securityI would like to install a keyless lock for the front door of my house. Does anyone have any experience with biometric or pin-code based locks? What should I look for and will I be able to install it myself?
As far as installation, if you can change a regular door lockset, you can install one (or at least the one I put in). Its as simple as unscrewing the existing lockset, remove it, put the new one, feed the wires from the outside part to the inside part and screw it back together.
I put mine on the door to the garage, because I was always having to walk around the house to find an open door when I was working outside. I went with this one. I wanted something with a lever, so it was easy to open with my hands full if it was already unlocked. It does come with the ability to use a regular key if needed. Power is provided by a 9 volt battery. One nice feature is that you can set it to relock itself after a certain amount of time.
One surprising thing I learned recently is that fingerprint scanners don't work with kids age 6 and younger. A friend of mine planned to use fingerprint scanners but had to choose pin-code instead.
Aside: Kids that young will normally not be given a conventional key, and can't remember a pin-code either. So the point of having to use pin-code instead of fingerprints is pretty lame, IMHO. Once you can trust kids with keys, the fingerprint sensor probably works too, so you could go with that from the start.
And you still need a physical, non-powered way of unlocking your home - as a last resort.
There was a sort of standard you used to see around machine rooms, building doors, etc called Cypher Locks. The thing was it only had 5 values, and the numbers could not repeat. Thus with only 3 digits used, it had so few possible values you could guess the code in under 5 minutes. Adding a fourth digit only doubled it, so that was not much help.
I have seen such locks with more of a hex pattern, where you get 0-9 and then A-F to get some more possible combinations and make the code harder to guess.
I personally prefer the type of locks WITHOUT power (for Sabbath usage, but also because I hate failure cases for powered devices, when they are important).
Hit a Home Depot (if you are in the US or Canada) and there are lots and lots of choices on the shelves.
As others have noted, you can install them with just a screwdriver, if the door already has a lock in it.
Did You think about RFID tags, I know that is not keylees, Because You have to had RFID TAG with you, But that looks to me more secure way and more unfailing, Todays RFID tags can be so small that you can carry it on many ways.
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