If you’ve recently purchased a new home, you’re probably quite anxious to protect your investment. Although cities and towns in Essex County have some of the lowest crime stats in the country, a sturdy and reliable door lock is something you should never be without.
These days, with home automation a critical component of many new houses for sale, lock manufacturers have started to take advantage of this technology to manufacture smart locks. These secure devices attach to any external door, and use wireless technologies like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to trigger the locking mechanism. This means that you don’t necessarily need a key to enter your home.
We’ll explore some of the benefits of this technology, and show you how you can use them in your home.
More Secure Than Traditional Locks
Instead of using a physical barrier like a deadbolt that can be overpowered, modern smart locks use advanced encryption technology. When you enter your code, step within range, or use a dedicated mobile app, you trigger an electronic mechanism that locks or unlocks your door. With the advanced encryption and various levels of security used by the manufacturers, it’s extremely difficult for anyone to maliciously overpower your lock.
Plus, since many of these locks are connected to a network, they can be updated at any time. Manufacturers can continue to push updates even after the lock is installed on your door. This ensures it’s using the most up-to-date security possible.
Give and Remove Home Access Any Time
One of the most convenient aspects of smart locks vs regular locks is that you can give anyone access using a code. While this code will work as soon as you set it up, you can put limits on it, and revoke access any time.
This allows you to give a limited-use code to a dog walker, or friend coming by to water your plants, ensuring they can only access your home during the set hours you’ve scheduled. If you have family or friends staying over, you can give them their own codes, and revoke access after their visit.
Track Who Entered and Exited Your Home
In addition to freely offering and removing access to your home at any time, the smart lock and the paired app can track movement in and out of the house. This gives you the peace of mind that your kids made it into the house after school, or that your pup was given their daily walk by your dog walker. It’s a great resource in the event that there’s a problem in your home. You can quickly pull up the access list, and get right to the source of the issue.
Intuitive and Invisible Safety Features
If you’re anything like us, trying not to forget our keys is a continual struggle. If you have multiple keychains- forget it! Can you even imagine what an invisible weight would be lifted off your shoulders if you didn’t have to worry about locking and unlocking your door?
Some of the best features of smart locks are invisible. For example, you can set some smart locks to immediately bolt themselves as soon as you close the door. If you’re carrying a heavy load of groceries and you’ve programmed your door to unlock as soon as your phone is within range- don’t worry about it. The door’s unlocked as soon as you hit your front step. Some locks even respond to voice commands.
Flexible Options for Unlocking and Locking- No Keys Needed!
The lock you buy will determine which locking and unlocking options are available to you. Voice command capability is one of the newest features, but it’s quickly being added to many locks made by major manufacturers. More commonly, locking and unlocking can be done via smartphone app, traditional key, key fob, or a short numerical PIN.
Last year, one company even introduced a new smart lock that had a built-in fingerprint scanner. Being able to unlock your smart lock multiple ways ensures there’s always a failsafe if your hands are full, or if you’ve left your phone at home.
Easy Installation
Gone are the days when installing a new lock meant having to call a dedicated locksmith. The new generation of smart locks have been designed so that they’re easy for homeowners to install themselves. All you’ll need are a few basic tools and a little bit of time. Plus, many of them can integrate with your existing lock, so you get the best of both worlds.
Smart Device Integration
The rise of home automation technology is one of the biggest trends shaping the real estate and housing industry today. Many manufacturers include devices like Nest smart thermostats and Ring front porch cameras in their new builds, but just because you’ve already purchased a home doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the trend.
A smart lock is a great place to start. It can be integrated with systems like Google Home and Amazon Alexa, and if you’re technologically minded, you can program rules for your devices that trigger when your door is locked or unlocked. This could be anything from turning your air conditioning off and on in the summer, to turning on lights before you need to reach for the switch.
Smart locks are a great resource for any homeowner. If you’re looking for more resources on homeownership in Essex County, make sure you keep checking out the Dan Gemus Real Estate Team blog for new and updated information every week.
