December 2012

New ZigBee PRO Feature: Green Power

Connecting Battery-Free Devices

2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved. 1 www.zigbee.org

 ZigBee Green Power December 2012

Foreword

Since its inception, the ZigBee Alliance has worked with a singular focus: create a much
needed global wireless language capable of giving voices to the myriad of everyday
devices that surround us as we go about our daily lives. This focus has been aimed at the
little devices often overlooked in an IT-centric world, such as light switches, thermostats,
electricity meters and remote controls, as well as more complex sensor devices found
abundantly in the health care, commercial building and industrial automation sectors. By
connecting these devices, a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) network or Internet of Things is
created that offers exceptional efficiency, convenience, security and control and a whole
new way for people to interact with their environment. As a result, ZigBee Alliance
members have created a smart set of wireless standards that enable this new class of
networks and offer extraordinary control, expandability, energy efficiency, security, ease-
of-use and the ability to use ZigBee technology in any country around the world.

Today, organizations use ZigBee standards-based wireless sensor networks to deliver

innovative solutions for a variety of areas including consumer electronic device control,
energy management and efficiency, health care, telecom services, consumer electronic
devices, home and commercial building automation, as well as industrial plant
management. By choosing ZigBee, they also benefit from the Alliances competitive and
stable supply chain. With a comprehensive set of attributes, the non-profit, open
membership and volunteer-driven Alliance has become a thriving ecosystem with several
hundred members. As an ecosystem, the Alliance offers everything prospective product
and service companies need to develop the most dynamic ZigBee products and services.

2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved. 2 www.zigbee.org

 ZigBee Green Power December 2012

Table of Contents
1. Sensor and Control Networks Today - and Tomorrow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2. Battery-Free Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

3. Using Energy Efficiently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

4. Understanding Energy Harvesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

5. Proxy and Sink . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

6. Pairing and Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

7. The Basics of ZigBee Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

8. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

List of Figures
Figure 1: Network Power Consumption Comparisons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Figure 2: Basic ZigBee PRO with Green Power feature network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Figure 3: Typical ZigBee PRO with Green Power feature network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved. 3 www.zigbee.org


