Keys have been with us, in one form or another, for hundreds of years, and continue to operate today as originally envisaged.

And over these hundreds of years, losing keys and losing control over keys has been a common problem we have all faced.

Well, some of the disadvantages of traditional, mechanical keys are now being overcome by security product manufacturers such as ASSA Abloy, Yale and Union (to mention just a few).

This post will introduce you to some of the new residential and light commercial electronic locking solutions now available, and run through their features operations.

Electro-Mechanical Cylinders

Electronic cylinders replace the traditional euro-profile cylinder you may have installed around your home or office.

The key and cylinder operate on two levels:

• mechanically – the key must be cut correctly to match the cylinder
• electronically – the key must have access rights to the cylinder

This additional electronic function allows easy cancellation of keys should they be mislaid or stolen – access rights are removed for the lost key, and security is maintained.

Power is provided by a small battery housed in the head of the key, and should last for approximately 20,000 uses.

Standalone (small) systems operate with programming keys to give and remove access rights, and larger systems operate through local system software or remote web based software.

For more detailed information download our brochure here.

Digital Keypads

Yale is a name many associate with locks, especially front door locks, and it may be the case that you have a traditional Yale nightlatch or similar fitted to your front entrance door.

Yale recognised that the common rim cylinder had no electronic equivalent, and so developed their Keyless Digital Lock to offer an upgrade path not requiring keys or fobs.

As shown in the picture at the top of this post, the polished chrome finish and smooth touch screen give an impression of high quality – but functions are just as important!

The Keyless Digital Lock is available with or without a new internal nightlatch, so giving you the option to retrofit in place of the existing cylinder only, or to install a complete new lockset solution.

So, how does it work?

The keypad and turn operate in place of the rim cylinder – enter your pin correctly and use the turn to open the door. Your pin code can be any number between 4 and 12 digits long, and temporary pin codes can be created for temporary visitors.

The keypad is externally rated, and the kit is powered by 4 x AA batteries (which are housed in a small box on the inside face of the door).

Union Codehandle

A stylish combination of electronic keypad and door handle for indoor use.

These lever handles can be fitted to an existing mortice lock (providing it has a latch function) to offer keyless locking and unlocking of interior doors.

Power is supplied by 2 CR3 batteries, and installation of the Codehandle does not need wires or cables.

Up to 9 user codes can be programmed, and 5 incorrect entries will block the Codehandle for 3 minutes. Locking of the handle can be either automatic or manual.

Union offer the Codehandle with or without mortice locks, but the products are handed to suit the swing of your door (i.e., hinged on the left or right).

Codehandle is an interesting proposition for domestic or light commercial use, offering simply, effective access control. Union state Codehandle has been particularly successful in schools, hospitals, care homes etc., locking private offices, store rooms and cupboards.

If any of these solutions are of interest, we’d be pleased to arrange a demonstration – demo units of CLIQ electromechanical cylinders, the Yale Keyless Digital Lock, and Union Codehandle are all available.