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why I should choose SimpleLink over z-wave or zigbee?

Albert David
Intellectual 440 points

Friends,

CC3000 seems to be a great product, but the question is,
why I need wi-fi based CC3000 compared to  Z-wave or Zigbee for electrical appliances?
Is it going to give me significant cost reduction over z-wave or zigbee based solutions?
I know zigbee/z-wave uses propriatery protocol stack as compared to CC3000's standard tcp/ip stack.
with wi-fi and TCP/IP, we dont need those special z-wave dongles like "Aeon Lab USB Z-Stick" for communication with wireless nodes.
my existing wi-fi router + PC or Smart phone(or CC3000 based handy remote) is enough for communicating with CC3000 based wi-fi node.
As a designer, SimpleLink gives me an advantage of re-using my standard networking and micro-controller knowledge to build wi-fi based electrical appliance.

But the ultimate question is cost?

Lets compare the cost of z-wave and SimpleLink based networked home automation system.

Z-wave:
Vera-2 Controller + Aeon lab z-stick + z-wave based dimmer_switch = ~$200 + ~$60 + ~$30 = ~$300

SimpleLink:
wi-fi router + CC3000 and MSP430 based dimmer_switch = ~$50 + ??

It would be interesting see a cost estimation of SimpleLink based solution.

Br,
Albert.

  • 0
    TI__Genius 9990 points

    Albert,

    Though the advantages are in general application specific, WiFi in general has a much larger adoption rate. I personally worked with Zigbee for several years and don't have it in my home. Of course, I do have WiFi. Most people will have WiFi in their house, which means that the costs are basically related to the product itself.

    Another huge advantage is that most people are somewhat familiar with WiFi, which is not the case with Z-wave and Zigbee. Ease of use is another critical aspect, simply because customers tend to use what they're familiar with. Also realize that to have any kind of internet connectivity, you'll have to use some kind of Zigbee/Z-Wave gateway.

    So, to summarize, there are many many advantages to WiFi. The cost will only get better as time goes on.

    Regards,
    Gustavo

  • 0 in reply to Gustavo L
    Prodigy 60 points

    it has to get better. for 1000+ modules from lsr it's $29, quite expensive at this point

    meanwhile microchip's own low-power wifi(similar to cc3000) is selling at $12 for 5000+

  • 0 in reply to x xiao
    TI__Genius 9990 points

    Xiao,

    May I ask where did you obtain the $29 price?

    If you look at the CC3000, it's a completely integrated solution with TCP/IP stack included, which is not the case for many other solutions. This means that you can run a 25 or 50 cent microcontroller and reduce the cost on that side. Otherwise, you need something that can both run the TCP/IP stack and has enough power for your application.

    Regards,
    Gustavo

  • 0 in reply to Gustavo L
    Prodigy 60 points

    http://bit.ly/xJRgzO has the price info, which is LS Research module, for 1k unit it's >$29

    I understand it  has integrated tcp/ip stack, which is great, however the module is just too expensive. even microchip's similar product ($12 at 1k) is still way too much.

    on the other hand, a (low-power, though not extremely low-power) usb-wifi-dongle can be down to $3 easily.

  • 0 in reply to x xiao
    Prodigy 220 points

    Hi, X Xiao,

    To clarify, LS Research's TiWi-SL Module is < $21 at 1kU suggested resale.

    I understand from reading this thread that there is pricing on the web that would suggest that the pricing is much higher, and am addressing that.  To be clear, TiWi-SL suggested resale should be less than $21.00 at 1,000 units, and goes down from there.   


    I really appreciate you making us and the community aware of the pricing discrepancy and I will work to get that addressed ASAP!

    Thanks, 

    Theresa Benson

    Business Development, LS Research

    More information on LSR TiWi-SL:  www.lsr.com/tiwi-sl

    Evaluation boards as low as ~ $49 MSRP:  www.lsr.com/tiwi-sl   (search on 450-0089)