Digital door locks are door locks that don’t necessarily require physical keys or cards to open. Not all doors necessarily need to be fitted with digital door locks, they are mainly used to install security solutions for buildings that require a reliable means of access control but where the allocation of keys and cards is unrealistic due to the volumes of people entering and leaving the premises. Digital door locks are located directly next to the door, they lock and unlock doors and are activated through the use of keypads, facial recognition, fingerprint scanner, fobs, or combinations.
Types of digital door locks
Digital door locks come in two forms, mechanical or electrical form.
Mechanical door locks have push buttons that allow users to open even in the absence of power, they do not require electricity to open. In mechanical door locks one can assign master cards allowing authorized persons to set and reset codes.
Electrical door locks are similar to the mechanical door locks only that they require a power source to operate. This power could be the main electricity power or battery power. Both locks can easily be fitted to existing doors.
Type of doors which can use digital door locks
- UPVC doors
- External door
- Aluminum and glass doors
- Timber and wood doors
How to use digital door locks on fire rated doors
Fire-rated doors are doors made of thick solid timber frames and are mostly covered in fire resistance glasses. They are used to prevent fire frames and smoke between two different areas. These doors can be used in schools, hospitals, and business premises. Key less fire door locks work the same as normal key locks just that they do not necessarily use keys. The locking mechanism will rotate inward or outward depending on whether you are locking or unlocking the door. It all depends on which digital lock one is using.
Smart locks methods available in the digital lock market
Facial recognition, you will open the door by presenting your face to the camera, the scanner will recognize your face and unlock the door, this is advocated for when opening a fire door from the outside. Smoke can cover the cameras used for facial recognition making it hard for the scanner to recognize your face and open the door.
Fingerprint scanners, you place your finger the same way you unlock your phone on a digital, and when the scanner recognizes your finger the door just opens allowing easy exits or walking in through a fire door.
A fob has mechanisms that connect with the device so you just place the fob to the device and the door opens. This is the best way to open a fire rated doors for you just place the fob and the door opens.
Pin codes, Fire-rated doors with pin codes are the best open with ease for you just key in the code and the doors will open.
How to install digital door locks on fire rated doors
keyless door locks are installed the same way as the key locks. All that is needed is a tape measure and a drill, all the instructions for installing any electrical door lock device is indicated in the box of the product during purchase. Digital door locks are not installed on fire doors but can be used in any other door to improve on the security and accessibility of the door.
Benefits of digital locks.
- Accessibility.
Fire-rated doors are mainly used in places where human traffic is in the highest occurrence like offices and schools. Using digital door locks will mean the doors will open automatically with the use of codes, nobs, or facial recognition without people having to fumble looking for keys. It will reduce the strain in the flow of people in and out of the area. A Schlage FE575 lock can be used in cases of less than 19 users for it allows 19 users and comes with 10,000 user code combinations to choose from.
- Reduced cases of lost keys
Most of us have been in situations where we lose our keys or cards and it happens in the most unexpected times. imagining a case where a fire or emergency has happened and the only way to exit the area is just through the fire door and the keys happen to be lost, this would cause a total disaster which can be helped through the use of digital locks.
- Easier
it is easier to install digital door locks and also it is easier to find and use them as compared to other standard locking systems. Fire-rated doors with digital door looks are advocated for it will be easier to evacuate people during a fire emergency than it would be using other key locks.
Advantages of digital door locks as compared to keys
- Digital door locks are easy to fix for they come with instructions from the manufacturer.
- They require no additional hardware.
- Ideally suited for small budget systems.
Most common types of digital door lock in the market today
The 3 top most common digital door locks include,
- SoHo MILLY 99 keyless door lock which is the simplest form of digital door lock and can fit in the doorknob hole. It contains an energy-efficient LED light which helps to see in the dark.
- August smart lock pro. It is a small device that will unlock your door when you are close by connecting it to your Smartphone. It allows one to set virtual guest keys for your visitors and you get the remote control of locking and unlocking using your phone.
- Schlage Connect smart deadbolt -Z wave plus. This is the most rated key lock for it offers a touchpad pin code locking system with a key override in case you forget the password, with the added Z-wave plus feature one can also unlock and lock using their voice, it is also connected with Amazon Echo so one can command Alexa to lock and unlock the door for you.