1. Sensor and Control Networks Today -
and Tomorrow
Creating an environment rich in sensors and
controllers, enabling a whole new set of capabilities
and new ways for us to interact with our
surroundings, is becoming the next big thing.
Sensors are used to measure environmental
conditions like temperature, light and humidity,
monitor production processes like location of goods,
pressure and temperature, determine chemical
components, and provide security by checking
room occupancy and the state of doors and
windows to name but a few.
Up until now, many of these sensor networks were
connected with wires, severely limiting their size
and scope of coverage. Wires and the required
conduits are expensive to install and become fixed
installations that are difficult to change. As a result,
many installations found it necessary to limit the
number of sensors installed simply to control costs,
and their permanency restricted the flexibility to
adjust these networks to meet new uses. If not
required for critical infrastructure, wired solutions
are often summarily dismissed as a luxury.
An advantage of wireless solutions is, of course, the
elimination of wires and the ability to create
extensive flexible networks. To meet this need, the
ZigBee Alliance has developed a family of standards
that provides an efficient and robust wireless
networking technology for sensor networks. ZigBee
provides the maximum flexibility for most general
purpose installations as well as for installations in
the most sensitive or historic environments.
Even though the ZigBee family of standards delivers
the low cost, scalability, and ease of installation and
reconfiguration that makes it easy and affordable to
create vast networks of things, the devices in those
networks still need power. The most common ways
of delivering that power are a direct electric
connection or, where that is inconvenient or
impractical, battery power. That covers a large
number of applications very effectively but there are
2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved.
ZigBee Green Power December 2012
times when even batteries are not an acceptable
option or where there is a need for truly
maintenance-free devices. For those cases, one
wants the ability to use harvested energy.
To make using harvested energy power sources as
easy as using a battery, the ZigBee Alliance has
focused on creating a new optional networking
feature to support devices without batteries or an
electric connection. The new Green Power feature,
included in the ZigBee PRO 2012 specification, offers
the greatest versatility because devices using Green
Power can easily and cost effectively operate in
ZigBee PRO 2012 networks utilizing a variety of
harvested energy power sources instead of
batteries. This innovation facilitates the deployment
of wireless sensors in large areas such as tertiary
buildings like shopping malls, hospitals and parking
garages where it is likely there will be many
thousands of devices that would otherwise need to
be powered by batteries, which not only
substantially reduces building maintenance tasks
over time, but is also considerably more
environmentally friendly. It allows even the most
sensitive industrial areas, where batteries are
forbidden for safety concerns, to communicate
within a sensor and control network. Plus, to ensure
interoperability, the ZigBee Certified Program
requires stringent tests conducted by independent
test service providers to verify compliance with
every ZigBee standard and ensure interoperability of
products, even products from different
manufacturers.
2. Battery-Free Communication
Green Power, a new optional feature in the ZigBee PRO
2012 specification, is the latest addition to the ZigBee
portfolio. Green Power gives devices powered with
harvested energy the ability to participate in ZigBee
PRO 2012 networks. ZigBee networks utilize a very
robust protocol to ensure high reliability even in high
interference environments. Implementing that protocol
is a challenge for devices that are utilizing harvested
energy since those devices typically only have enough
power to communicate a brief command because they
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generate just enough power to issue their command
and typically have no other source of power or stored
energy. For example, a light switch without a battery
harvests energy from flipping the switch on or off. This
energy is captured to send an on/off command to the
network and turn on or off the appropriate light. The
light switch is active on the network for an extremely
brief amount of time to issue its command and as soon
as the energy generated by the harvester is consumed,
the light switch disappears from the network. Green
Power makes it possible for the device to do its job
reliably and allow the network to continue to operate
flawlessly once the device has disappeared.
Green Power enables autonomous sensors with an
install-it-and-forget-it promise. Since these devices can
operate without the need for battery replacement,
they can be installed anywhere, even in hard to reach
or inaccessible locations. Green Power allows you
to take your network into new places and enjoy even
more benefits from ZigBee networks.
3. Using Energy Efficiently
Estimates show buildings of all types are responsible
for 40 percent of all energy consumption. Buildings
can dramatically decrease energy consumption and
costs by using wireless, battery-free sensors to monitor
temperature, light and air quality and to improve
safety, security and comfort. Wireless solutions also
help gain sustainability credits from energy efficiency
and sustainable buildings programs or groups like the
U. S. Green Building Councils LEED program.
While wireless sensor networks are key to achieving
efficient buildings, they themselves are also
consumers of energy and need to be as efficient as
possible. In that regard,not all wireless networks are
created alike. When energy consumption from all
devices is examined closely, it becomes quite
apparent that if the goal is to reduce energy
consumption everywhere, you must use a technology
that simply uses the least amount of power.
Comparing energy consumption of ZigBee and Wi-
Fi, for example, it becomes evident that ZigBee is
considerably more efficient.
Wi-Fi is a registered trademark
2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved.
ZigBee Green Power December 2012
A typical Wi-Fi card in a laptop uses, on average (200
mA, 3V, continuous transceiver), about 2 kJ (kilo Joule; 1
joule = 1 Watt during 1 second) in an hour. By
comparison, a 30 W lamp burning for an hour consumes
100 kJ, 50 times as much. The ZigBee set-top box
remote control that is used an average of 500 times per
day, uses 20 mJ (milli joule) per hour, a factor 100,000
times less than a Wi-Fi card.
In other words, the total power consumption of a Wi-Fi
laptop card would power a 30W light bulb at its
maximum brightness for over one minute, while the
power consumption of a ZigBee device would only
power the 30W light bulb to maximum brightness for
0.6 milliseconds, a flash of light barely observable to the
human eye.
Now compare a light switch using Green Power. The
light switch that is flipped on or off on average 10 times
per day, uses on average 200 J (micro joule) per hour.
Thats 100 times less than the ZigBee remote control
and about 10 million times less than the Wi-Fi card.
When you consider that the light switch generated its
own power to operate and never used any electricity or
batteries to operate, the energy savings are even better.
TM
Wi-Fi
2 kilo joule
ZigBee PRO
Green Power
200 micro joule
ZigBee
20 milli joule
Figure 1: Network Power Consumption Comparisons
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It is important to put this dynamic range of energy
consumption into consideration and to understand why
Green Power is such a unique feature of ZigBee PRO
networking.
4. Understanding Energy Harvesting
With Green Power it is now possible to network
devices easily and reliably without mains power,
batteries or other sources of energy. These devices
can use energy-harvesting methods to absorb
energy available from the environment: light,
motion or vibration, temperature differences and
other means. Although the term is relatively new,
the concept is prehistoric. The first forms of fire
required energy harvesting: changing motion into
heat and then into fire, changing light into heat
with an amplifying glass and then into fire. In a
more technological sense, we recognize energy
harvesting in windmills and bicycle dynamos
(energy from motion) and in pocket calculators
with solar cells (energy from light).
Energy harvesters, also known as scavengers, while
eco-friendly and low maintenance, also have some
clear disadvantages compared to batteries or
mains power. In general, the amount of energy
produced by an energy harvester can vary greatly.
Energy harvesters can be divided into two
categories: bursting and trickling. Bursting energy
harvesters can generate too much energy very
quickly. Trickling energy harvesters create just
enough energy continuously over a long period of
time. Bursting energy harvester examples include
piezo-electric elements, dynamo/electro-mechanic
converters or vibrators. Trickling energy harvesters
include solar cells and peltier elements that
leverage temperature differences. They also cost
more. Green Power makes it possible to take
advantage of these unique power sources despite
their disadvantages.
It is important to note that Green Power also works
with any energy source including batteries and
even AC mains. The advantages of using batteries
with Green Power may include: lower cost than
2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved.
