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Digital Locks
Digital locks, or smart locks are the perfect way to secure your home, office or holiday rental. Keyless, electronic security is now even more affordable.
What is a digital lock?
In the locksmithing and security industry, the term digital locks used to refer to locks that had a keypad, that is ‘digits’ for entering a code to open the lock. The most popular of these was the Lockwood 530 Digital Lock. You’d find these commercial-grade digital locks on everything from secure doors in airports to public gates at caravan parks. They were robust, low-maintenance and easy to change the pin code. They were, more importantly, mechanical. They didn’t require electrical wiring, batteries, or the internet.
These digital locks, while still widely used today, have little in common with the modern, biometric reading, internet connected locks that are now available. When people think of digital locks these days, they usually think of an electronic lock. An electronic lock is any lock that requires electricity, either from battery, solar power, or mains power (hard-wired).
Is there a difference between a smart lock and a digital lock?
While the modern digital lock refers primarily to a lock that relies on an electrical mechanism to lock and unlock, the features available from locks in this category are astounding. Smart locks can be considered a subset of the digital lock category, with their main feature being that they are ‘smart’. Usually this means that they can be programmed to behave in different ways, and potentially for different users.
What are ‘Smart’ lock features
Features available on smart, digital locks vary enormously between brands and models. Smart locks can control who and when can access a building and only provide access for specific hours, such as during office hours. They might also be able to identify who opened the door, keeping an audit trail of who comes and goes. Smart locks may also be remotely controlled via an app, or the internet, letting administrators control access 24/7 from anywhere in the world.
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