3 ms·

What if you need to use your lock when the power is out?

superuser2 13y ago
Battery backups, or even locks which are primarily battery-powered - this is typical for locks that are actually part of the door, rather than strikes installed in the doorframe. Either way, the owner almost always has a key that can mechanically override the electronics and open the door, but this is kept in a safe, rarely used, and will set off the "door forced" alarm.
- gknoy 13y ago
  How does your safe help you if you are standing outside in the rain at midnight, after your generator/batteries have run down? (Perhaps you were on vacation when the power first ran out.)
  - sigkill 13y ago
    This mostly never happens. I've used fingerprint locks where the battery lasts easily for a year (that's with 5-6 accesses per day). Without getting into the discussion of the security factor of biometrics, the working mechanism of the lock itself is such that when it detects a success, a small servo engages some sort of a gear which enables you to complete the mechanical circuit (so to say) when you push the door lever down and move the physical lock with human effort. This means that the battery is never constantly used, only when the actual sensor is active. Even if it were dead, there exists a manual key override. Also, (I've tested this personally), the factor of safety is quite good in that, the lock starts beeping "LOW BAT" a good 3-4 weeks before the battery is completely drained. Also, (Another one) it doesn't leak information about low battery until there's a successful entry, so an evil attacker can sit near your house activating the sensor all day and he won't know his progress in draining the locks' battery.
  - hrktb 13y ago
    On the models I have seen you can replace the battery from the outside Edit: it seems electronic locks that come on top of the existing lock tend to have the battery pack inside, while electronic only locks can have it outside. BTW the batteries are supposed to last two years in the product description (that's in line with what I had too) I was mentionning these kind of locks: http://www.kk-alpha.com/housing/ns100/images/product_01.jpg http://www.kk-alpha.com/housing/ns100/images/product_01.jpg
clauretano 13y ago
hand crank. But seriously, build the contactless key in such a way that it must be inserted and turned like a traditional key, and the battery will last a very, very long time[0] since you're not using it to mechanically retract the deadbolt or operate an electronic strike. Then build an LED to warn when the battery is getting low, giving you months to replace it. Don't use [0] though, or you'll have a mini-USB port sitting behind a rubber flap on the non-secure side of your door. Oh wait, you don't even need that to bypass it, just a paperclip and a few seconds (there was a youtube video of this that appears to be taken down, I tried it on my own apartment). [0]http://www.kabamultihousing.com/Products-Solutions/Multihousing-Solutions/RFID/329314/insync-locks.html http://www.kabamultihousing.com/Products-Solutions/Multihous...
- Mindless2112 13y ago
  Actually, "hand crank" doesn't sound to bad: Power's out? Just crank the door knob a couple of times and you've generated enough power to open the door once. (Dunno how feasible that is though.)

Battery backups, or even locks which are primarily battery-powered - this is typical for locks that are actually part of the door, rather than strikes installed in the doorframe. Either way, the owner almost always has a key that can mechanically override the electronics and open the door, but this is kept in a safe, rarely used, and will set off the "door forced" alarm.

gknoy 13y ago
How does your safe help you if you are standing outside in the rain at midnight, after your generator/batteries have run down? (Perhaps you were on vacation when the power first ran out.)
- sigkill 13y ago
  This mostly never happens. I've used fingerprint locks where the battery lasts easily for a year (that's with 5-6 accesses per day). Without getting into the discussion of the security factor of biometrics, the working mechanism of the lock itself is such that when it detects a success, a small servo engages some sort of a gear which enables you to complete the mechanical circuit (so to say) when you push the door lever down and move the physical lock with human effort. This means that the battery is never constantly used, only when the actual sensor is active. Even if it were dead, there exists a manual key override. Also, (I've tested this personally), the factor of safety is quite good in that, the lock starts beeping "LOW BAT" a good 3-4 weeks before the battery is completely drained. Also, (Another one) it doesn't leak information about low battery until there's a successful entry, so an evil attacker can sit near your house activating the sensor all day and he won't know his progress in draining the locks' battery.
- hrktb 13y ago
  On the models I have seen you can replace the battery from the outside Edit: it seems electronic locks that come on top of the existing lock tend to have the battery pack inside, while electronic only locks can have it outside. BTW the batteries are supposed to last two years in the product description (that's in line with what I had too) I was mentionning these kind of locks: http://www.kk-alpha.com/housing/ns100/images/product_01.jpg http://www.kk-alpha.com/housing/ns100/images/product_01.jpg

clauretano 13y ago

hand crank. But seriously, build the contactless key in such a way that it must be inserted and turned like a traditional key, and the battery will last a very, very long time[0] since you're not using it to mechanically retract the deadbolt or operate an electronic strike. Then build an LED to warn when the battery is getting low, giving you months to replace it. Don't use [0] though, or you'll have a mini-USB port sitting behind a rubber flap on the non-secure side of your door. Oh wait, you don't even need that to bypass it, just a paperclip and a few seconds (there was a youtube video of this that appears to be taken down, I tried it on my own apartment). [0]http://www.kabamultihousing.com/Products-Solutions/Multihousing-Solutions/RFID/329314/insync-locks.html http://www.kabamultihousing.com/Products-Solutions/Multihous...

Mindless2112 13y ago
Actually, "hand crank" doesn't sound to bad: Power's out? Just crank the door knob a couple of times and you've generated enough power to open the door once. (Dunno how feasible that is though.)