ZigBee Green Power December 2012
energy harvesters or circumventing the drawback
that there may not always be motion or light
available. Another advantage of using Green Power
with batteries is the ability to use smaller batteries
and still achieve battery life equivalent to the
product lifetime. So although Green Power was
developed by the ZigBee Alliance with energy
harvesters in mind, there is nothing that prohibits
the use of more traditional energy sources.
5. Proxy and Sink
An ingenious and simple design allows Green
Power devices to complete communication with
just on average 100-500 J (micro Joule). The
design sets up proxies so each Green Power device
is represented as always present on the ZigBee
network even when it is not on or present. These
proxies also handle forwarding and resending
packets to ensure reliable communication,
especially to destination devices that are not in the
direct radio range of the Green Power device. Proxy
functionality is also part of the ZigBee 2012
specification, implemented in the software on an
existing device on the network.
A ZigBee network with Green Power can be as
simple as a light switch and a lamp. However,
ZigBee networks typically consist of thousands of
devices that look like this example:
Green Power Device
Energy harvested
Green Power Sink
Always ON
or battery operation
Only ON when active
Manages
Green Power devices
Figure 2: Basic ZigBee PRO with Green Power feature network
ZigBee PRO Router with Proxy
Always ON
Green Power Device
Energy harvested
or battery operation
Green Power Sink
Only ON when active
Always ON
Manages Green
Power devices
ZigBee PRO Router
Always ON
ZigBee PRO End Node
ON or OFF (allows standby)
Allows lower-power end devices
Figure 3: Typical ZigBee PRO with Green Power feature network
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A ZigBee PRO 2012 network is Green Power-ready if
some of its devices implement the Green Power
Proxy (hereafter referred to as proxy) functionality
and others implement the Green Power Sink
(hereafter referred to as sink) functionality. The proxy
functionality handles the interfacing with the Green
Power device and is typically part of an always-on
device, like a ZigBee PRO router. The sink function
handles the interpretation of the Green Power device
commands and is typically implemented in a target
device, such as a lamp. Both proxy and sink
functionalities need to be present and they can be
implemented in the same device.
A good example is a lamp and a light switch. The
lamp is the device we want to control using the
Green Power light switch and needs to implement
the sink feature. In this way it becomes a Green
Power sink.
The lamp is usually connected to the mains power
and always present on the ZigBee network. It has a
defined network function and a dedicated power
supply, making it also an ideal host for a proxy. This
is not a requirement though, as any other always-
on device can host the proxy functionality.
The Green Power light switch, however, can be
offline with no power, but the ZigBee network still
recognizes it because of the proxy present in the
network.
Continuing the switch and lamp example, when
the Green Power switch becomes active and
transmits a command, the command is received by
the device implementing the proxy (could be the
lamp, or, in general, a proxy) and routed to the
destination which can be the lamp itself (Figure 2)
or another lamp (Figure 3) not in the direct radio
range of the switch. This lamp will then interpret
the Green Power command and act upon it. The
proxy has the steady power source and can process
all the required networking interactions required
by the ZigBee network. As you might expect, the
Green Power device used all of its energy sending
the command.
2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved.
ZigBee Green Power December 2012
Thanks to ZigBees meshing capability, the switch does
not need to be in the vicinity of the lamp. Any ZigBee
device implementing the proxy can simply forward the
command to the targeted lamp. The lamp can be in
another room or another distant location in the
network. This action is actually handled just like any
other ZigBee command.
6. Pairing and Security
Adding a Green Power device and its sink to an
existing network is a simple process. Continuing to
use the light switch and lamp example, ZigBee
defines an innovative pairing process that starts
when a user triggers the target to begin the pairing
process with the switch. Triggering the pairing
process can be as simple as pushing a button on the
lamp that is considered a sink by the ZigBee
network. The target, or lamp, is already connected to
the ZigBee network and is already equipped with the
Green Power sink functionality that was loaded by
the device manufacturer. This user action triggers all
proxies in the network, allowing them to accept new
Green Power Devices. This creates a pairing window
for the Green Power device, the light switch, to
connect with the lamp.
The next step in the pairing process occurs when the
user triggers the controller, for instance by flipping
the switch and initiating a quick information
exchange that pairs the switch to the lamp during
the pairing window. Once this is completed, the
pairing process ends and the lamp can now be
controlled by the switch.
Connecting more than one switch to the lamp is
possible. All that is required to connect multiple
controllers to a single target device is to repeat the
pairing procedure above for each device. There is no
pre-set maximum to the number of switches that can
control the lamp; however, the amount of memory
available in the lamp may limit the maximum
number for that device.
Adding a Green Power device to an existing network
does not come at the price of lower security. The
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Green Power feature provides all the levels of
security found in the ZigBee PRO 2012 specification.
There are three levels of security:
1. Basic: filters any undesired device trying to
communicate on the network, using a 32
bits unique device identifier and a rolling
frame counter.
2. Intermediate: adds authentication
mechanism based on AES 128 technology
and a shared key. It provides the assurance
that the device that is communicating is not
falsified and is authorized on the network.
3. High: adds encryption also based on AES
128 for protection against eavesdropping.
The data exchanged between the device
and the network remains confidential.
Green Power devices can get the security key using
an out-of-band mechanism, or over-the-air from the
ZigBee network.
7. The Basics of ZigBee Technology
ZigBee provides the most efficient and easiest to use
mesh networks. That means that messages from
devices or nodes in the network can be transmitted
through any routing-capable device in the network.
ZigBee mesh networks are secure, self-organizing,
self-healing, two-way communication systems
designed for maintenance-free use. The foundation
of every solution is the powerful IEEE 802.15.4
physical radio standard operating in unlicensed
bands worldwide at 2.4 GHz (global), 915 MHz
(Americas) and 868MHz (Europe). It delivers raw data
throughput rates of 250Kb/s at 2.4GHz (16 channels),
40Kb/s at 915 MHz (10 channels) and 20Kb/s at 868
MHz (1 channel). Transmission distances are
remarkable for a low-power solution, ranging from
10 to 1,600 meters, depending on power output and
environmental conditions, such as other buildings,
interior wall types and geographic topology. A single
ZigBee network can support more than 65,000
devices, delivering significant capability and cost
advantages for the Internet of Things or machine-to-
machine communications.
2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved.
ZigBee Green Power December 2012
The ZigBee specifications extend upon the IEEE
802.15.4 standard by adding network and security
layers and an application framework. From this
foundation, ZigBee Alliance standards, technically
referred to as public application profiles, can be used
to create multi-vendor interoperable solutions. For
custom applications where interoperability is not
required, manufacturers can create their own
manufacturer specific profiles.
ZigBee standards use three different device types:
coordinators, routers, and end devices. The
coordinator is a router with additional functionality
for network setup and the connection of all network
devices. Routers are regular network nodes that
route information throughout the network. End
devices are nodes without such routing capabilities
that send or receive information only when needed.
ZigBee never wastes energy by polling nodes in the
network unlike other wireless technologies. With
the unique ability to be in sleep mode for extended
periods of time, ZigBee achieves battery life
measured in years, not hours. For example, the
battery life in a gas meter built to the ZigBee Smart
Energy standard is more than 15 years.
ZigBee network routers are always powered on to
ensure that transmissions from any node in a ZigBee
network are received and forwarded to the target
node. The router also receives an acknowledgement
message back from the target to verify the
communication was received.
Today, there are a variety of reliable low-power and
low-cost application standards that deliver
comprehensive services and device interoperability
in the Smart Grid, home and building automation,
health care, consumer electronics, retail
environments and telecommunications.
8. Conclusion
Green Power complements ZigBees proven
solutions and delivers all of the ecosystem benefits
offered by open standards. ZigBee PRO 2012
8 www.zigbee.org
 ZigBee Green Power December 2012

