Control4, Black & Decker Partner for Residential Access Control

Control4 has entered a strategic relationship to develop Black & Decker's interoperable residential access control solutions.

The solutions will be marketed under the Baldwin, Kwikset, and Weiser Lock brands.

Homeowners, through this partnership, will be able to manage and control the ZigBee radio-equipped door locks directly via the Control4 home automation platform.

This feature will allow homeowners to create events triggered by the push of a button from anywhere in the home or remotely via the Internet.

The two companies are offering a sneak-peak during the CEDIA Expo 2008 in booths 480 (Control4) and 493 (Black & Decker).

The solution attempts to solve an age-old quandary about the design of electronic security systems — they don’t incorporate the front door lock as part of the detection system.

It seems crazy, but it’s true. Residential doors are only monitored by the security system because a door contact has been installed. The homeowner still has to lock the deadbolt independently.

Will West, chief executive officer of Control4, says the collaboration is an example of the “nearly endless opportunities for all sorts of companies who want to be part of the digital home to discover and develop synergies with the Control4 platform.”

Other features include:

• Ability to automatically lock doors at a certain time each night or as part of regular occurrences
• Control4 4Sight Remote Access opens door for repairman and then locks door when job is done
• Automatically turns off lights, adjusts temperature and locks doors after a delay of a couple seconds

Black & Decker's new residential access control offerings are scheduled for introduction in summer 2009.