Why Use Yale Digital Lock Sets? Evolution of Locks. Plus, A Special Deal!

The Yale Digital Lock Sets are beautiful and functional. The sleek and minimalist design, materials of brushed steel and black glass, blue-lit numbers having a contemporary font, all combine to project a modern and well-designed product.


Yale Digital Door Lock-YDM 3109
The Yale Digital Door Lock Collection
Smarter Solution for your home

High tech Proximity card Digital Door Lock with strong features:
Proximity card identification
Easy registration of key-cards
Missing key-card invalidation
Scramble code
Mechanical cylinder applied
Break-in damage alarm
Automatic lock mode
Electronic shock resistance
Remote control(Optional)

Technical details:
Mortise lock Type
Proximity Cards: 4 (Up to 40 cards)
Mechanical keys: 2
Pin code: 6-12 digits
Color: Silver
Outside trim dimension : 27mm X 68.6mm X 306.6mm(w/o lever)
Thickness : suitable for 40-80mm steel and wooden door.
Backset : 60mm

The most popular digital door locks use proximity cards, fingerprint sensors, number codes, or a combination of these. Some have the ability for remote unlocking or even wi-fi connection thus enabling operation even if far away. I'll share more nifty features below. And read until the end for info on special deals!

If you live in a country where digital door locks for the home are uncommon, you would have a certain distrust for this technology. "What? My metal mechanical key is reduced to that flimsy plastic card? Why, that lock must be so easy to open!". The more you study the technology and the product however, the more you will feel reassured and secure.

Digital. Electronic and Biometric Locks are Proven Technologies.
To anyone who is uncomfortable with this technology, digital and electronic locks are actually more common than we realize. In Singapore and Hong Kong, the technology has been used for decades. Many if not all high-end condominiums in Singapore use magnetic cards for perimeter access and for elevator operation. Without your card, you can't enter the gates and you can't go up to your unit! I know this personally, having lived in condominiums in Singapore for over three years, and having my son and daughter still living in Singapore. Also, by God's blessing we have been toured to over 15 condominiums to choose the condo we like, so I've seen new and well established condos, mostly around Orchard - Orange Grove Road, Anderson Road, Sommerset, Patterson, Scott's Road, and also at the Riverwalk area. And yes, electronic locks are the norm. Without electronic locks, a condo would look dated.

Most hotels around the world shifted to key cards many years ago. Indeed it would be a surprise, and a letdown to encounter a hotel that still doesn't use key cards. The key card serves many convenient and important functions for both the hotel and the guest, so progressive and modern hotels all use key cards.


Have you ever seen a modern hotel room safe that wasn't electronic? Of course not! It's just not practical. And for the home, if you realistically want to quickly store and get items from your safe, get a digital one. Else you'll end up not using it everyday, defeating the purpose. You'll spend a few thousand Pesos more (about a hundred USD) for the digital version, but it'll be worth it as you'll avoid those cumbersome "turn clockwise three times to number X, turn counter-clockwise twice to number Y, turn... oops, made a mistake, need to start over!", and so won't think twice about using it.

What year was your last car that didn't unlock with the press of a button? I can't even remember! Maybe it was before 1989? But I'm sure every new car I had since 1998 had a "remote" button. So electronic locks for cars have been used for more than a decade, and are standard today from entry-level cars to high-end German and exotic cars. Basic features aside from electronic access would be a signal when the alarm is engaged and a forced alarm.


Advanced features like in this BMW remote, enable one to open either the driver's door only or all the doors, turn on the Welcome lights, flip open the trunk, lower all the windows to let hot air out, untuck the side view mirrors, set the power seats and the power mirrors according to the saved positions of a specific remote key user, and disengage the engine electronic immobilizer. So the shift to electronics provides a platform for integrating much more functions than a traditional, purely mechanical (or analog) device, and we'll see this trend on house door locks as well.

Electronics Transforms. Biometric Locks Now Common.
What product other than the mobile phone exemplifies how electronics transform to integrate capabilities far beyond traditional uses? My Apple iPhone is also my music and podcast device that links seamlessly to my car or my Bluetooth or wired headset, my iMessage device to be in constant communication with family in other countries, my always-available and very capable camera, a computer for powerful photo editing, my complete Old And New Testament Bible and Study Bible combined, my on-the-go device for checking mail, FB, news updates, site statistics, etc., a local and global turn-by-turn navigation device thanks to Google Maps and Sygic, my outdoor GPS device thanks to GPS Kit, my hands-free assistant thanks to Siri, my reminder notepad, my calendar for organization, my handy computer for quickly reading or creating Word, Pages, Excel or Numbers files, a voice recorder, and literally hundreds of other uses.


And with the iPhone 5s with TouchID, many have become instantly and intimately acquainted with biometric locks, gaining confidence in the technology that previously was limited to leading company offices that wanted to ensure highly secure access controls. TouchID has received such wide acceptance that now people want it in a new iPad Air update.

Now that's a long story to tell about locks and electronics, but all that is simply to highlight that we should be more comfortable than we typically are in using electronic locks for our home front doors. The electronic locks are the next evolutionary stage for door access controls. Okay, I'm using that term loosely to actually say they are the next revolution for door locks. The Yale standard mechanical lock didn't reinvent itself and turn into a Yale digital lock over the course of millions and millions of years through a mindless mechanism of survival of the fittest (survival of the most salable?) Well, in fact neither is it believable that non-living matter combined and arranged themselves in such a way as to become living matter, then progressively without any intelligence, transform into plants, then transform into more and more complex living creatures. Of course naturalistic (they don't believe in God) scientists teach the evolution of molecules to man and particles to philosophers and physicists, but it's simply not borne out by operational science - testable, repeatable, observable science. You may choose to have faith in theoretical, Darwinian evolutionary teaching, but I challenge you to study the facts and come to your own conclusion. A place to start will be one of my past articles, depending on your interest:

Religion of Evolution - It Is A Faith-Based Belief System.

