Electric Door Locks and Magnetic Door Locks

Perhaps you have seen magnetic locks in business establishments and/or in offices at various times but have never understood the reason for using an electric door lock rather than a more conventional lock. However, once appraised of the value of an electric door lock, many of which are referred to as electric strikes, or electric door strikes, you might easily see why they could make sense for you, even in terms of your own personal security.

 One advantage of electric strikes is that you do not need keys anymore to open these locks. Electric strikes are activated or deactivated by using an electric current. Once the electric power is activated, or deactivated, the bolt inside the strike works to lock or unlock the door. The electric current can be activated by a switch or via a remote control device and may be connected to a timer or controlled by a combination or keypad.

 Magnetic locks normally only work with DC current, usually 12 to 24 volts. You almost never connect a magnetic lock to AC current. You may find a magnetic door lock that comes with an AC power supply but here the AC voltage is being converted to DC inside the lock or as part of an intercom system or a monitored security system.

 There are numerous types of coding mechanisms used to operate electric strikes, most common being the standard type security keypad. This proves to be highly convenient for different sorts of uses at homes, and especially for offices and other types of businesses. Again you often see these in conjunction with intercom systems or as part of a monitored security system.

 Electric strikes can be opened from the inside even without electricity so there are no problems with exiting the location  Magnetic door locks and electric strikes need a constant source of current to remain locked. If power goes down the lock will open. If this is a concern simply use a back-up power supply.

 Electric strikes are often used for "buzz in" access systems. These Electric strikes come in many varieties. They can be 12 or 24 or even higher voltage and they may take AC or DC current and some even take both. They may be fail safe or fail secure. A fail safe electric strike needs power to keep it locked. A fail secure electric strike stays locked even without power.

 Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of electric door locks with your security professional. Certain types of electric door locks are slowly gaining popularity with residential home builders and security professionals. While they have a long way to go relative to residential sales the growing popularity of keyless home locking may favor electric door locking technology.