A digital lock has been available for some time in the lock business – basically, any kind of lock that is operated without a key. There are a
number of different digital technologies gaining popularity and hybrid options that include a key as a backup. What is newer with digital locks is that they are extending from the business field – perhaps you’ve encountered a company with a door lock operated by a 4-digit combination entered right on the door – to the home market.
Get a Digital Lock for the Front Door
- Push button door locks. These have combinations that can be reset directly on the door handle. Instead of a key to open the deadbolt lock that protects the home, the correct combination of numbers opens the deadlock instead.
- Remote signal locks. These are similar to the keyless entry systems for vehicles in which a receiver is built into the door and an electronic signal from a base remote sends a signal to open the deadbolt or other lock. This digital lock employs a similar technology to one that apartments and businesses have used for years – in which a visitor can be buzzed inside.
- Biometric fingerprint locks. Again, this is a technology that has been used at some businesses for some time. Fingerprints can be stored by the biometric system. When one of the fingerprints in the system’s memory is registered on the pad at the front door, the lock is automatically opened.
Why Use a Digital Lock?
- You can’t lose your fingerprint. Some people have a way of losing just about anything that’s put into their pocket or purse. Constantly rekeying or changing locks is time-consuming, costly and frustrating. With keys removed from the equation, there’s nothing to lose or misplace. Perhaps a digital lock possibility such as the push-button combination is risky for some because it requires remembering a small series of numbers, and it’s possible to misplace the base that’s needed to open remote signal locks. But all anyone needs is a finger to open a biometric lock.
- Many features available. For example, the push button lock can be set up so that anyone who tries the combination four times without success sets off an alarm or is locked out from another attempt for the next 5 minutes. That’s to discourage burglars trying a variety of combinations to get inside. You can include the fingerprint of a repair person and then remove that from the memory of a biometric system, or only allow a home worker access by their fingerprint during the hours of the day they are scheduled to arrive and leave.
- Helpful for the disabled. Remote access locks work well with a person in a wheelchair who engages a remote base to get a certain period of time to enter through the door or a gate protecting the perimeter of a home. This digital lock can be programmed based on the time it takes someone using a wheelchair, walker or other aids to get inside the door.