Smart homes might get more connected next year with new Shelly smart devices that feature an absolutely massive claimed range. The 11 devices are part of Shelly's line of Wave devices that support the Z-Wave Long Range specification and are supposed to release sometime in the first half of 2025.
The Z-Wave specification is meant to extend the connectivity of smart home devices that are connected to your home Wi-Fi network without piggybacking off other devices like Amazon's Sidewalk IoT network. It also is supposed to forgo pulling down too much cellular data. The technology is found in many of the best smart home devices and smart home hubs.
According to Shelly, the ZWLR can support up to 4,000 devices on a single network and should "co-exist" on the same network as a Z-Wave node.
The devices mostly appear to be entry and light-based, though it includes a smart plug.
- Shelly Wave Plug US
- Shelly Wave Door/Window
- Shelly Wave Humidity and Temperatrue sensor
- Shelly Wave Motion
- Shelly Wave Dimmer
- Shelly Wave Pro Dimmer 1 PM
- Shelly Wave Pro Dimmer 2 PM
- Shelly Wave 1
- Shelly Wave 1 PM
- Shelly Wave 2 PM
- Shelly Wave Shutter
“With new devices featuring support for ZWLR, Shelly is helping break down smart home connectivity barriers, empowering homeowners, security installers, and commercial property owners and managers with unmatched range, scalability, and energy efficiency to redefine their automation experience,” said Leon Kralj, CTO of Shelly Group in a press release.
ZWLR has existed since 2020, with more products coming slowly coming online in 2020. The certification is supposed to remove the need for a mesh network with multiple repeaters. Instead, everything connects directly to a central node.
It has a line-of-sight wireless range of 1.5 miles (at full power). We have to imagine that is true in a wide-open plain, but in the city with obstructions it might be half of that. That's still a massive range for connectivity.
Presumably that extended range could let you turn lights on or open blinds before entering your house.
Shelly did not provide pricing for these Z-Wave products but it did note that these products are supposed to be compatible with older Z-Wave products and networks. However, a Z-Wave hub built on the Z-Wave 700 or 800 series platform is necessary to take advantage of the 1.5-mile range.
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