compliant platforms will be available from a variety

of sources, eliminating dependency on a single
technology provider or proprietary solutions that
limit choices and increase costs for device
manufacturers. The ZigBee ecosystem has proven
itself to be a thriving, competitive and innovative
vehicle that dramatically reduces risk and lowers
cost for device manufacturers wanting to
differentiate their products by adding wireless
networking capabilities.

ZigBee is already a worldwide standard operating in

the 2.4 GHz industrial, scientific, medical frequency
band. This allows device manufacturers to use one
radio technology and design for devices that can be
sold worldwide. The ZigBee Certified program
evaluates and certifies all ZigBee chips before they
enter the market, and then tests products for
interoperability allowing product manufacturers
and consumers peace of mind that products will
network as promised.

Green Power will be integrated with ZigBee

Building Automation and ZigBee Home
Automation. Other ZigBee standards will also
provide integration to ensure users receive all of the
benefits of this innovation.

Choosing ZigBee and the new Green Power feature

enables device manufacturers to develop the most
innovative solutions that perfectly match market
expectations for solutions that are low-cost, flexible,
easy to install and use while offering maintenance-
free and green network solutions. ZigBee is a future-
proof choice because it benefits from continuous
enhancements at every level of the solution: power
management, ultra-low power micro-controllers,
radio transceivers, and network software.

2012 ZigBee Alliance. All rights reserved. 9 www.zigbee.org