What is a Smart Lock?

A smart lock is one that a homeowner can operate from an app on a smartphone or iPad to unlock their front door.  Brisant Secure has created Ultion Smart, a smart lock created with security at its heart.

Is Ultion Smart right for my mum, who is 80?

Mum is still quite active, but there are many times when she is sitting on her sofa and has had a long day and really cannot be bothered to get up again.  Over the last year or so, there have been many days when she’s been quite poorly and wanted to stay in bed.  So, I have had a look at Ultion Smart, to assess what it does and whether it would be right for me to put on her front door.

How does Ultion SMART work?

Ultion SMART enables the homeowner to use an app on their smartphone or iPad to lock and unlock their front door.  For security, it uses Bluetooth and not the internet so access cannot be gained remotely. You can use the app to unlock the door from your bedroom, your sofa or your car. Amazon Alexa users can say, ‘Alexa lock the door’. Again for security reasons voice control unlocking isn’t possible. This is central for my mum feeling comfortable.  She was convinced that anyone would be able to yell through the window to Alexa and open her door.  So, we know that’s not possible, which is great news.

What makes Ultion Smart safe?

Firstly, Ultion Smart  works with a euro-cylinder lock, the super secure Ultion three star sold secure diamond lock.  This comes with a £1000 homeowner security guarantee.  It gives an Ultion key that will always work and will always over-ride the tech if desired. (Again the key over-ride is a must for mum.)

Secondly, the outside of the door doesn’t have any electronics or visible difference.    It comes with one of Brisant’s Sweet handles that are designed to look great whatever the weather, or in many cases the existing handle can remain.  From the outside, no one would know that the home was fitted with a smart lock. (Again, a must for mum.)

Thirdly, the technical features don’t use the internet.  They use an app that works within a Bluetooth range, meaning that the lock can’t be hacked.

What makes Ultion Smart, smart?

Ultion SMART is simple, it is an automated thumb turn lock.  It is fitted to the inside of the door and will lock and unlock your door in a range of different ways dependent on what you ask it to do from the app.

There is also a wireless keypad that you can attach to the outside of your property, allowing the homeowner to give access codes to individuals that one wants to enter once or as many times as you wish. (An obvious use for this would be carers or Air B&B.)

So, I think the wireless keypad will help mum and enable the lock to have longevity, if she does need support in the house down the line.

What are the key features of Ultion Smart?

Auto-lock enables the homeowner to set an amount of time after which they want the door to lock. This gives peace fo mind that the door is always locked.

Auto-unlock  enables you to be able to walk through your front door with shopping without fumbling for your key.   (Remember, if for safety the homeowner has set the auto-lock to 30 seconds and it takes you a minute to get from the car with the shopping and into the house, the door will have locked itself again!) I know that sounds simple, but its exactly the kind of thing that would befuddle both me and my mum!

Twist assist  has been created for people with arthritis or mobility issues.  A slight touch will enable the lock to automatically turn.

Again, I think this is a great feature for mum.

Of course, all of these features can be over-ridden with a key.  All the features can be turned on or off.  The auto-lock can be achieved using a voice command. It can come with or without the keypad.

Is a Smart lock right for mum?

Each homeowner will have different needs dependent on their age, mobility and interest in technology. Ultion Smart isn’t a lock of lovers of tech, Ultion Smart is a lock for everyone, old or young, technical or not. So, on balance I am putting Ultion Smart on my mum’s home.  She has her iPad ready and waiting on the sofa, she couldn’t see the phone!

Rachel upgraded her locks, the day before her neighbour had his Audi stolen

This is Rachel’s story in her own words

I am genuinely relieved that I had the Ultion locks already installed

 

I had a porch fitted in 2013 and the manufacturer standard lock was installed.  A couple of weeks ago an issue occurred with the door track that required me to call out the window supplier.  While he was here, I happened to say, “I’ve heard about anti-snap locks, are mine that sort, or can you swap them?”    The guy checked and said they were snap-able and it would be better to change them.  Two days later on Saturday morning, Craig rang me to say he had my locks and was 20 minutes away and could he pop by?  I jumped at the chance to sort it out.

Community Police tell Rachel about her neighbour’s stolen Audi

On the Sunday morning the community police came to my door, they smiled through the porch door standing there eagerly with a clipboard while I unlocked (they’re obviously used t making sure they don’t frighten old ladies 😉).

