ZigBee Home Automation Standard Version 1.2 Ratified

-- Update expands device integration, enhances user experience

SAN RAMON, California, July 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The ZigBee^® Alliance, a global ecosystem of organizations creating wireless solutions for use in energy management, commercial and consumer applications, today announced that an update to ZigBee Home Automation has been ratified and is now available for product development. The new version is fully interoperable with the earlier versions of the standard.

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ZigBee Home Automation is the industry leading standard helping to create smarter homes that enhance the comfort, convenience, security and energy management for the consumer. ZigBee Home Automation 1.2 adds several important new features that improve the battery life for security sensors to over seven years, standardize pairing of devices and simplify installation and maintenance for consumers and custom installers alike. These features have a significant impact on operational and device costs to service providers and quality of service to consumers.

ZigBee Home Automation 1.2 includes enhancements to functions in devices such as door locks and support for additional devices including smart appliances and electrical measurement devices. The standard incorporates new features resulting from a collaboration with the Energy@home initiative, an Italian collaborative and ZigBee Alliance partner, which will benefit consumers by integrating new devices and raising consumer awareness of energy usage without necessarily connecting to an electric utility.

"ZigBee Home Automation 1.2 is a major step forward in creating an open and fully interoperable wireless home control platform," said Ted Grauch, Vice President, Video Premise Equipment, Technology & Product, Comcast Cable. "For Service Operators and CE companies, ZigBee Home Automation 1.2 will provide a technology standard that removes much of the complexity from planning and deploying advanced home services and reduces the amount of energy they consume."

Consistent with ZigBee's practice and commitment to the highest quality, ZigBee Home Automation 1.2 underwent rigorous testing, and 19 products have already achieved Golden Unit status for compliance testing and certification purposes.

"ZigBee Home Automation is already the most robust, reliable and scalable low power wireless standard in the home and the technology of choice for world-leading service providers, installers and retailers," said Tobin J.M. Richardson, Chairman & CEO of the ZigBee Alliance. "ZigBee Home Automation 1.2 further strengthens this position and more importantly delivers a standard that can make every home a smarter, safer and more energy efficient environment for consumers and families."

Free Webinar

Attend a free online ZigBee webinar on August 1, 2013 titled "ZigBee Home Automation 1.2 – Delivering Peace of Mind through Secure and Energy Efficient Homes." Register today at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/356171375.

ZigBee: Control your world
ZigBee offers green and global wireless standards connecting the widest range of devices to work together intelligently and help you control your world. The ZigBee Alliance is an open, non-profit association of approximately 400 members driving development of innovative, reliable and easy-to-use ZigBee standards. The Alliance promotes worldwide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in consumer, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit: www.zigbee.org.

ZigBee Certified
The ZigBee Certified program ensures that products built using ZigBee standards function as expected and products from different manufacturers interoperate with each other. The certification of products is also a critical part of the Alliance's standards development process. Unlike other standards organizations, the testing and certification of products is required before any ZigBee standard is released for use. The ZigBee Certified process allows manufacturers to deliver a variety of products to customers of all types who can benefit from the simplicity of ZigBee control. To learn more about the ZigBee Certified program, visit: http://www.zigbee.org/Certification.aspx.