Technology is all about making things easier. About removing the tasks we don’t like. Those we forget about or those that take too long. It’s at its best when it solves problems in such a seamless way we’re forced to murmur things like ‘how did we ever survive without it’.
Such an elite list of technological wonderments includes the microwave and smartphone. Both indispensable time savers (although one might argue smartphones are the biggest time wasters in the wrong hands). Regardless, both would be hard to live without nowadays.
We’d like to throw smart locks into that mix. They’ve been around for a little while now and if you were to ask a homeowner who has a smartlock about them, they’ll likely murmur something like “I don’t know how we ever survived without one”. Yes, they are that useful. Let us explain why…
Never Lose Your Keys Again
We all lose keys. It’s annoying for a few reasons, like the fact you’re standing there in the pouring rain when you realise the key has gone missing. Because no-one loses keys on a sunny day. More than likely there’s a small child standing behind you. Possibly a significant other hovering over your shoulder. Both will be happy sharing their opinions on your ability to misplace things.
That missing key will annoy you too. You’ll expect it to turn up, wielded in the wrong hands and ready to wreak a revenge most foul by allowing people in to help themselves to your family heirlooms. That significant other will once again be more than happy to share their opinion of your ability to mess up. So you might even decide to change all the locks to quell the anxiety.
A smart lock does away with all this. You just reach out a finger to the fingerprint sensor, use your smartphone, an RFID Card or enter the pincode. Job done.
Prevent Lockouts
It’s the classic dressing gown scenario. The kettle is boiling, there’s bread warming in the toaster and the eggs are in the microwave (you don’t know how people survived without microwaves). You're home alone and have been looking forward to the perfect Saturday morning. All that’s missing is the newspaper, so you open the door and dash to the letterbox in your dressing gown. There’s a sickening thud behind you. That’s the door closing and the realisation it locks itself when this happens. So there you are, locked out and facing old Mrs Wimbledon across the road and the laughter of school aged children as they bike past. This is not the way you wanted the weekend to go.
If only you had a smart lock. You’d simply march back, enter the pincode and be at the kitchen table before the kettle’s whistled.
Let Friends in When You’re Away
Getting stuck is annoying enough without knowing you’ve got friends about to turn up at your place to watch the big game. You know kick off is in a few minutes and while you won’t make it, there’s no reason to make your mates suffer. Especially as they’ll make you suffer if they miss the start.
As they begin to panic and the abusive text messages stack up, you simply pull over and use your smartphone and remotely unlock the door. They’ll think you're pretty smart. Then they’ll help themselves to your food and drink and make you regret your connected gadget wizardry. It’s what friends are for.
Convenient for the Elderly
Having your grandad still be independent in his advanced years is wonderful. He’s doing well but age catches up on us all. Should the worst happen and he has a fall and is unable to get to the door, you can unlock the door remotely or share a pin code with a neighbour or the fine folk from St Johns. It’s mighty handy to know you can let people in when needed most.
You Can Forget the ‘Hidden Key’
That weird looking rock by the front door is fooling no-one. It looks so out of place there can be only one reason for it - to hide the ‘hidden’ key. And that’s the issue with the carefully hidden spare key, the hiding places normally are very obvious. It’s the equivalent of leaving car keys on top of the wheel (some people do this you know). Whatever reason you had for wanting to hide a key, with a smart lock you can forget about it. Which means you can remove that weird looking rock or plant pot with the dead plant in it.
Perfect for the Batch
The traditional family get-together over holiday season. Time for fun, laughter and the odd fight as siblings express their ‘love’ for each other. It’s entirely possible that they'll be a need for everyone to take a break from each other at some point. So, about 4 hours after everyone arrived, groups were formed. Some are off to the local bar. Some a restaurant. Others just want out. But there’s only 2 keys to share between everyone. What do you do?
One answer would be to install a smart lock at the batch so everyone can have their own pincode.
Even Better for an Airbnb
This really is one of those slick uses of technology that you’ll impress yourself. If you have an airbnb, a smart lock like the E-LOK can be used to set a pin code that’s valid for a set period. So, you can have it activated for check-in time for guests, then set it to expire after they leave. There’s no need for any keys or keycards that need to be returned. Or one of those lockboxes in the garage, or whatever else you try to make do with. Which is good given most of those lockboxes only have a single code, meaning unless you change it regularly it might just compromise the security of your sideline money-maker.
Great for Families with Kids...Especially Teenagers
There’s a lot going on in the life of the average teenager. It’s a complicated time, each day bringing some new struggle and confronting reality. It’s not all skateboarding and skittles, with pressure mounting up from friends, teachers and parents. The last thing they need is you whittling on and saying such terrible things as ‘don’t forget your keys’. Because they will. They really will. So when you finally get that night out together down at the new Italian place in town, the last thing you need is a message via the snappychatty thing, demanding you go home and open the door.
With E-LOK, they can let themselves in with their smartphone. And you can guarantee their smartphone will always be with them.
One-off Entry for Contractors
Life is hectic. When things go wrong and the dishwasher needs repairing, it’s too hard to stop everything to make sure you’re home for the contractor who says they’ll be round ‘sometime before the end of the day’. With a smart lock you simply provide a one-off code for one time entry, so they can get in and make sure the dishwasher (another piece of excellent tech - how did we ever survive without them?) is back up and running.
Auto Lock Functionality
You arrive at the big party, only to have that nagging feeling about not locking the front door when you left. You and your significant other have one of those wonderful ‘conversations’ about whose fault it is. So you drive home and check, then head back to the party, having missed the ‘that funny thing’ which will be all over social media and the talk of just about every BBQ everyone attends for the next 2 years.
With E-LOK, you can set the auto lock functionality so as soon as you close the door, it’s locked. Even if you don’t use this functionality, you can still remotely lock the door.
The best technology solves problems. It changes the way we experience life without us even knowing about it. Because it’s so seamless and becomes such a part of the daily routine we don’t even think about it. If we did, we’d likely say something like ‘I don’t know how we ever survived without it.
This is what a smart lock does. It stops you getting locked out in the rain, getting caught out in your dressing gown, lets your mates in for the big game, keeps your Grandad safe, dispenses with the hidden key, works for your holiday (and other peoples), helps moody teenagers, dishwasher repairman...and might even save you from missing the funniest thing to happen at a party in recent memory. That’s one smart lock alright.
Related Reading