They asked if I’d heard or seen anything during the burglary next door , I was flabbergasted, I was unaware there had been a problem. They explained that the neighbours that have lived in the other half of the semi detached property for 20 years had been broken in to on the Tuesday between 12 and 8 am , while they slept, and the car keys taken to take their audi from the drive. The car was brand new 2 months ago, a present to himself from a hard earned retirement pay out after 35 years with the fire service.

I want to tell everyone about the risk of not upgrading their locks

I’ve become a little evangelical about your product (Ultion) and want to tell everyone about this risk. I’m a practice nurse and want everyone to be as safe as possible.

Rachel had Ultion Fitted on her Entrance Doors

Rachel had the three star sold secure diamond lock, Ultion, fitted on her entrance doors, which comes with a homeowner £1000 anti-snap guarantee.  The team at Brisant-Secure is delighted that Rachel is safe, that is what we are here to do.

Sell one door, add extra locks and make the homeowner #BrisantSecure

Selling a Door

When a home owner orders a new front door, they are concerned with how secure it is and what it looks like.  Paul from Oak Lodge Doors Ltd in Halesowen says, “We offer people peace of mind, doors that are safe from burglary and aesthetically pleasing.”

Matt from Oswestry Windows and Doors OWD, says, “I show people the video so they can see that a one star lock can be broken into within 9 seconds. How much is it worth to people to keep their car , their watch, their iPad’s safe?”

Secure the other doors

Once the customer has decided on their door, it is easy to offer them the additional security of putting Ultion, the three star sold secure diamond lock, on all of their other entrance doors and an Ultion padlock on their garage.  They can all be different keys or all the same, whichever the customer prefers.  The locks and keys can be with the installer the following day.

Keyed-alike – all doors work on the same key

The average home has two doors, many have a garage and a shed as well, meaning an additional three locks can be sold for every new front door.  These locks can be keyed alike to the front door and delivered in time to be fitted at the same time as the door.

As one customer said, “Our homeowners don’t want to look like prison guards, they want one key that opens all of their doors, including the shed.”

Lock Lock handles and Ultion offers 5 star protection

Paul from Oak Lodge Doors Ltd, composite door specialists in Halesowen, talks about the opportunity of using Brisant’s keyed-alike next day service.

“Changing other locks in the house is a quick thing to do, but it’s also the responsible thing to do. My company is part of our local community and we want to be sure we look after our customers.  Fitting Ultion on all doors means that our community is secure, the Lock Lock handle offers additional protection. We offer people, whom we work and live near, peace of mind.

The other day a couple came into the showroom, intruders had broken into their home and taken their car keys while they slept.  You can’t have that, you need to be sure that your possessions and family are safe and that’s what we offer people.

In addition, its quick and easy for us to do, so it gives a nice little extra on the installation.”

As Matt from Oswestry Windows and Door’s says, “It’s a very easy up-sell that is right for the customer and takes minutes to do.  We don’t get any issues and the locks are guaranteed.”

Next day keyed-alike Service

Brisant-Secure offer a next day service on keyed-alike Ultion cylinders and padlocks.  The customers home is safe, secured by Ultion with a £1000 guarantee against snapping.  It’s a quick, easy service that is needed by the homeowner and simple to offer by the installer.

Brisant is here to make your lives easier and the next day keyed alike service is part of what we do.  It’s simple. It works. It just makes sense.

This week we talk to Jason Gould, better known as Doctor Locks about how he finds using Ultion from Brisant-Secure

How long have you been a Locksmith?

I’ve been a locksmith for 17 years. I was a carpenter with the local council when I left school  but I decided one day I’d be a locksmith instead and it’s the best decision I ever made. I love working with homeowners.

How have you found selling Ultion?

ULTION is ‘fantastic’. Its the easiest product to use. Homeowners are already aware of what it is and the my customers ask if I have the Ultion lock, though many of them refer to it as the Ultron Lock. The marketing materials help, it sells itself to the homeowner.

Ultion is also good with domestic work because of the €1000 guarantee. Also, ordering extra keys is really easy, and Brisant is very easy to deal with and do what they say they’ll do.

Are there any problems with Ultion or Brisant?

The biggest problem I find is that if people lose their keys and call me to get them into their house, it’s actually very hard. Ultion is harder and harder to get through, even with all the time in the world and it makes a right mess of their doors.

What sort of burglaries are you seeing at the moment?

