Wifi vs. Bluetooth | Which is Better for a Smart Home?

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Gained early experience with automation technology in the private and industrial sector, can turn his living room into a movie theater with one voice command and is the owner of this website. He is happy to share his accumulated experience with every new article.

W-LAN or Wifi?

There is hardly a household that can do without WiFi, the standard connection between smartphones and laptops and the Internet in the home network. If smart home devices have an integrated WiFi module, they connect directly to the Internet via a router. You can control them simply via your smartphone and don’t need a control center.

Advantage Wifi: The already existing Wifi is used. Because the Wifi network is stable, a lot of data can be transferred quickly via Wifi. This applies not only to e-mails and pictures, but also to smart home control.

Wifi disadvantage: The smart devices always need enough energy to transmit data via WIFI and should therefore be permanently supplied with power. If several WLANs are operating in the same frequency range in the vicinity, the signals can interfere or overlap.

Bluetooth: Whether for wireless connection of the speakers in the car with the smartphone or the wireless headphones: Bluetooth ensures the stable connection. This wireless standard is mainly used for short distances of up to 50 meters. Advantages Bluetooth: If Bluetooth is used in the smart home, the devices get by with relatively little energy thanks to the special Bluetooth Low Energy technology. The data is transmitted smartly and the devices can be operated with batteries or rechargeable batteries.

The wireless standard allows communication between smartphone and device even without a gateway or control center. Because the data is only transmitted internally via the devices connected via Bluetooth, it is protected from any unauthorized access.

Bluetooth disadvantages: If Bluetooth encounters walls and other structural obstacles, the range is only very short. In buildings, Bluetooth therefore often only has a range of close to ten meters.

Using Bluetooth and Wifi as radio standards in the smart home

If you want to set up your house or apartment as a smart home, you have the choice between different wireless standards. Depending on which standard you choose, you may first have to invest. Another complicating factor is that the wireless standards are not very compatible with each other. Once you have decided on a standard, retrofitting is often expensive.

Therefore, it is worthwhile to compare them well before deciding for or against a certain radio standard. While Z Wave, ZigBee or EnOcean, for example, initially require the installation of a control center or gateway, devices with W-LAN or Bluetooth as the wireless standard do not need any of these. To help you decide between the two, here’s everything you need to know about WLAN and Bluetooth for the smart home.

Wifi and Bluetooth get you started in the smart home

Both Wifi and Bluetooth have been established for many years and are set up as proven technology in every notebook, tablet and smartphone. Likewise, almost every modern TV can communicate with other devices in the house via Bluetooth or Wifi. The Wifi network is stable and fast at the same time. This makes Wifi significantly superior to other wireless standards in terms of speed and range.

However, most devices in the smart home do not need such a fast network. They simply need to have sufficient energy available. If the smart devices are connected to the power grid via cable, similar to the TV, they can be used for the smart home without further ado. If they are supplied with the necessary energy via rechargeable batteries or batteries, the situation in the energy-hungry Wi-Fi network can become much more difficult.

Bluetooth-powered devices, on the other hand, do not require as much energy. Quite normal batteries guarantee months of operation and the low energy profile ensures that the devices themselves only consume little power. The data transfer is also fast enough with a bandwidth of about 1 Mbps. Only the range of the Bluetooth network is limited.

Consider when choosing

Which wireless standard is the right one for your smart home is up to you to decide. However, there are some points that can be helpful:

What’s already there: Do you already have devices in your house that would actually be suitable for a smart home? Sometimes their smart features are just not used yet. If the heating is controlled via a schedule, it could be smartly combined with sensors on the windows.

If they indicate that the windows are open, the heating output is reduced. The more smart devices you already have in your home, the more sensible it is to use this technology for other devices as well. Another aspect in choosing the right wireless standard is the existing product range. Here, it depends on which areas in your home are to be smartly controlled.

Even if you initially only want to use the light or another small area smart, you should pay attention to a possible extension. If the desired motion detectors are only available in a different wireless standard, this is annoying.

What you need to know about W-LAN in the smart home

Wifi or W-LAN is already present in almost every household. While W-LAN is an abbreviation for Wireless Local Area Network, Wifi actually refers to all devices with the IEE 802.11 standard that use W-LAN. Both terms are usually used synonymously. With W-LAN, large amounts of data can be transported quickly and securely over the air. Security is also very high. This makes W-LAN suitable for smartphones, tablets, computers and other entertainment devices.

However, the devices need a lot of energy for the connection via Wifi. They are always “on”. If a socket works via Wifi, it is also under power when the device in it is switched off. Otherwise, you could also hardly instruct the outlet via wifi to turn on the device, such as the lamp, now. The high energy demand is one of the main disadvantages of Wifi. After all, the Wifi network was not originally developed for smart homes, but for the transmission of data in the IT sector.