The Leica D-Lux 6 is out. Time to upgrade?

Petrified wood accent tables and stools for the upmarket living room.

IWC Portuguese Perpetual Calendar Double Moon, An Untraditional Review.

Roman Architecture In The Heart Of Singapore

Each of these articles gives insights for you to consider, and links for further reading.


Advanced Features of Yale Digital Door Locks.
Here are the features I like, as explained to me.
- You can use either a Pin code, or the Proximity Key Card, or both for added security. (Or fingerprints instead of cards, in the case of the Yale YDM4109, pictured on the right.)
- Convenience. It's much easier to keep a key card in your wallet then have metal keys in your bag or your pocket. Quicker to find, also!
- If batteries fail, you can use a mechanical key as back-up, or have a spare 9 volt battery in your car, and connect it via 2 poles on the exterior to still use the electronic functions. There is a low battery warning though, so you shouldn't experience this problem.
- There is an auto locking feature. Auto-locking door knobs are common, but there are no auto locking dead bolts, except these electronic ones. So you get the added security of an auto locking deadbolt.
- Anti-Panic Egress. When operated from the inside, the deadbolt will open automatically. Simple operation.
- Alarm function. An 80 dB alarm goes off when there is an attempt to damage the lock or force the door open.
- There's a remote control option, which would come in handy in certain situations, like if you manage a store and want the ability to unlock the door from a distance such as when seated at a table and a customer walks up the door.
- If a card key is lost, it can be invalidated by re-registering the other keys. Replacement card keys are relatively inexpensive at PhP 250 or USD 6. This is also good for giving temporary keys to a domestic worker that you can invalidate when needed.

Other electronic lock features.
- There are already digital locks that are internet-connected, that you can unlock from anywhere you have internet access. However, many of these locks are by companies less established in the locks industry, so personally I'd rather stay with Yale.
- Yale says they will have a feature where the lock will notify you via SMS whenever it is opened by a certain key. This will be a nice option.


- Note also that Yale has digital locks for glass doors, and those that are only deadbolts (see photo on the right).

Three Features I Hope To See in Yale Digital Locks.
- It should be simpler to invalidate a card key - one shouldn't need to re-register all the other card keys to invalidate one. It's easy to imagine how this could be inconvenient. Example, key holders 3 and 4 are out of the country. Key 2 is lost. To invalidate key 2, keys 3 and 4 also get invalidated. When key holders 3 and 4 return and key holder 1 is not around, they have no access because their keys were invalidated. I hope Yale can fix this easily via programming, even with the existing hardware.
- There should be the ability to program multiple, individual PIN numbers, and also invalidate each PIN individually. Right now, only one PIN number can be set.
- If the SMS feature is already available, it will be nice if SMS notification is also given when the alarm is triggered.
The first two suggestions are my bigger concerns, but to me these are not deal breakers. However I hope that people from Yale will recognize these areas for improvement, and quickly address them.

Good news re the Yale Digital lock.
If you're now ready to buy a Yale digital lock, then first check out their website for deals. Here is a link to Yale, then go to your region or country.
The great thing for Yale Asia is that they have a tab for Events.
In the Philippines, the Yale Digital locks are on exhibit at the Shangri-La EDSA mall until May 4, then again at the Alabang Town Center from May 16 to 25, 2014. And the super news is that they are giving a fantastic 30% discount during the exhibit! Plus 2 RF Baller waterproof rubber bracelets and 2 RF stickers that can be attached to mobile phones. These perform as card keys, so you have even greater convenience and flexibility!
So check out the Yale exhibits in your location.

What's the Price?
The YDM 3109 comes out at PhP 28,999 or USD 650. With the discount, it's a whopping reduction to PhP 20,300 or USD 450. Plus you get the freebies.
Still expensive? Yes. But if you want the added security plus the conveniences, and if you want to recreate a 5-Star Hotel-styled home, then this is something you need to seriously consider.
And what if a new and better model comes out? That's to be expected with electronics! I, as have many global Apple users, have replaced iPhones every year for the last 6 years (from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 5s). So, do what you might do with an older phone, pass it on! Perhaps transfer the digital lock to your Master's Bedroom, and put the new one on your front door! Seriously! The locks are less than half the price of an iPhone, and I expect the cycle times to be much longer, so these would be of sound value.

For comparison, a Schlage high-end mechanical front door lockset with an auto-locking feature is around PhP 20k also (USD 450). Quite pricey. There are a lot of front door lock sets that are at the range of PhP 5k to PhP 8k, but they don't have an auto-locking feature. Other digital locks are also pricey at about PhP 30k or USD 675. So the Yale models with the discounts are a great deal.
What if the exhibit is over? If you're in Metro Manila, get in touch with me (your inquiry won't be posted) and I'll connect you to a showroom with big discounts.

Have you installed a Yale Digital Lock? What is your experience? I'd really love to hear about it. Please write a comment and I'll post it.


Thanks. Stay safe and secure.

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PS. Why use door locks? We all know the reason. There are bad people out there!
Jesus said: The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). (John 10:10 AMP)
And Peter wrote: Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. (1 Peter 5:8 AMP)

We want to do our part so that we are not the ones preyed upon. At the same time, we must also remember that even with high security, we should not set our hearts on physical riches.
Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21 AMP)


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