At the moment I see domestic properties where people’s houses are broken into through their locks being snapped. That’s 99% of the call outs to homeowners and there’s 1% where someone has been beaten up and their car keys forcibly taken off them. Quite often in burglaries, it’s the car keys that the burglars are after.

I had a funny event the other week. The police were with a lady who had been burgled and told her to upgrade her lock. They suggested a different lock to Ultion.  I said they were wrong and I didn’t get the work. A week later the policeman called and apologised and bought an Ultion lock from me. He said he’d done some research and now agreed.

What developments would you like to see from Brisant-Secure?

In terms of new developments, I’d love a smart lock. It would be especially helpful for older people, as I do a bit of work for Age Concern.

Many thanks to Jason for talking to me between jobs on Friday morning.

Do you live within 70 miles of the Sea?

Did you know that Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire is the furthest village in land in the UK?  And it is only 70 miles from the coast.  So, wherever you live in the UK, you will be no more than 70 miles from the salty sea, responsible for destroying hardware on doors.  LockLock lasted over 8000 hours in a salt sea chamber, which tests for weather protection. That’s over 33 times the necessary accreditation at 240 hours.  That is because LockLock has two layers of copper and two layers of nickel over the reinforced cast zinc.  This handle will not pit.

A New Way of Locking your Door

LockLock is a secure lock and a beautiful handle in one unit.  Bought with a key or without (the keyless version is perfect for doors that you never need to lock on the outside) an internal switch within the handle locks the door spindle.  If the spindle can’t turn, the door will not open.

Why else is LockLock special?

So why else is this handle so special?  It’s because built within it are nine unique and patented methods of protection against burglary. It’s curved design guards against it being gripped and torn off the door. It has a sacrificial spindle meaning the lever cannot be forced.  The internal lock-block stops the spindle turning if it has been attacked.  An internal security washer stops the spindle being pushed through.  It also has top strength fixings.  It has spindle grub screws so the spindle can not be pulled out of the handle.

Brisant-Secure KNOWS this handle is special, we guarantee it

LockLock is a non-handed TS007 two-star handle PAS 024.  It is the only handle to have achieved Sold Secure accreditation.  It isuitable for all door types and comes with EN1906 Grade 4 salt spray test and EN1906 Grade 7 durability.  Brisant-Secure is so proud and confident of this secure handle, the business offers a 10 year guarantee managed directly by Brisant with the home-owner.

https://www.lock-lock.co.uk

The Neighbourhood Watch that Changed Resident’s Entrance Locks

In a suburb of Edinburgh on a lovely new estate, there’s an active Neighbourhood Watch scheme.  Police and the local council inform residents at quarterly meetings about crime in their local area.  They advise on how to protect themselves.  The Neighbourhood Watch group also has a snapchat group which shares any footage of suspicious cars or attempted break-ins.  They look out for each other and look after each other.

Burglars Walk Away from Ultion

This particular estate took a very practical approach to keeping themselves safe, they all bought new locks for their exit doors.  74% of all burglaries occur by the burglar coming through the front door.  Evidence shows that the most effective action a homeowner can take is to change their locks for a three-star sold secure diamond lock.  Ultion is one of the most secure locks on the market.  We know that burglars look to see which lock is in the door and if it’s an Ultion lock, they walk away.  They know they can’t get through it.

It’s Foolish Not to Change your Locks

Alan from the Neighbourhood Watch group said,

“A couple of people on the estate had their houses broken into and their cars taken.  A colleague at work had just changed all his locks to Ultion.   When I looked into it, I agreed that Ultion was the market leader.  For what it costs and the protection it gives, it’s foolish not to change your locks.”

The Neighbourhood Watch scheme educated residents about the ease with which their houses could be burgled. The scheme educated them about lock snapping and which locks resist snapping.  The Neighbourhood Watch also explained how easy and cost effective it is to make their houses secure.

One house on the estate was burgled and the locks changed under the insurance.  The homeowner assumed, understandably, that the locks would be swapped for the most secure lock on the market.  However, as in most insurance claims they did a “like for like” swap.  These can be snapped again, giving burglars entry to the house in under ten seconds.

Now, all of these houses are secured with the Three Star Sold Secure Diamond lock, Ultion.

Neighbour Watch at its Best

Altogether, sixteen houses on the estate changed their locks to Ultion, many with the “keyed- alike” option.  This means that the homeowner can use the same key for all their doors.  Alan had a padlock as well to keep his side gate secure.

That sounds like the kind of Neighbourhood Watch that everyone would want, a whole community looking out for their family and possessions.