The range of the Wifi network

In many cases, a W-LAN with a frequency of 2.4 GHz is used. Thus, this frequency is used quite often and is heavily used. The microwave, the neighbor’s Wifi and the own Wifi use this frequency. Because even water has a frequency of 2.4 GHz, the weather can affect the reception of the Wifi.

Therefore, there is additionally the frequency of 5 GHz in the Wifi, which is usually used by the devices that are responsible for the entertainment in the house. While the Wifi with the frequency of 2.4 GHz has more range, it only transmits a smaller amount of data at the same time.

The Wifi with the frequency of 5 GHz has a smaller range, but can transmit more data. Therefore, the devices for the smart home primarily use the Wifi with 2.4 GHz, while the entertainment devices for music or videos rather use the Wifi with 5 GHz.

Modern routers with 5 GHz also support the 2.4 GHz Wifi for Smart Home Wifi

If you want to register devices with a frequency of 2.4 GHz in your Wifi network, your router must support this. Modern routers, on the other hand, are set to Wifi with the frequency of 5 GHz. However, because most modern routers are designed as so-called dual-band routers, they can support devices with both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies. If you have difficulties with the installation, you can do the following:

In the settings of your router, look for the 2.4 GHz WLAN and switch to it.
Then install the desired smart home devices with the frequency of 2.4 GHz.
In the settings of your router, activate the dual-band WLAN function.

Of course, you can also set the dual-band feature on your router before installing the device for your smart home.

Professional systems for smart homes rarely use Wifi

Because the devices that work via Wifi require a relatively large amount of energy for their operation, they are only used in a few areas. This applies to water detectors, surveillance cameras, but also motion detectors. Here, the radio standards such as Z Wave or Zigbee are more likely to be used, as they require much less energy.

However, since smart speakers like Google Nest Home or Amazon Echo are directly connected to the power grid and thus do not need batteries or rechargeable batteries for their operation, they can also use Wifi to transmit data.

The best smart home devices for the wifi

If smart home devices need to transfer large amounts of data, they are best suited for Wifi. These are, for example, all devices with which you can stream, but also other smart home devices:

Sockets for Wifi: If a socket is connected to Wifi, you can switch it on or off via app with your smartphone – and thus the device connected to it. In this way, a Wifi socket works like a timer.
Amazon Fire TV: Alexa is integrated into the remote control for the Amazon Fire TV. The voice output takes place via the smart TV. You can get the videos directly on the TV via Wi-Fi.
Amazon Echo: Whether streaming music via Amazon Music or listening to radio broadcasts via TuneIn: Alexa makes the home smart.

How the router for wifi works

The Internet comes into your home via a connection. Your WiFi or WLAN router receives the signal and sends the desired data via WiFi to the devices for streaming, but also to your cell phone, tablet, computer and the devices for your smart home.

Once Wifi-enabled devices are wirelessly connected to the router, they can access the Internet with its data. However, because all connected devices have to share the router’s bandwidth, you may feel that the Internet is slow.

This happens, for example, when many devices access the Internet at once and download large amounts of data.

How to set up your Wifi

You want to set up a wifi at home? It’s less complicated than you might think. All you need is an Internet connection and a router that can connect to WiFi or W-LAN. You connect the router to the Internet and the power outlet.

Afterwards, open the settings of the router in your computer. You can find them in the browser. The router manufacturer provides the password and username, so you only have to enter them accordingly. Once this is done, the computer connects to the router via WiFi.

You can also easily connect your smart home devices to the router via WiFi.

Using BlueTooth for the Smart Home

Bluetooth is a radio standard that allows devices to communicate with each other wirelessly over short distances. Since you only have to connect the desired devices with the so-called pairing, Bluetooth itself is very easy to set up.

Like W-LAN, Bluetooth uses the frequency of 2.4 GHz. Bluetooth Mesh is available for Bluetooth versions from LE 4.x and 5. What exactly this means and what you can use it for in the smart home is explained here.

For Bluetooth as a radio standard, there are four possible areas for use:

Audio streaming: A direct radio connection is established via Bluetooth between the transmitter, for example the smartphone or tablet, and the wireless headphones.

Transfer of data: A connection is established between the fitness wristband and the smartphone via Bluetooth.

Information and determination of the location: Bluetooth is also used for navigation and transmission of interesting information to so-called points of interest.

Network: Bluetooth Mesh enables more extensive applications of devices in smart homes, for example for lighting systems or building automation.

