Z-wave uses lower frequencies compared to something like Matter so it you can use a lower power or get more range. One competing 802 standard is 802.11ah, or WiFi HaLoW which barely exists right now but should be the best thing available.

First, there was X10. There was appetite for something better. There were several candidate replacements, including:

* UPB - Universal Powerline Bus (powerline)

* Insteon (powerline + wireless)

* Z-Wave (wireless)

* Zigbee (wireless)

Of these, Zigbee seems to be in the best position these days.

Z-Wave is/was a closed system - you had to get compatibility testing/certification in order to sell products using the tech. It's fairly lightweight, reliable, and well respected by users.