Curious how your smart devices speak to each other? When you make requests of your smart home products, information is sent to them from you through wireless packets of data. This information travels essentially on highways, and there are several from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth, Zigbee to Z-Wave.

Z-Wave specifically is overseen by the Z-Wave Alliance, a group of more than 700 members which has more than 2,400 certified products — all of which follow specific protocol to make sure they speak to each other.

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GearBrain sat down with the Alliance's executive director Mitchell Klein during our most recent Facebook Live. We talked about what a wireless protocol actually is, why certifications and protocols are actually important — and what consumers should look for when they're buying smart home products.

Klein also explained how Z-Wave differs from other protocols, and some of its benefits including the security of your network and your devices. If you missed the live event, not to worry — we have the video below.

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