Mega Guide to Keyless Home Entry Systems – Introduction, Buying Guide & Reviews
Introduction to Keyless Home Entry Systems
A keyless entry system is basically an electronic device that controls entry to a building or motors vehicles without using a traditional mechanical key. The term remote keyless system (RKS) has many names like keyless entry or remote central locking, means a lock that uses an electronic remote control as a key which is activated by a handheld device or automatically by proximity.
A keyless door locking system can be used both for your home and vehicle; this system is also furnished with an alarm system and also with some pin code or password.
A keyless door locking system is controlled by a remote or sometimes by sensors. The remote is an electronic small gadget that works on batteries. The electronic circuit of a keyless remote is particularly composed and that is why, remote of one keyless entry system cannot work on another keyless entry system, which is a good sign for security purpose. That is why; it can be considered as a more solid and secures locking system for your home than a key based entry system.
Why Keyless Home Entry Systems Are Needed?
Searching bags of groceries while looking for your keys is a frustration and tiring job, most of us have experienced many times. Holding a crying child in your arms or a bag full of groceries items in your arms as you struggle to get the door open only increases the problem and challenge plus doing these tasks in the dark and then you’ll finally appreciate the convenience behind home automation keyless home entry locks.
Keyless Entry Systems are responsible for increasing Personal Safety and make you capable of unlocking the door with a click from 15-20 feet away and lock it again with another click the moment you’re safely inside. With an investment of around USD$ 80-100, you can provide a security feature for you and your family that is priceless.
How To Find the Right Keyless Home Entry Product?
You may prefer doorknobs with a brass finish. You might want a standard latch or you may choose a deadbolt as well. You may even like levers instead of knobs. Whatever type of door you’re looking to automate, there is always a solution for you.
Yes, it is little difficult to choose a right keyless home entry system for your home depending upon your budget and requirements but with little bit of honest research with the help of internet, experts and friends already using keyless home entry systems, you can make a good choice about the most perfect keyless home entry system for your home.
Given below are three examples of widely available keyless entry solutions.
Electric door strikes – A door can be wired into any X-10 compatible system and remotely controlled using an electric door strike. Electric door strikes are made by companies such as Lee Electric or SECO-LARM.
Solutions start at USD $45-50 when added to an existing X-10 compatible network.
- Learn more about SECO-LARM Electric Door Strike on Amazon
- Know more about the features and specifications of Lee Electric Door Strike on Amazon
Keyless locks – Morning Industry, Inc. is a famous leader in the keyless lock industry. Solutions starts at around USD$ 150.
- INSTEON Morning Industry RF Doorknob Controller
- Morning Industry RF Remote Controlled Keyless Entry System
Remote control locks – Schlage has collaborated with Z- Wave to create a keyless home entry system called LiNK that can be opened from anywhere via a computer or web-enabled mobile phone.
Solutions start at USD$ 250 with a $9/ month subscription fee. After an introduction to keyless home entry systems, in the next section we will focus on points we should keep in our mind while choosing keyless home entry systems.
How To Choose the Best Keyless Home Entry Systems for Your Home?
There are some great keyless locks available in the markets that are technically highly developed and advanced at reasonable costs, depending on the features you require.
Let’s see the 3 most popular ones, 3 Types of Keyless Door Locks are:
Biometric fingerprint door locks are available in the market nowadays and there are various types to suit your needs.
There are keyless deadbolt locks that are more affordable, dependable and also offer keyed entry alongside the digital keypad in case you forget your code.
Keyless remote door locks are also available to homeowners. No forgetting your code and no searching for keys, just press the button on your key fob and you’re inside your home.
Which Type of Keyless Door Lock is best? While searching for the answer to this question, your main considerations should be:
- Price
- Preferred method of entry
- Style
- Level of security
- Convenience
To be honest, there are some very expensive keyed door lock sets out there that even surpass the cost of some of these other technically advanced door locks.
Baldwin is the #1 door lock set chosen by architects (per their website). They have their own line of Baldwin keyless door locks. We should always keep one thing in our mind and that is, “Information is power” when we go out to buy keyless home entry systems.
Biometric Fingerprint Door Locks use super-secret technology to take an “imprint” of user’s fingerprint ridge pattern and creates a binary number that represents certain points in the pattern and then run it against a database to determine if you are who you are saying you are.
Homeowners choose this for convenience and a higher level of strong security. Once you choose “the finger” that opens your door, you must stick with it at any cost, fingerprint door locks are a great choice for the blind but it is a very expensive choice.
Look for the following features:
- Long battery life — most use 4 AA batteries.
- A sliding cover — for protection against the weather.
- Number of users allowed for the device and finally
- Ease of installation of keyless home entry system.
Digital Deadbolt Door Locks, Digital door locks with a keypad that you enter a code, are the most popular keyless entry systems for many people nowadays.
