In a previous post, I discussed digital locks. Digital locks are locks that can be opened with a keypad over a key, and are either electronic or mechanical. There are other types of non-keyed locks. Increasingly, the market is filled with smart locks. Smart locks are ones that can be operated remotely and cover a broad range of options. This consists of a few different options:
- Complete replacement – this removes the entire lock mechanism and replaces it with the completely new mechanism. There are both deadbolt and knob replacement options here.
- Retrofit deadbolt – This replaces the thumb turn of your deadbolt. The exterior appearance of the door, and the locking mechanism remain the same
- Renter Options – These options attach on top of the thumb turn of deadbolts to allow for easy removal.
There are a few different interface options as well. And some have combinations of these
- Key – Just because it is a smartlock doesn’t mean it can’t have a physical key as well
- Keypad – Not only do some models offer built in keypads, some offer it as a separate unit you can attach to the doorframe, leaving no built in lock interface
- Fingerprint – Biometric sensors
- Bluetooth – These locks usually allow you to open/close with your phone only, or have a gateway/hub that allows you to do so over a network connection. These hubs, as well as the phone app to control the lock over bluetooth are usually proprietary to the manufacturer.
- Zigbee/Z-Wave – Zigbee and Z-Wave are two established home automation wireless protocols. They both require a hub/gateway. But unlike Bluetooth, there are a variety of devices with support for one or both of these protocols.
- Matter over Thread – This is the new hot home automation standard, but the first lock supporting it was only released at CES 2024, so stay tuned. Like Zigbee and Z-Wave, it would require a hub/gateway.
- Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi smart devices are problematic, because wi-fi can be rather battery intensive and smart locks are usually battery powered. The other negative for Wi-Fi is proprietary software.
You might note that a recurring issue for bluetooth and Wi-Fi locks, which you might initially prefer because you don’t have to add a gateway or a hub to connect it to your existing devices. The problem is support. You are relying on those manufacturers and their app. It could be argued you are relying on them anyway, because they made the device, but the biggest risk of smart devices in general is, if they rely wholly on a manufacturer app or a manufacturer cloud service, that it will eventually be discontinued, making your device useless. The local control options have issues of their own. Some manufacturers don’t implement the Zigbee or Z-Wave protocol consistently, which could create some issues depending on your hub/gateway’s support. We will write a bit about these protocols and gateways in future.