The business of keeping out intruders is rocketing with both high tech and traditional methods in demand.
Homebuilders are turning to the commercial sector for inspiration when it comes to providing home security. What the market is seeing is not new concepts but the adaptation of existing technology with established and - most importantly - proven products heading for the home market.

Buyers of luxury properties are driving the demand for an electronic version of security that is a deterent but also welcomes friends. At the same time larger social developments are responding to residents’ desire for a safer environment

The market is dividing into three. Video-capture driven systems which allow you to photograph who’s calling or called, digital keys that lots of people can use to access but only at appointed times and community-based solutions with emphasis on real people, though ones equipped with eyes in the back of their heads - CCTV.

Video entry

Goldcrest has installed the first of a new generation of video view and record entry phones at two of its London developments. The company sees it as a stepping stone towards higher technology. “The next step is to be able to download these images to a PC,” says Trevor Carvall, construction director for Goldcrest. “You could store as many images as you wanted, send images straight down the line to a BT Red Alert centre or to the local police station. The sky really is the limit.” The BPT Memory Monitor is available in eight- or 16-bit versions, recording up to eight or 16 images respectively, viewable on the entry phone screen. When it reaches capacity the first image simply drops out of the memory. Or take Bibury Stud in Gloucestershire, where development specialist Mullion has completed sophisticated barn conversions for 40-somethings. Incorporating a smart panel from Dallas-based AMX adapted for the UK by Quality Concepts, one of the key aspects is security. The estate has a CCTV point at the main gate, another at the front of each house. When the doorbell rings, the occupant can hit a preprogrammed key on the pc keyboard to photograph the person at the door, and view on a pc screen. Mullion offers 24 hour assistance through direct links from the panel to Southern Monitoring.
  • Sophisticated
  • Acts as a physical deterrent
  • Records actual or attempted crime
  • Expensive
  • Can seem intrusive

Electronic keys

Electronic keys add an extra level of security over and above conventional mechanical keys and locks, with systems such as Pacnet, from Pac, which is generally fitted to the common entrance to residential properties. The user holds the key about two inches away from the reader panel to unlock the door. Because there is no swiping involved, the keys do not wear out and the reader can be made inaccessible to vandals. “The reader can be put behind perspex, wood, or built into a door entry system,” says Alan Cooney, of Pac. “Because there is no contact it gives us a lot of flexibility.” If a resident loses their key they contact the concierge or building manager who programs the key out of the system. “We have different levels of sophistication,” says Cooney. “An ineligible card could set off the concierge’s alarm, or you can give limited access to, for example, tradespeople.” Meanwhile Mullion has considered digital entry to its Bibury Stud houses, but remains unconvinced. It does have digital keys for the main gates to the estate, but believes it may be another year before it has the same types of keys for the front door. Its main concern is that genuine callers like the postman may inadvertently set off alarms.
  • Cost effective
  • More sophisticated than mechanical equivalents
  • Easy to use
  • Possible loss of card
  • Possible problems for genuine callers

Concierge + CCTV

In the social housing market there has been a major swing towards using a combination of technology and the personal touch, with the return of the concierge and efforts to retain local communities. Two examples in East London are the redeveloped John Scurr House at Limehouse, Docklands (inset and opposite) and Holly Street, Hackney. “John Scurr House had a bad reputation and there was an in-built local memory of it,” recalls Newlon team leader Bashir Uddin. “We chose to employ a concierge service to help erase that collective memory and reassure residents that it had changed.” Initially that meant a 24-hour concierge, now reduced to 1 am to 1 pm, based just inside the common reception which is accessible by an electronic key system. CCTV is installed around the block, beamed back to the concierge who have panic buttons at their desk. At Holly Street Laing Partnership Housing, in conjunction with the local council and a number of housing associations, has made the community the backbone of its security measures. “We are going back to creating streets and a community feel,” says Laing project manager David Margetts. “Almost everyone who lived in the previous development will be rehoused, so people know and recognise each other.”
  • Personal touch
  • Highly visible
  • Social benefits
  • Expensive
  • Possibly authoritarian

Source

Building Homes