Zensys describes Z-Wave technology as "an RF based, two-way, mesh network, communications protocol that enables everyday devices to be controlled and monitored wirelessly." And indeed it is. It's become popular enough that at least 125 manufacturers have joined the Z-Wave Alliance (www.z-wavealliance.com) and are developing or redesigning products to support the protocol.

Superna Corporation, manufacturers of the Superna Home Control Systems featured on this site, is one of the newest members of the Alliance, and it expects its Smart Home Automation Systems to support Z-Wave in a matter of months. Intel Capital also has made a strategic investment in Zensys and in Z-Wave Alliance member iControl in Palo Alto, CA, which has developed a software and services platform designed to make remote monitoring more affordable and accessible for both homes and businesses.

One reason Z-Wave is growing in popularity is that it's fundamentally simple to use. The mesh system makes it possible for any switch or control unit to be connected with the system as long as it can communicate with any other unit. Using 900-MHz Radio Frequency for communications, its interactive distance is limited to a few dozen feet, which makes it fairly unsusceptible to interference from outside sources.

Z-Wave is very low-power (and therefore has a minimal operating cost), and Zensys's integrated MCU/Transceiver chips embedded with Z-Wave allow countless products to incorporate the protocols. Coupled with Zensys's "suite of development tools ad services," manufacturers can easily develop wireless products based on Z-Wave.

The Z-Wave Alliance participated in "CONNECTIONS(TM): The Digital Home Conference" the week of May 1, which I was unfortunately not able to attend in person. But the Alliance invited member companies ControlThink, Cooper Wiring Devices, Density Networks, iControl, Intel, Intermatic, Leviton, the Linksys Division of Cisco, Monster, SMK Electronics, Universal Electronics (UEI), and Zensys to discuss their use of Z-Wave for digital home control products and services.

On the Z-Wave Alliance web site we found this interesting statement from Lew Brown, director of strategic business development for Monster.

"There are more than 100 Z-Wave-enabled products already on the market today for consumers including USB devices, universal remote controls, thermostats and lighting systems. And every single one of them works together, making it very simple and inexpensive for consumers to deploy a home control network. There is not another technology out there that can make that claim."

What makes that particularly exciting is that it indicates a corporate view and support of the flexibility of using Z-Wave protocol. As exciting as it is to have manufacturers creating, in effect, their own new standard by working together, consumers - the end users - get the real benefit by being able to integrate products from manufacturers as different as Leviton, Monster, and UEI without customizing or replacing them.

Keep your eyes peeled for more news about Z-Wave; it might well be the next, and the longest-lasting, industry standard.