Given the front door’s high level of visibility, you’d think burglars would avoid it when plying their trade, favoring a side door or window for entry. Yet, studies show that 30 to 40 percent of all break-ins occur by way of the front door.
This puts the onus on the homeowner to ensure that the front door is amply protected, not only from actual break-ins, but from any suspicious activity that might be occurring in its vicinity. Of course, there is no one device that will make it 100 percent secure, but as Mike Hackett, senior vice president of sales and marketing for security system manufacturer Qolsys notes, “By combining several devices and utilizing technology, you can create a pretty formidable line of defense.”
Here are some of the best tried-and-true ways to ensure that your front door does not become the convenient pathway to mayhem. (It should be noted that while all of these products can work as standalone devices, they can offer greater functionality and protection when hooked up to a complete home automation or security system.)
Electronic Locks (Keypad)
Few devices are more effective at securing a front door than a lock, and the electronic “smart” locks available from manufacturers like Kwikset, Yale, and Schlage fit the bill perfectly. These wireless devices combine the convenience of keyless entry with the security of a high-quality (Grade 2 or higher) deadbolt lock.
The real beauty of these locks is not only the protection they offer in securing the front door, but the information they can provide, including text alerts to your smartphone when someone disengages the lock and enters your home. Available in either a touchpad or a capacitive touchscreen version, an electronic lock can be installed in minutes with just a screwdriver, with no wiring needed (although you may want to enlist a professional when hooking it up to a home automation or security system). What’s more, they all fit standard doors (1 3/8 in.-2 in.), meaning no new screw holes need to be drilled.
Virtually every electronic door lock can be opened remotely from a smartphone when combined with a home control unit (or in the case of Kwikset’s Bluetooth-based Kevo, a “Kevo Plus” router hub). Costs can range from $199 to $499, depending on the model and functionality.
Electronic Locks (Biometric)
Some locks require biometric (fingerprint) identification. Like their keypad counterparts, they provide the convenience of keyless entry. Furthermore, they are very difficult to override. And biometric information, like fingerprints, cannot be lost, misplaced, or forgotten. It’s a minor downside, but programming in people’s individual fingerprints does take a certain amount of foresight and planning.
Here are some biometric locks worthy of consideration:
- iTouchless Bio-Matic Fingerprint Door Lock
- Biolock 426 Biometric Fingerprint Entry Door Lock
- Westinghouse RTS Lock
- NextBolt NX3 Fingerprint Deadbolt Lock
- Trinity 788 by ADEL
- Anviz
- L100KD Fingerprint Deadbolt Lock and Keypad
The price tags on these locks vary widely, ranging from as low as $152 (Trinity) to as high as $600 (Westinghouse).
Surveillance Cameras
Outdoor surveillance cameras (wireless models are easier to install than wired models) provide excellent protection against break-ins, vandalism, and other issues. Positioned to watch over the front entrance, these devices can visually capture anything and anybody approaching your home, and those images can be sent in real time to your smartphone or recorded and stored in the cloud for future playback. What’s more, the mere sight of a surveillance camera can be enough to frighten away some of the less-committed ne’er-do-wells. There are myriad types of cameras to consider, including:
- Wide-Angle Lens Cameras
- Bullet Cameras
- Dome Cameras
- Infrared/Night Vision Cameras
- Weather Resistant Cameras
- PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) Cameras
For the best view of the front door, it’s usually best to position a surveillance camera at second-floor level, or on the eaves of your home. Products from Honeywell, D-Link, Bosch, Canon, ACTi, Foscam, IC Realtime, Linksys, Panasonic, Samsung, and SmartVue are just the tip of the video surveillance iceberg when it comes to choices, with prices as low as $49 to upwards of $1,500; again, the level of functionality will dictate cost.
Motion Sensors
These marvelous devices offer a low-cost yet effective weapon in a homeowner’s security arsenal. They can be set up to trigger a doorbell when someone approaches the front door, or instantly activate a surveillance camera the second motion is detected. In fact, memory storage can be greatly conserved when a camera is controlled by a motion sensor, since the camera will not record unless it is triggered by movement.
There are two main categories of sensors: active (which emit infrared light, microwave radiation, or sound waves), and passive (which detect energy changes in the surrounding area). The vast majority of motion sensors are wireless, making them simple to install and allowing them to efficiently communicate with other home security devices.
