Have you ever experienced one morning when you are running late for work, yet you are on the floor, peeking beneath the couch and looking for your keys? Well, you won’t worry about your keys if you have electronic door locksin the first place.
Electronic door locks are not new. You can see them in warehouses, offices, and retail stores, and you can even find a digital lock promotion at malls or online.
But what makes electronic locks different from your ordinary locks? The first difference is the keys. Unlike manual locks, electronic door locks are powered by electricity through batteries.
Electronic door locks are not 100% keyless. Some have keys, too but only used during an emergency. And when does an emergency happen? You can unlock your HDB fire-rated door with a digital lock using the key when the battery runs out.
Keys also come in different forms in digital locks, such as RFID cards and remote devices.
Read this article to learn more about electronic door locks.
3 Primary Types Of Electronic Door Locks
Will you ever believe that you have been seeing, perhaps also using, an electronic lock every day? The most basic form of electronic door locks today is your car locks. You may need your car keys to start a vehicle, but you need a key fob to unlock the car.
Key fobs are battery-powered remotes of your car. Instead of inserting a key to unlock the vehicle, pressing the button of your fob sends a unique short-range radio signal to your vehicle’s receiver.
The digital lock you install on yourfire-rated doormay have the same mechanisms as your car lock.
Here are the most common types of digital door locks in Singapore:
1. Bluetooth-enabled digital locks
The Bluetooth digital locks are almost similar to car locks. Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that allows two devices to exchange using radio frequency.
Bluetoothelectronic door lockswork by pairing the locks to authorized devices, such as smartphones, allowing the smartphone owner to unlock the door.
Not all devices with Bluetooth technology can unlock the doors. Those only paired with the digital lock can do it. Pairing undergoes authentication and encryption for security standards.
ADVANTAGES OF BLUETOOTH LOCKS
● Low-maintenance
Compared to the other electronic door locksadvertised by an HDB main door promotion, Bluetooth locks consume less power. Hence, it requires fewer battery replacements.
● Physical keys
The main advantage of Bluetooth locks is it does not primarily use a key to unlock. However, it is possible for your paired smartphone to be stolen or missing. A spare physical key allows the owner to access the house without the paired device.
DISADVANTAGES OF BLUETOOTH LOCKS
● Short-range
You can open your Bluetoothelectronic door locks if you are within 150 feet or less distance. Beyond these spans, your Bluetooth locks cannot receive the radio frequency.
● Safer
Most electronic locks are connected to wi-fi, which is not secure at certain times. Since these locks use Bluetooth, there are no risks of hacking.
2. Keypad locks
Perhaps, you’ve seen keypad locks on vaults or office doors. What sets keypad locks from the usual locks is their 10-digit keypad, touchscreen, and analogue.
Like the Bluetooth lock, electronic keypad door locks use batteries to work. Instead of a key or your smartphone, you unlock the lock by typing the numerical code.
Some keypad locks only allow several tries to unlock thefire-rated door. Similar to your smartphone, keypad locks will be inaccessible for a certain amount of time after several incorrect code input attempts. The waiting could last ten to fifteen minutes.
The keypad locks are highly secured if you frequently change the code, use not-so-obvious codes, such as your birthdate, and do not give the code to strangers.
ADVANTAGES OF KEYPAD LOCKS
● Durability
With proper maintenance and care, your lock’s hardware could last years. They can withstand environmental changes as well.
● Temporary codes
Homeowners can give out temporary codes to guests, helpers, and other visitors. These codes expire after some time.
DISADVANTAGES OF KEYPAD LOCKS
● Forgotten codes
Children, elderlies, and drunkards may forget the codes for the electronic keypad door locks.It will be a challenge to access the home immediately.
● Stolen codes
Using weak codes, such as birth dates and wedding dates, or writing the code on paper can be a security issue.
3. RFID door locks
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) locks use radio waves to communicate with your electronic door locks receiver, similar to Bluetooth. Hotels and offices use RFID locks the most.
The only difference is that, instead of a paired electronic device, an electronic tag attached to the card or ID communicates to the lock. When the card is swiped or attached to the lock, the electronic tag activates a current that unlocks thefire-rated door.
ADVANTAGES OF RFID LOCKS
● Duplicate-proof
Unlike keys which you can produce a duplicate, cloning an RFID takes a lot of resources and time.
● Reprogrammable
Companies embed the electronic tags on their employees’ IDs which also serve as their key cards. Once the employee leaves the company, the management can delete the employee’s file, hence losing access to the electronic door locks.
DISADVANTAGES OF RFID LOCKS
● Forgotten key cards
Like keys, you can forget, misplace, and lose your key cards, which also means losing access to your home.
● Risks of hacking
RFID electronic door locksare connected to the internet. Although they are secured, there are cyberattack and security breach risks.
Conclusion
Each digital lock promotion has different mechanisms and a fair share of advantages and disadvantages. But the bottom line is it is undeniable that electronic door locks provide people with a higher level of security than traditional locks.
It is up to you to consider which of these three locks best suit your security needs, whether for residential, commercial, or corporate use. Make sure to weigh their advantages and disadvantages.
Liminal
Are you looking for top-tier electronic locks and high-grade fire rated door promotion? Get them at Liminal. Liminal provides high-quality digital locks and fire-rated doors. Visit Liminal today.