Bluetooth LE, Bluetooth 5.0 and Bluetooth Mesh

Since the Bluetooth 4.0 version, the data is transmitted in a particularly power-saving way. As a result, the corresponding devices only need a small amount of energy. Smart watches, fitness wristbands, thermostats on heaters or door locks can transmit their data with this wireless standard and only need one battery or rechargeable battery.

Bluetooth 5.0 finally enables a higher data rate of 2 Mbit/s. If a smartphone has this Bluetooth standard, it can connect with two devices simultaneously. In addition, the range is significantly longer, even though the values determined under laboratory conditions can rarely be achieved in practice. Thanks to the so-called beacons, devices can network with each other without manual pairing.

This allows navigation services to be transmitted for delimited areas such as airports, trade fairs or supermarkets.

The range of Bluetooth

How large the range of Bluetooth is depends on the manufacturers of the respective devices. There are three performance classes in total:

Class 1: The devices achieve a range of up to 100 meters and transmit with a maximum of 100 milliwatts.

Class 2: The devices achieve a range of up to 50 meters and transmit at 2.5 milliwatts.

Class 1 and 2 are usually used in PCs or notebooks.

Class 3: The devices have a range of up to ten meters and transmit at 1 milliwatt. This power class is used in fitness trackers, speakers or headphones.

Even though a fitness tracker could theoretically have a range of up to 200 meters thanks to LE 5.0, it only needs the connection between the wristband and smartphone. Thanks to the low transmission power with Low Energy, the energy requirement also remains low and the battery lasts much longer.

The security of Bluetooth connections in the smart home

You can also encrypt the Bluetooth connection between several devices for data transfer. If this option is provided by the software, you have to enter a PIN before the first pairing. You can specify that the devices should remember the PIN and use it again for each connection. Unfortunately, there are always headlines reporting hacker attacks on Bluetooth devices.

The advantages and disadvantages of Bluetooth at a glance

Bluetooth is easy to install and set up on the corresponding devices.
The prices for Bluetooth-enabled devices are relatively cheap.
Most smartphones have Bluetooth as a standard.
Bluetooth is mesh-enabled.
Disadvantages of Bluetooth are the relatively short range, the low transmission power and high latency times. Another disadvantage are the security gaps.

The versions of Bluetooth are compatible

Bluetooth has the advantage that the higher versions can usually be paired with the devices that use a lower version. The individual standards are compatible with each other, even though it is usually a downward compatibility.

Therefore, a Smart Home lamp that has the Bluetooth 5.0 wireless standard can also be switched on and off with a smartphone that only has the 4.2 wireless standard.

Bluetooth mesh

Since the Bluetooth LE 4.x version, the Bluetooth mesh function is possible in the devices. This means that the wireless standard is also suitable for use in smart homes. Mesh enables the devices to link up in a larger network. The devices can send and receive data simultaneously. While a mesh WLAN requires corresponding routers and access points, Bluetooth devices do not.

If the function is available in the devices, they can set up the mesh network independently. The devices are operated remotely via a smartphone with Bluetooth, which is also a hub or gateway.

These devices have Bluetooth

Almost all smartphones have Bluetooth as a wireless standard. Therefore, Bluetooth is mainly used for streaming in lifestyle. Many speakers and headphones use the popular wireless standard, and the same applies to smart home devices, especially entry-level ones. This includes the Philips Hue lighting system, for example.

All you need is a smartphone with Bluetooth to set up and control the smart lights. If you want to expand the light control later and also use premium functions, you can then add a bridge. Electric door locks can also be used with Bluetooth. When you approach, the lock recognizes you – at least if you have your smartphone with you. The door is opened and you don’t need to fiddle with the key.

With smart thermostats, you can smartly control the energy consumption in your home. You can control the Bluetooth-enabled thermostats via smartphone. Wireless sockets with Bluetooth also work. You can use such a socket to smartly control any other device, provided the plug is inserted into the socket.

Control the smart home with Bluetooth or Wifi

Bluetooth as well as Wifi or W-LAN are established wireless standards. Almost every flat-screen TV, but also tablet, notebook and smartphone can communicate with other devices via these.

Whether Wifi or Bluetooth is the right technology for you and your smart home is something you have to find out and decide for yourself. If you already have some smart devices, they may already have a radio standard. You can use this. The more devices you operate with a certain wireless standard, the greater the tendency to use other devices with this wireless standard.

Helpful in making a decision is the range of products and deciding what exactly you really want to be smartly controlled in your smart home.

Attention: When installing electronic equipment, please be sure to observe the manufacturer’s safety instructions. You have to take care of your own safety. The information on this site only helps you to learn.
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