Spectrum Reference

Z-Wave & Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR) Blueprint

While consumer smart home gadgets crowded into the jammed 2.4 GHz band, Z-Wave standardized on sub-1GHz spectrum (ITU-T G.9959). With zero Wi-Fi contention, dedicated 100 kbps FSK channels, and the modern 1-mile ZWLR star architecture, this is the technical reference for frequencies, modulation, and controller silicon.

01 · Why Z-Wave Chose Sub-1GHz

Z-Wave was engineered specifically to avoid the fatal flaws of 2.4 GHz smart home protocols:

Zero Wi-Fi Interference: Microwave ovens, Bluetooth audio, and high-bandwidth 2.4 GHz video streams cannot jam Z-Wave packets.
Wall Penetration: The 33 cm wavelength cuts through drywall, ceramic bathroom tiles, and timber with a fraction of the attenuation 2.4 GHz suffers.
Deterministic Latency: Because the band is uncluttered, light switches and door lock commands turn on in <50 milliseconds without retransmission collisions.
S2 Security (Security 2): Eliminates the ancient unencrypted vulnerabilities of early smart home gear by using Diffie-Hellman elliptic-curve key agreement and AES-128 encryption for every frame.

02 · Classic Z-Wave Mesh vs. Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR)

In 2020, the Z-Wave Alliance introduced Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR). ZWLR fundamentally reimagines Z-Wave: it completely bypasses multi-hop mesh repeating in favor of high-power, direct star connections to your hub:

Feature / Metric	Classic Z-Wave (Series 500/700)	Z-Wave Long Range (Series 700/800)
Network Topology	Self-healing 4-hop Mesh	Direct Star Topology (Node to Hub)
Maximum Nodes	232 Nodes per Network	4,000 Nodes per Network
Max Transmit Power	~0 dBm (1 mW)	+30 dBm (1000 mW) Conducted
Practical Range	30 – 100 m per hop	Up to 1.6 km (1 mile) line-of-sight
Battery Optimization	Flirs / Wakeup intervals	Dynamic Power Control (DPC) auto-dials power

03 · Regional Channel Frequencies

Because sub-1GHz spectrum is regulated nationally, Z-Wave devices operate on country-specific frequency sets. A European 868 MHz Z-Wave plug will physically never talk to a US 908 MHz controller:

United States & Canada (US)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 908.4 MHz (40 kbps FSK), 908.42 MHz (9.6 kbps FSK), 916.0 MHz (100 kbps GFSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 912.0 MHz & 920.0 MHz (100 kbps DSSS-OQPSK, up to +30 dBm / 1 W)

Sits cleanly between LoRaWAN Sub-band 2 (904 MHz) and upper Wi-Fi HaLow channels. ZWLR delivers 1-mile direct star connections under FCC Part 15.247.

Europe (CEPT / EU868)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 868.4 MHz (40 kbps FSK), 868.42 MHz (9.6 kbps FSK), 869.85 MHz (100 kbps GFSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 868.4 MHz & 869.85 MHz (+14 dBm ERP ETSI compliant)

Operates in the dedicated 868 MHz SRD band with strict ETSI duty-cycle compliance (1% on 868.4 MHz, 10% on 869.85 MHz).

Australia & New Zealand (ANZ)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 919.8 MHz (100 kbps GFSK), 921.4 MHz (40 kbps FSK), 921.42 MHz (9.6 kbps FSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 919.8 MHz & 921.4 MHz (ACMA compliant)

Shifted upward into 919–928 MHz to avoid interfering with Australian commercial cellular mobile licenses below 915 MHz.

Japan (ARIB STD-T108)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 922.5 – 927.5 MHz (100 kbps GFSK / 40 kbps FSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 922.5 – 927.5 MHz (20 mW max EIRP, Listen-Before-Talk / LBT mandatory)

Operates under strict Japanese Radio Law. Requires Listen-Before-Talk (LBT) clear channel assessment prior to every transmission.

Hong Kong (HK)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 919.8 MHz (100 kbps GFSK), 919.82 MHz (9.6 kbps FSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 919.8 MHz allocation

Dedicated OFCA unlicensed sub-1GHz home automation allocation.

India (IN)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 865.2 MHz (40 kbps FSK), 865.22 MHz (9.6 kbps FSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 865.2 MHz allocation

Operates in the Indian 865–867 MHz delicensed band.

Israel (IL)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 916.0 MHz (40 kbps FSK), 916.02 MHz (9.6 kbps FSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 916.0 MHz allocation

Single carrier allocation under Israeli Ministry of Communications regulations.

South Korea (KR)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 920.9 MHz, 921.7 MHz, 923.1 MHz (40 / 100 kbps)

ZWLR Frequencies: 920.9 – 923.1 MHz allocations

MSIT approved unlicensed spectrum allocation.

Russia (RU)

Classic Mesh Frequencies: 869.0 MHz (40 kbps FSK), 869.02 MHz (9.6 kbps FSK)

ZWLR Frequencies: 869.0 MHz allocation

Operates in the Russian 868.7–869.2 MHz short-range device allocation.

04 · The 915 MHz Spectrum Neighborhood

In North America, 902 to 928 MHz is a busy shared neighborhood. Understanding where Z-Wave sits relative to LoRa and Wi-Fi HaLow prevents you from inadvertently designing nodes that stomp on each other:

903.9 – 905.3 MHz: LoRaWAN 8-channel gateway uplinks (Sub-band 2).
906.875 MHz: Meshtastic default frequency slot.
908.40 / 908.42 MHz: Classic Z-Wave primary mesh channel (cleanly sits 1.5 MHz above Meshtastic).
912.0 MHz & 920.0 MHz: Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR) high-power star channels.
916.00 MHz: Classic Z-Wave 100 kbps high-speed channel.
917.0 – 925.0 MHz: Recommended channels for Wi-Fi HaLow 2 MHz wide video bridges.

05 · Silicon & Controller Hardware

If you are building custom gateways or running Home Assistant (via Z-Wave JS), modern hardware revolves around Silicon Labs silicon:

Silicon Labs 700 Series

SoC: ZGM130S

Arm Cortex-M4 core. Brought S2 security and SmartStart QR commissioning to maturity. Supported by Aeotec Z-Stick 7.

Silicon Labs 800 Series

SoC: EFR32ZG23 / ZG23

The modern standard for ZWLR. Features an integrated +20 dBm PA and superior dynamic power control. Found in Zooz 800 Series ZST39 controllers.