Infrared, microwave ultrasonic, vibration, and area reflective represent the basic technologies that can be utilized by motion sensors; dual technology combines multiple technologies in one sensor, such as a camera that uses both infrared and microwave features.
SadoTech, Chamberlain, Aeon Labs, FIBARO, Honeywell, iSmartAlarm, Samsung—the list of quality motion sensors is a long one. Prices vary widely, but they are generally inexpensive, ranging from as low as $20 to around $75.
Intercoms
Intercoms were popular decades ago, and are making a comeback as they carve out a spot on the smart-home landscape. They are not only smarter than intercoms of yesteryear, but more affordable, too, ranging from $249 to just under $400. Here are a few that are worth consideration:
- Nucleus is a connected home device that lets families conduct two-way audio and video conversations in the home, between homes, or with any mobile device.
- The Adorne Wireless Video Intercom Kit from Legrand comes with an exterior video doorbell camera and an interior intercom unit that receives and displays camera images. Each interior unit can communicate with other interior units via audio.
- With the Optex iVision+ Wireless 2-Way Video Intercom, when a visitor at your door presses the backlit button on the door camera, the wireless handheld monitor chimes like a doorbell and displays video from the camera.
- The FIBARO Intercom is a Wi-Fi-enabled security and communications device offered in two models: doorbell/entry phone and indoor intercom. It provides a 180-degree, high-definition view of the area in front of the door.
- Designed to match popular lock and door hardware, ChannelVision’s :¼” solid brass Front Door Intercoms feature a weather-resistant speaker and microphone, doorbell button, and wallplate.
- The Elan Intercom can emit a chime over the same speakers used by a whole-house music system and can display video captured by the intercom on the screen of any TV.
Smart Doorbells
In simpler times, a doorbell was a gadget that emitted a ring, a tone, or even a musical chime when someone pushed it, alerting the homeowner that someone was at the front door. Smart doorbells now allow homeowners to see who is at the door, converse with them, and receive alerts on their smartphones from anywhere in the world. Some can do much more:
- Skybell features a motion sensor, letting residents receive an alert even if the visitor doesn’t press the button.
- Ring offers wide-angle HD video, smart motion detection, and cloud recording.
- The Qolsys IQ Doorbell wires into the existing chime box and can be automated to send text messages to the user and/or turn on lights and record video when the doorbell is pressed.
- Chui has the ability to recognize frequent visitors.
- i-Bell has a motion sensor, as well as an integrated battery.
Price tags on smart doorbells vary a bit, but are in the $200 neighborhood.
Peephole Viewers
Installing a peephole in your front door is a great way to see who’s knocking before you open it. But as is the case with all things related to the smart home, the unassuming peephole has gone high-tech.
In fact, peephole viewers are a rapidly growing category in the smart home. Brinno has carved out a strong leadership position, but a number of other players have emerged with products that do much more than simply let you to see out the front door. Many are equipped with digital cameras that activate when there’s a knock on the door (Peeple, for example, snaps a picture and will send it to your smartphone). Yale, meanwhile, offers a “hybrid” doorbell/peephole, the Look Real Living Digital Door Viewer, which replaces the peephole with a camera, video display, two-way audio, Wi-Fi, and home automation integration via Z-Wave or ZigBee technology.
But Wait, There’s More
Some of the other ways to round out your front-door security scheme include:
- A security system with geo-fencing capabilities. If you drive a predetermined distance away from your home and forgot to lock the front door, the security system will send you a text message.
- The Qolsys pressure mat, which when stepped on can activate any number of devices, like surveillance cameras.
- Retinal scan and voice recognition as a means of entry into a home, which is being actively explored by Honeywell and other companies.
With so much innovation happening and so many options available, ample protection of the ever-important front door is something you should take seriously. Incorporate what makes sense now, but be ready for the next “big thing.” You never know which new technology will come a-knockin’. EH
Art Sesnovich is the co-founder and principal of Bulldog Communications, a full-service public relations and advertising firm located in North Andover, Mass. His firm has represents numerous companies in the smart home and connected device markets.
Smith says
Thank you for writing this article includes comprehensive information about home security. Security cameras, motion sensor, access control etc too many choices, I personally prefer to use the Fibaro home automation system, it includes everything I need to setup a security system, also it’s easy to be customized by adding extra components and detectors.