Are entry door systems with lock release secure?

[manw]

I am renovating my recently bought house. It currently has a entry door system with a lock release on the yale lock so that you can release the door from one of the handsets. (something like this: http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/DE901.html)

I have handsets all over the house so I opened up the entry system outside (1 screw) to make sense of all the wiring and realised that I could short circuit the power and lock wire and open the door from outside.

I would have thought that it would be more sensible if the door release circuit was not be exposed outside.

Is this how they all work?

Surely this isn't secure?

Can I improve this?

Thanks for your help!

 

[bernardgreen]

If the wires to the release mechanism are accessible from the outside then it is almost certainly NOT secure.

It isn't very secure to have a multitude of door release buttons around the house as a wiring fault could release the door.

Multiple release points as in a block of flats or similar building normally allow access to the communal area with each flat still protected by its own locked front door.

 

[OwainDIYer]

It's a problem with some systems where the handsets are wired back to the door panel.

Larger systems and those installed by local councils usually have a control box, with separate wiring to the door panel and to the door lock. The lock wiring is wholly contained within the 'secure' area.

You could rewire the system with a junction box inside so the lock wires don't go via the door panel.

The wiring diagram for that system is here and if you make the join between the lock release and the handset cable/power supply elsewhere than the door panel the system will be secure.

One lock only, on a release, is not usually considered secure when the house is unoccupied. Possibly a previous occupant was elderly or disabled and needed to open the door remotely (or you live in a mansion). If you don't need the lock release it could be removed, while retaining the talk functions.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Can I improve this?

Remove it?

Rethink the system design, and replace it with a more secure product?

In the short term you could replace the screws with security ones, which some random passing scrote would be unlikely to be able to remove.

Without wishing to pry into personal matters, is yours the sort of house likely to attract the attention of serious professionals who would plan and come equipped?

 

[skenk]

Fit a Chubb 5 lever mortise lock, or similar, to the door - you can use that when you go out (and when you go to bed, if you're worried about a break in). Door entry system can still be used to let people in when you are at home.

I recommend Chubb because some other 5-lever mortise locks have design flaws which allows them to be easily picked/defeated.

5-lever BS3621 lock is recommended for cheaper home insurance.

Regardless of how it's wired, a Yale night latch and door release is not secure.

 

[plugwash]

[quote="skenk";p="3221628"
5-lever BS3621 lock is usually required for home insurance.
[/quote]
Really? I've found insurers ask what types of lock you have but I don't recall them insisting on changes.

ultimately most domestic properties are not particually secure. Sure they could pick a cheap lock but in most cases they could also bash the door down or smash a window.

 

[flameport]

A yale type latch on it's own is not secure either - regardless of whether it has an electric release or not.

 

[skenk]

A yale type latch on it's own is not secure either - regardless of whether it has an electric release or not.

indeed

 

[sparkymarka]

BPT villa set has an internal controller for the lock release inc power supply and lock timer around £70 for a one way kit and £15 per handset

 

[EightyTwo]

Bewator (now Siemens) used to have tamper switches on the door units. These could be connected to a relay module that latched the door circuit as "locked" if the unit was ever opened up.

With the 901 unit you mention, you'd need to know which wires to link as it's not obvious from the wiring diagram how you'd get the ac supply onto the lock (unless you've got both ends of the lock cable in the door unit). You could always fit a tamper switch and connect it to an ac relay by the transformer. Run the power through the normally closed contacts of the relay and power the coil through the tamper switch, after the contacts. When the tamper switch opens, the coil will be down-powered and this will turn the whole system off. Since the tamper switch is on the "downstream" side or the relay contacts, closing it again will not re-power the relay. Of course, you'll need to fit a reset button to apply power to the coil from the psu side and get it all started again.

I wonder if Siemens still sell the module...