They are very simple to operate, convenient, and give many options for additional codes at a more reasonable cost than fingerprint door locks.
Look for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) grade specification on the packaging:
Grade 3 – good
Grade 2 – better
Grade 1 – best {Grade 1 specification means that it can withstand a minimum of 10 hammer blows, successful open/close cycles for 250,000 times while projecting 1-inch into the door frame… all this without giving way}.
As we’re talking about the security of your home here, go for the best that you can afford.
Schlage and Kwikset provide some very affordable door lock sets that are Grade 1, ranging from $30 – 50… and more.
Keyless Remote Door Locks are operated from a key fob are also very popular. The Kwikset Wireless Lock is easy to install.
Whichever type of keyless door locks you buy, be prepared to spend a little extra money for a higher level of security. In the next section, we will have a look at the reviews for some keyless home entry systems.
Reviews of 3 Best Keyless Home Entry Systems
Before we start with the reviews about the best keyless home entry systems, there are some frequently asked questions you need to answer before you start shopping for a keyless home entry system.
- Do you want to operate the door using a remote control and if yes how many remotes will you need?
- Whether you want an entry system that is electric or battery-powered?
- Will you want the porch light to turn on and off when the door is unlocked and locked?
- Whether you want the keyless lock to look like a normal doorknob or are you looking for one with an added security features?
Because it’s essential that you think about above questions and they will help you in understanding your need and bring you one step closer to a good keyless home entry system.
Here are some of the good keyless home entry system according to the research done by our team (and handpicked).
LAYKOR Keyless Electronic Digital Door Lock YL-99 Review
Description about the product in brief:
This rigid design digital keyless lock requires no key to function. It looks beautiful and its aesthetic appearance is very good.
This product has a brushed nickel finish with polished trim. For durability, it is built with die-cast metal.
Key Features of the product
When the beep is producing sound, the handle will get unlocked and will return to the locked position once the beep stops.
The allocated sequence number for the master code is ‘0’ and that is why you must ensure this is the first digit of your code and the remaining may be any combination of numbers from 0-9.
For guests, Re-programmable Master code and user code facility is available.
The YL-99 electronic lock has a capacity of storing up to 10 access Codes; 1 Master code, 1 Passage code and 8 User codes.
Fits in standard door knob installation hole – Adjustable latch backset 2 3/8″ to 2 3/4″
Equipped with backup battery power adapter to use when a battery is over.
Note: Door should always be ajar when adding/changing codes.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: LAYKOR
- Weight: 2.9 pounds
- Product Dimensions: 6 inches x 3 inches x 3 inches
MiLocks DKK-02SN Electronic Touchpad Entry Keyless Door Lock, Satin Nickel Review
Description about product:
Keyless door lock, touchpad entry doorknob, so you can lock and unlock your door without using any mechanical and conventional keys.
It is a direct replacement for your standard knob without any additional wiring required making it a simple problem-free installation and less time-consuming.
Key Features of the product
- Keyless door lock with electronic touchpad keypad entry
- Add up to six user passcodes
- Adjustable latch: 2-3/8-Inch or 2-3/4-Inch
- 25 year Mechanical Warranty – one year Electrical
- Warranty – Lifetime Finish Warranty
- Direct replacement for standard door knobs
Details about product
- Manufacturer: MiLocks
- Product Dimensions: 6 inches x 5.8 inches x 6.5 inches
- Weight: 3.25 pounds
AGPtek® Digital Electronic Keyless Entry Security Door Lock Review
Description about the product:
This rigid design digital keyless lock and requires no key to function and comes in satin nickel finish with polished trim.
Key Features of the product
- Reprogrammable Master code and user code for guests.
- Pins can have from 1 to 15 digits.
- Fits in standard door knob installation hole –
- Adjustable latch backset 2 3/8″ to 2 3/4″.
- Programming of 1 master code and 9 user codes possible. Equipped with backup battery power adapter.
- Package Include: 1 x Keyless Electronic Digital Door Lock
Details about product
- Manufacturer: BrainyTrade
- Weight: 2.75 pounds
Concluding thoughts
So finally, we can conclude by saying, as we all know house is a spot where you live either alone or with relatives and obviously you cannot stay at your home constantly. Therefore you ought to lock the door before going out.
A key based door lock is currently not considered as a safety lock because it is truly conceivable to make a duplicate copy of your door lock and criminals can encroach into your home by utilizing a copy lock key. So to shield and protect your home from unauthorized access by different persons, you ought to introduce an intense and solid door locking system on your door.
Different types of keyless home entry systems are available in the market and with proper research and keeping your budget and needs in mind; you can choose the best keyless home entry system from various options available in the market depending upon their pros and cons and make your home and family safe.
