Lockout Tips

In this post, we are going to review some other factors besides security for you to consider when deciding between a traditional lock or a smart lock.

Convenience

This is an area where smart locks have some advantages. The ability to let someone into your home from miles away is great, especially if you have children that tend to misplace their keys during the school day. In this day and age, people are generally never without their phones, so it’s a good way to ensure you are never locked out.

With traditional locks, if you want to grant someone access to your home while you are not in, you would have to trust them with a key, or leave on under the mat (which we strongly advise against). These can both cause security issues, as it’s an open invitation to any burglar who finds it and you trust someone not to lose the key. Having a traditional lock also means that if you lose your key or lock yourself out, whomever else has a key would need to physically come to your location to let you in.

However, a phone running out of battery, having no internet access or something disrupting the Bluetooth means that you could be locked out of a smart Lock. Most smart locks do have a key override for this reason, but you may feel this defeats the object of having a smart door lock, a physical key is never going to run out of battery or lose connection.

Smart Lock vs Traditional Lock Cost

Generally speaking, smart locks are more expensive than traditional  locks and this could be a big factor in your decision. So we will run through some general prices and what you get for your money. (This is not taking in the account the cost of hiring a locksmith to fit/replace your locks)

Depending on what door you have the cost for a new lock will change. A replacement cylinder for a door lock starts at $25 for the most basic lock. This price will change if you have a wooden door, as you will probably need a Yale lock replacement. With a Yale Lock you can just replace the cylinder and that starts at $15 and upwards, but if you needed the whole lock and back set replaced, the price starts at $35.

If you wanted high security locks then the price will jump up again.

There is no denying that smart locks are more expensive than traditiona  locks. The cheapest smart Lock out there is approximately $200. The bigger names for smart locks can run to $300-$500. You have to think whether or not the extra cost is worth it, but you get all the benefits; lock and unlock your house from anywhere, send friends and family virtual keys and receive notifications about whose entering and leaving.

Smart locks will use the same mechanisms as traditional locks, so really you are paying extra for convenience. If you wanted to pay extra for home security, you might be better off investing in an entire smart home system that includes cameras, motion detectors and an alarm system.