
Matter could have gotten off to a bumpy begin, however the good dwelling customary seems set to play an even bigger function within the good dwelling world in 2025 and past.
Nevertheless, whereas good dwelling platforms reminiscent of Amazon’s Alexa and Apple HomeKit have fuelled the growth of the good dwelling previously few years, with a bit of assist from the likes of SmartThings alongside the way in which, the thought of the good house is, actually, nothing new.
Z-Wave, first launched again in 1999, has been connecting good dwelling gadgets earlier than folks even began utilizing the phrase “good dwelling”. Assume gadgets like wi-fi storage door openers, mild switches, movement sensors and a complete lot extra. Have a learn of our Z-Wave information to dig deeper.
The likes of Homey, Residence Assistant, Hubitat and SmartThings all work with Z-Wave and there’s an opportunity, due to this fact, that lots of people have constructed up collections of Z-Wave gadgets that they can’t now combine into their Matter good properties… or can they?
Matter and Z-Wave points
Whereas Z-Wave isn’t natively a part of the Matter customary, there are nonetheless methods to seamlessly combine your Z-Wave gadgets into your Matter good dwelling.
This explainer will information you thru the method, permitting you to create a really interconnected dwelling.
However earlier than we try this, it’s key to get your head round precisely what’s happening within the background.
The challenges lie within the basic variations between Matter and Z-Wave.
Matter is an solely an software layer – consider it as a set of communication guidelines (protocols). It defines how good dwelling gadgets talk and perceive one another’s instructions. It’s constructed on IP, and makes use of acquainted community applied sciences like Wi-Fi, Thread, and Ethernet.
Z-Wave, however, is an entire protocol overlaying the bodily layer to the applying layer, using its personal, non-IP, mesh networking protocol.
It’s the identical(ish) story for Zigbee; a very long time various/rival to Z-Wave. Nevertheless, Zigbee is a part of the Connectivity Requirements Alliance (which was really referred to as the Zigbee Alliance till a few years in the past) and is rather more Matter pleasant.
Zigbee, like Z-Wave, isn’t IP-based, however there are a bunch of Matter bridges / gateways obtainable – from the likes of Philips Hue, Aqara, SwitchBot and Ikea – that enable Zigbee gadgets to function, bridged, inside a Matter system.
For instance, add an Aqara good dwelling hub to a Matter controller and also you’ll be capable to use any of your linked Zigbee Aqara ‘baby’ gadgets – assume sensors, lights, locks and extra – inside a Matter system.
No such bridge or gateway exists, but, to do the identical factor with Z-Wave gadgets, though we do maintain out hope – extra on that additional down.
Utilizing a sensible dwelling hub

So, what do you have to do now to bridge the hole earlier than an precise bridge comes alongside to, er, bridge the hole?
Nicely, firstly, you’ll want a Matter-compatible good dwelling hub or Controller. This could possibly be a sensible speaker, a devoted good dwelling hub, or perhaps a good fridge. No, I’m not joking – try our information to the perfect Matter Controllers right here.
A Matter Controller, because the identify suggests, is the central command middle to your Matter community. Chances are high you’ve already bought one.
And the possibilities are, should you’ve bought a bunch of Z-Wave gadgets powering your good dwelling, that you just’ve bought one which can be a Z-Wave hub.
The likes of the Samsung and Aeotec SmartThings Hubs, Homey Professional and the Hubitat Elevation are all examples of good dwelling hubs which are each Matter controllers and Z-Wave hubs. Heck, all of them throw Zigbee into the combination too, together with a complete different array of requirements/protocols.
These hubs don’t actually care how you will have paired your good dwelling system, and so they don’t actually care how they impart to them. So long as they’ll, they may.
Meaning, for instance, you’ll be able to add a Matter system to a SmartThings hub after which create routines and automations that additionally embody Z-Wave gadgets. So you might have a Z-Wave movement sensor from the likes of Fibaro activate a Matter good mild such because the Govee LED Strip Mild M1, and switch up the temperature on a Matter-enabled thermostat.
This wouldn’t be a direct, native Matter-to-Z-Wave communication. This sort of automation means the SmartThings hub continues to be processing stuff within the cloud, however it does imply that your Matter and Z-Wave gadgets would work collectively in your good dwelling.
And for now, that’s pretty much as good because it will get. However, as talked about, there’s hope…
A devoted Matter and Z-Wave bridge

Whereas the answer above is at present the best method to combine Z-Wave into Matter, the good dwelling panorama is dynamic and the folks behind Z-Wave wish to become involved in Matter.
“We’re in talks with CSA,” Avi Rosenthal, Chairman of the Z-Wave Alliance board just lately instructed The Ambient over at CES 2025.
“Right this moment, now we have numerous Z-Wave members that construct gateways, controllers and hubs, with a number of radios in them and a number of bridges,” he defined.
“There isn’t a technical cause why a Z-Wave system can’t be managed or management a Matter system, a Thread system, a Wi-Fi system or a Bluetooth system. It’s merely an evolution of software program improvement to permit for that to occur.”
That evolution of software program is already taking place… albeit slowly.
Silicon Labs, who’ve ‘owned’ Z-Wave since 2018, launched the Unify Software program Improvement Package (SDK) a few years in the past, which “gives a Matter bridge instance code to allow Z-Wave prospects to be linked to the Matter ecosystem.”
In addition they have the Unify Matter Bridge, constructed upon the Unify SDK, and have proven off hubs on the final couple of CES expos exhibiting off how this tech might work.
So whereas it’s been a few years since we’ve seen any actual replace on the Matter / Z-Wave bridge entrance, it’s doable.
And if one thing is feasible in tech, and there’s a large enough demand for it, it normally occurs.
However for now, to get your Matter and Z-Wave gadgets singing and dancing collectively the likes of Homey and SmartThings are your greatest guess.
Hubitat and Residence Assistant may be value trying out too, particularly should you’re not fearful of a little bit of tinkering, and know your YAML out of your Node-RED.