I don’t like keys. They don’t bring me any pleasure. By combining a high security lock with an electric strike and some wireless arduino trickery, I was able to rid my pocket of my spiky front door key.

I replaced the fixed strike faceplate in the door frame with a heavy duty electric strike. This device flaps open when an electric current is applied, allowing the door (still locked) to open freely. It’s set to fail-secure mode, so that if the power is cut it remains locked.

The benefit of this approach over a (overpriced, underperforming) digital lock is that if something went wrong, the lock can still be opened the old fashioned way with a normal key.

I kept the electronics on the inside of the door; from the outside it just looks like a normal lock.