Powerley announced it will become the first home energy management company to implement the next-generation Z-Wave Plus as well as Z-Wave S2 Security framework.
After this integration and update, Powerley’s Energy Bridge solution will bring some new features to its customers. With plug-and-play installation, installing smart home devices becomes easier, saving time and effort for homeowners.
Connection speed and battery performance are also improved. The company claims the update will bring 67% range improvement and 250% more bandwidth to the Powerley Energy Bridge. In addition, smart device battery life will increase by 50% through reduction in the power required for wireless data transfer.
With the Z-Wave S2 Security standard, homeowners can also expect enhanced security protection. The S2 framework features AES-128 encryption and eliminates latency or additional power consumption for devices. It improves protection against eavesdropping with the Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellmann (ECDH) key exchange system, making it impossible for intruders to decipher the network key.
Also, it removes the man-in-the-middle attack by physically processing authentication by PIN code or QR code during inclusion. It passes all IP traffic through a secure TLS 1.1 tunnel to exclude cloud vulnerability.
“We’re excited to see Powerley positioned as the first platform in the Home Energy Management industry to integrate both Z-Wave and the Z-Wave S2 Security protocol, and their commitment to providing secure managed energy solutions for consumers and installers,” said Mitchell Klein, executive director of the Z-Wave Alliance, in a statement.
According to Z-Wave Alliance, there are over 2,400 certified products worldwide, and over 700 companies in the home technology space have joined the alliance, including ADT, Assa Abloy, Huawei, Nortek Security & Control and SmartThings.