As far as Britain goes, we’re not the most accepting of new technology. When you look at other countries around the world, especially in East Asia, like South Korea, Japan, Taiwan etc, they take to new technology like a duck to water. Here though, we tend to be a bit sceptical of the new. Particularly the older generations. They would rather stick with what they know, than go with something different. So when the first batch of decent keyless door technology came around from Yale, I wondered if our customers were really ready for it.

Habits ruling the head

At our place we have been using the Yale Keyfree for a few years now, and I’ll be honest we don’t sell it by the bucket load. Those who look at it tend to be those who are into their gadgets, everyone else takes a passing glance and leaves it at that. The ones who do buy it though love it. I’ve had positive feedback from every customer who has bought it.

But the doors in which we sell the product hover in the low percentages. So it does make me wonder if the British public are ready, or even prepared to accept a new way of securing their door.

This sort of technology hasn’t really taken off in the residential sector over here. In part I blame the still clunky methods that they implement. But when you think about the technology, it’s been about for years and years in the car market. We don’t open our cars with keys any more, but with the push of a button. Keyless door entry in principle is the same, so why hasn’t it taken off? Habits more than anything else I presume. But that could change with MACO’s new triple offering.

Keypad, NFC or finger print

For those who went to the last FiT Show and visited the MACO stand, you may have seen their new range of keyless door entry options. I did, and it was seriously impressive.

On show was a more sophisticated keypad, a finger print sensor which unlocked the door, as well as a Near Field Communication option which would work with absolutely any device which has the same NFC capability. So instead of just one option for keyless door entry, there are now three.

Personally I liked the NFC and finger print options as I thought the keypad was a tad too small an might be a bit difficult for some people to use. On the other hand, we all have fingers, so no chance of being locked out because you forgot your key! The NFC option will be useful too as nearly everyone has a smartphone or debit/credit card with a NFC chip.

So, with these new funky options available on the market, will homeowners be more open to the idea of using something other than a key to unlock their door? Well that will depend on how well the industry communicates the advantages of these products to the homeowner, as well as how easy they are to use once they have spent a small amount of time getting used to it.

Moving forward, using a key to unlock and lock a door is archaic to me. We use automated systems in so many other products inside and outside the home. Locking and unlocking a door really should be ticked off that list by now. Are Brits ready for this technology? Right now no, in a few years time, maybe.