Add Z-Wave board announcement blog (#34894)

Co-authored-by: Franck Nijhof <frenck@frenck.nl>

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+---
+layout: post
+title: "We are joining the Z-Wave Alliance Board"
+description: "We will help represent Home Assistant users and the Open Home Foundation values on this board, defining the future of Z-Wave."
+date: 2024-09-24 00:00:01
+date_formatted: "September 24, 2024"
+author: Paulus Schoutsen
+comments: true
+categories: Announcements
+og_image: /images/blog/2024-09-zwave-board/art.jpg
+---
+
+<img src='/images/blog/2024-09-zwave-board/art.jpg' style='border: 0;box-shadow: none;' alt="Paulus Schoutsen is joining the Z-Wave Alliance Board">
+
+Today there has been an important announcement, I (Paulus, founder of Home Assistant) will be taking a seat on the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors, representing Nabu Casa. This is a significant piece of recognition for the work we have put into our support of open standards, and the importance of open source projects in keeping standards successful and thriving.
+
+Being part of this board allows us to play a bigger role in shaping Z-Wave's future. As a [Standards Development Organization (SDO)](https://z-wavealliance.org/z-wave-alliance-formalizes-standards-development-organization-and-announces-founding-members/) the Alliance is shaped by its members, and they brought us in for our connection to our community and expertise in open source. We will be giving a voice to Home Assistant users, open source development, and Open Home Foundation values.
+
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+
+A tenth of households with Home Assistant are using Z-Wave today, accounting for an estimated 1.7 million Z-Wave devices. We've seen a growing interest in Z-Wave in the Home Assistant community. This is why we have been driving forward the development of the open source [Z-Wave JS](https://github.com/zwave-js) stack, while also developing our own [Z-Wave connectivity hardware](https://www.home-assistant.io/blog/2024/05/08/zwave-is-not-dead/#range-testing-our-z-wave-stick-prototype).
+
+As you might be well aware, we're very keen on open standards and are continuing to put a lot of work into supporting Zigbee, Matter, Thread, and Z-Wave. These standards are important for a number of reasons that align with our [Open Home mission](https://www.openhomefoundation.org/about/).
+
+These standards enable greater choice, giving our users access to decades of smart home devices to add to their homes. These standards are locally controlled and don't rely on the cloud, meaning when devices are connected through Home Assistant they provide privacy out-of-the-box. Finally, there are a lot of these devices already in use in our homes, along with second-hand devices ready for a new home. Keeping a standard alive, keeps these devices alive and using what already exists is always the most sustainable option.
+
+This is not the only example of our work being recognized by these standards organizations. Recently, the Thread Group selected Nabu Casa for an [Innovation Enabler Award](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thread-group_threadgroup-internetofthings-smarthome-activity-7226619123235971072-8kHn), which is only awarded to two companies a year, and recognizes the "creative potential of [our] ideas and the use of Thread technology".
+
+[We believe in Z-Wave](/blog/2024/05/08/zwave-is-not-dead/) and we will continually push it to align with the Open Home, so it can bring better choice, privacy, and sustainability to the home.