What You Need To Know About Smart Locks for Home Security

Are you already an avid owner of smart home devices and planning on your next purchase? Or are the smart features of smart locks not appealing to you, but you want to know why more and more people choose them over a traditional lock?

In this article, you will find the reasons why a smart door lock can improve your life and home security.

How Do Smart Locks Work?

You can utilize smart locks in different ways—through an app, with a key card, voice control, or a fingerprint reader. You can even find a versatile smart lock that you can manipulate in various ways. 

But whichever smart lock you own or plan to purchase, it will function according to a fundamental principle: it is electronically powered, and it functions wirelessly.

You can use smart locks for your home or apartment, as well as in bedrooms, closet doors, sliding doors, gates, and commercial doors. And although the purpose of this article is to investigate the functionalities of smart locks for home security, we should clarify that this new technology can gear even your drawers.

The Different Types of Smart Locks

Not all smart locks work the same way. Most people choose to install the smart lock as an addition to the existing deadbolt mechanism.

This way, to lock remotely, you use your smartphone app, voice commands, pin code, or whatever trigger system you prefer to use and activate the internal mechanism, manipulating the door’s deadbolt the same as you would with a physical key. 

Other than deadbolt adapters, smart locks come as a deadbolt replacement, swapping the mechanical thumb turn with a motorized one. To enable remote access, smart locks pair with your smart home network, and some recent models even have built-in Wi-Fi so that you can remote control your smart door lock.

Do Smart Locks Need Power? 

The majority of smart lock models run on batteries. This means that your door locks will function effortlessly for up to a year, depending on how often you switch them on and off and the type of batteries you use. 

However, you won’t be locked out of your house if the batteries fail unexpectedly. Most locks come with physical keys or other backup systems in case the locks run out of power.

Are Smart Locks Safe and Secure?

Home security might be the reason why so many people still feel wary of switching to an electrical door lock. And it is understandable why someone would feel threatened by or have doubts about a system that requires indirect handling.

But when it comes to comparing the electrical and the mechanical systems, is a smart lock safer than a key lock? 

The answer is yes. Lock-picking is as old as traditional locks. For that reason, nowadays, most smart locks are harder to pick compared to mechanical locks, which anyone with YouTube can learn to open without a key. Furthermore, in case you need to let someone in while you’re not home, remotely unlocking the door is a safer option than leaving a key under the front door mat.

Essentially, a mechanical door lock simply impedes a trespasser, while a smart lock connected to other smart devices and with a built-in alarm protects you. 

Can Smart Locks Get Hacked?

Considering that some smart locks connect to your smart home hub and Wi-Fi, you may wonder if someone could hack into your system and gain access to your locks.

Unfortunately, that can happen for some models of electrical locks. If security is of great concern to you, thoroughly research the features of each smart door lock before making a purchase. Verify that the locks have a security measure that can stop hacks, such as two-factor authentication, long and complex passwords, or sensitive data encryption. 

The Benefits of Switching to Electrical Locks

Besides having remote access to lock and unlock the door and check the status of your locks from a distance, a smart lock comes with multiple features that increase comfort and safety.

• Has it ever happened to you to get home, carrying numerous shopping or travel bags, with no free hand to open the door? An auto-unlock feature uses geofencing to detect if you’re getting near the house to unlock the door.  

• Forgetting if you have locked the door after leaving home can stress you enough to steal your concentration for the rest of the day. A solution is programming your locks to automatically lock after a certain amount of time after you unlocked the door. 

• Certain models of electrical locks integrate a system that notifies you whenever someone enters your house. Thus, you will know if the children arrived home in time or when the cleaning lady came in and went out.

• Other features include guest access, meaning that visitors gain temporary control of the smart lock. 

Final Notes on Installing a Smart Lock

Smart locks for home security can solve small and big problems that anyone wanting to protect their home faces daily. And while this solution can be costly, you may find that the advantages outweigh the downsides. Is home automation a subject that raises numerous questions? Book a free, no-obligation in-home consultation with us, and we’ll address your concerns.