What can you do with a TaHoma switch and Zigbee 3.0?

This capacity to accommodate an extra communication protocol means that Somfy’s smart controller now offers more functionality than ever.

What is a communication protocol?

A communication protocol is a kind of language – a set of rules – that different entities use to transmit information amongst one another. These protocols can vary in the way they are structured and may use different frequencies for communication. Examples of different protocols include RTS, io-homecontrol, Bluetooth, 433 MHz, Thread, Z-Wave and Zigbee.

One thing they all have in common is that they cannot communicate with one another directly. However, they can be used in combination in a smart home system by means of a controller, hub or gateway that can support multiple protocols. This means that a product that uses Zigbee can be used to activate another product that uses io-homecontrol, for example.

What benefits does Zigbee 3.0 offer for Somfy’s TaHoma switch?

Now that the TaHoma switch supports Zigbee 3.0, it offers a wider range of options for controlling your smart home. This means you can link up more devices directly to your TaHoma switch than you could previously, and with no need for any extra adapters or dongles.

Here’s a practical example of how this can work: you can now connect Philips Hue light bulbs, which can support Zigbee 3.0, directly to your TaHoma switch – and you don’t even need a Philips Hue Bridge to do this. Or you could link a Schneider Electric water leak detector to your smart home  system, because that supports Zigbee 3.0 too.

Which Zigbee products are compatible with the TaHoma switch?

There is currently a variety of lighting-related products – including smart plugs – that can be connected to the TaHoma switch, as well as a selection of sensors from other manufacturers. The plan is to add more product categories to this range, which will be made available via continuous updates to your smart controller.

You can simply add compatible Zigbee devices via the new version of the TaHoma app and incorporate them into your Somfy smart home system.