Comparisons of Home Area Network Connection Alternatives for Multifamily Dwelling Units

Viewed as an integral part of the smart grid, the Smart Home provides users the convenience, comfort and energy efficiency through centralized control of lighting, HVAC, appliances, and other home systems. Zigbee´s low power consumption, build-in security method and operating on ISM bands make it one of the winner solutions for Smart Homes. Nevertheless challenges are raised to connect home devices and smart meters which are usually located on another floor in multifamily dwelling units. Distance or/and obstruction limitation needs to be overcome. We propose and compare three connection alternatives - Zigbee repeater, ZigBee/WiFi gateway and hybrid approach. Zigbee repeater method utilizes tree topology for forwarding packets multiple hops to distant destinations. ZigBee/WiFi gateways are used to interconnect ZigBee and WiFi networks. The hybrid approach will combine both of their features. In our paper, we present our performance evaluations of these three alternatives under extensive scenarios using OPNET modeler. Finally, we conclude and propose our future work.