters with no obstructions
Max Nodes 232
6LowPAN. It is on a standard of 802.15.4. Like ZigBee and
Connected Z-Wave, it is a mesh type of network where each node is a
Operating Band 915 MHz ISM band and 868 MHz RFID band
receiver and an amplifier. Uniquely, Thread has a protocol
stack as follows: UDP, Routing, and 6LowPAN, which are
Spread Spectrum Direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) all encapsulated in Security/Commissioning. Thread is
tailored for the home automation. Thread is still very recent,
Throughput 40kbit/s
Data Monitoring and control data popularity is low, and there is a very low count of devices
Voice Capable Yes certified by Thread. However, this does not reflect Nest’s
Security AES-encrypted inability to garner any industrial support. In fact, Samsung,
Power Consumption Low ARM Holdings, Qualcomm, Silicon Labs, Yale and five
Modulation Gaussian frequency shift keying (GFSK)
other industry heavyweights are currently within the so-
1) Advantages of Z-Wave as home-automation protocol
called “Thread Alliance.”
Given that the brand and the protocol are both
1) Advantages of Thread as a home-automation protocol
pioneers in the industry, it is to be expected that both ZigBee
and Z-Wave are prominent in the industry, giving them both As already mentioned, Thread uses a mesh
an edge in brand popularity. Z-Wave is also inexpensive. implementation. Distance has a maximum range of 30 meters
Likewise, it is a mesh network, rendering its devices as both under ideal conditions. Along with this, Thread can support
repeaters and senders. Battery-efficiency is also strictly up to 300 devices, which is a between ZigBee’s 65,000 and
observed. There is a significant presence of scalability. Like Z-Wave’s 232. It should be understood that 30 meters and
Wi-Fi and Thread, it has a line-of-sight range of 100 meters 300 devices is more than enough in a home setting.
(under ideal conditions). Note that so far, no other standard Furthermore
has gone beyond 100 meters. A Z-Wave PAN can hold up to
232 nodes, making it inferior to ZigBee in terms of large- TABLE V. THREAD SPECIFICATIONS
scale implantation. Additionally, Z-Wave utilizes a sub- Specification Thread Data
gigahertz frequency. While similar to ZigBee, Z-Wave uses Design Focus Home connectivity to IoT
a frequency-shift keying modulation for each region where IEEE Standard 802.15.4
the frequency standard changes. Latency is low, reducing the Network Type Mesh
Network Thread
occurrence of bottlenecks.
Distance Normally 20-30 meters
Max Nodes 250
Z-Wave has a unique, backwards-compatibility Connected
feature that ZigBee does not have. All previous versions of
Operating Band 2.4GHz (The ISM unlicensed band)
Z-Wave are compatible with the latest. In the user’s view, this
extremely simplifies matters. Spread Spectrum Radio uses direct sequence spread spectrum
(DSSS)
Z-Wave possesses an AES-128 symmetric Throughput Radio operates at 250 kbps
encryption like ZigBee. AES encryption does not guarantee Data Monitoring and control data
total security, although it offers a lot of security as compared Voice Capable No
Security Banking-class, public-key cryptography
to Bluetooth . Power Consumption Low power
Modulation Radio specification is O-QPSK modulation
2) Disadvantages of Z-Wave as home-automation protocol

The data rate of Z-Wave is comparatively lower

against ZigBee and Thread’s 250 kbps. One factor that
cripples production of Z-Wave products is that they only have
a single silicon manufacturer, which is Sigma. However,
having a single manufacturer is also what grants them
complete compatibility. In effect, it is still unclear whether
this factor is more beneficial than harmful.
TABLE IV. Z-WAVE SPECIFICATIONS
IV. FINAL ASSESSMENT
The table below shows criterion gathered by the
researchers. For abstraction, each criterion is given a weight
of one point. Assigning each attribute with a binary value
simplifies matters and renders easier judging. Take note that
an attribute is given a high rating if it is equal to the highest
possible value that a certain protocol has.
 An exception to this would be ZigBee’s extremely
high supported number of nodes. As stated earlier, the
researchers look at the protocols on a home-automation angle
rather than that of large-scale or industrial implementation
that ZigBee possesses. Additionally, ZigBee’s node value
turns it or every other node capability count of the other
protocols an outlier value.
Another field that is recommended to be studied is
the actual kinds of products that these protocols are ideal to
be used with. For while it was stated in this study some
products that function with a certain protocol, not all products
work perfectly. Additionally, in the near future, find more
protocols in this industry, catalog them, and make similar
case studies for the sake of finding a universal standard.

TABLE VI. FINAL RESULTS REFERENCES

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Additional Cross-references
1. http://www.nickhunn.com/the-battle-for-mesh-bluetooth-
vs-thread/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.15.4
4. http://www.digitaltrends.com/home/smarten-dumb-
house-z-wave-automation/
5. http://electronicdesign.com/communications/what-s-
difference-between-zigbee-and-z-wave
6.https://sites.google.com/site/zigbeewirelessmeshprotocol/
home/benefits-and-drawbacks
7. http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1409785
8. https://github.com/openthread/openthread/wiki
9. https://nest.com/press/nest-announces-open-source-
implementation-of-thread/
10.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(network_protocol)
11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things
12. http://www.nxp.com/pages/thread-networking-
protocol:THREAD-NETWORKING-PROTOCOL
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13. http://threadgroup.org/news-events/press-
releases/ID/20/Introducing-Thread-A-New-Wireless-
Networking-Protocol-for-the-Home
14.https://www.google.com/search?q=thread+vs+zigbee+vs
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ab&gfe_rd=cr&ei=uCoPWJHfNevc8geez6mIBw
15. https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/eleven-internet-
of-things-iot-protocols-you-need-to-know-about
16. http://www.wareable.com/smart-home/thread-zigbee-z-
wave-why-smart-home-standards-matter-789
17. http://www.tomsguide.com/us/smart-home-wireless-
network-primer,news-21085.html
18. http://www.live-smart.co/smart-home/wifi-vs-zigbee-vs-
z-wave-vs-bluetooth-smart-home-standards-fully-explained-
6202/3
19. https://www.6net.org/book/deployment-guide.pdf
20.http://intronetworks.cs.luc.edu/current/html/intro.html#ip
-internet-protocol
21. http://www.comparebusinessproducts.com/briefs/hub-
and-spoke-vs-mesh-wireless-networks
22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6LoWPAN
23. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/12938/network-
protocols
24. https://www.technologyreview.com/s/419545/how-wi-
fi-drains-your-cell-phone/
25. http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-
articles/thread-network-protocol/
26. http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/industry-
articles/choosing-a-wireless-protocol-for-home-automation/
27. http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-wifi
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work
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30. https://www.lifewire.com/range-of-typical-wifi-
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31. http://techin.oureverydaylife.com/bluetooth-vs-wifi-
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32. http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~acr31/pubs/rice-
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