Do smart locks need power? How are electronic door locks powered? What happens if the smart lock battery dies? Many people will ask those questions when they are considering buying a smart lock for their home or office.

1. How are electronic door locks powered?

Batteries usually power smart locks, but it also depends on the type of power source for the smart lock you choose. These batteries supply power for many components, including wireless chips, LED lights, and motors used to lock and unlock doors. It can be divided into dry batteries and lithium batteries.

1) Dry battery

The dry battery for the smart locks can be divided into:

  • A single group of 4 AA batteries for the power supply
  • Dual Group of 4 AA batteries power supply (8 batteries, four batteries in one group, one group using, the other group backup).
  • A single group of 8 AA batteries powered.

#1. A single group of 4 AA batteries

This is the most common power supply solution for smart locks, it is stable, and the later power supply cost is almost negligible. In general, the battery life of the smart lock with 4 AA batteries can reach 6-12 months.

As the quality of smart locks in the market is different, the main board’s energy consumption also has a big difference. If the batteries of your smart lock can’t stand for 6 months, it means the smart lock design solution is unreasonable or unqualified.

#2. Dual Group 4 AA batteries

Dual Group 4 AA batteries are designed to make up for the lack of power supply in a single group of 4 AA batteries.

When the power of the first group battery is low, the system automatically starts to use the second group of batteries. A dual group of 4 AA batteries can support a smart lock working for 12-20 months.

However, this kind of smart lock battery power supply has a hidden danger of leakage! If you do not remove the exhausted battery in time, the leakage will occur and corrode the lock appearance or circuit board, causing the product to not work.

As we don’t know when the batteries will be exhausted, the leakage problem must appear in many smart locks. That’s why many smart lock manufacturers don’t take this power supply method.

#3. A single group of 8 AA batteries

A single group of 8 AA batteries is mainly used for large torque power supply solutions. It can solve the problem of a lack of power supply for the automatic lock.

However, this kind of smart lock battery power supply is not common, as far as I know, no top-brand smart lock manufacturers have such a power supply solution. Some small companies use it to replace lithium batteries.

2) Lithium battery

Some fully automatic smart locks use an external high-power motor to drive the mortise, so the power consumption is relatively large. If you use a dry battery power supply, eight batteries can’t stand for 5 months. In this case, the power supply recommends large-capacity lithium batteries or polymer batteries with a capacity of 3000mAh or more.

However, the explosion of lithium batteries is not just a patent for mobile phones, it also happens on smart door locks.

2. Suggestions for smart lock battery

From a scientific and safety perspective, a single group of 4 AA batteries is still the best power supply method for smart locks. It is low-cost, stable, universal, and easy to buy. The single group 4 AA batteries power supply is enough for most smart locks.

If you are looking for a fully automatic smart lock for your house, then try to choose the second-generation fully automatic smart lock. It has low sound, low power consumption, light, and convenience.

3. What should I do if the smart lock battery drains?

The smart locks are usually designed with three emergency unlocking methods to avoid the power-off state.

  • Emergency Power

Emergency power is support for unlocking when the smart lock battery drains. You can use the power bank to recharge the smart lock through its USB interface, and then you can open the door.

  • Mechanical Key

If the electronic part cannot be opened due to a malfunction, it supports mechanical key unlocking. The lock port is usually under the lock, use your mechanical key to open the door, just like a traditional lock. Some smart main door locks support mechanical code disc mode.

  • Low-power Alarm

The smart lock has a low-battery reminder function. When the battery power is low, there will be a sound or light to remind the user to replace the battery. The remaining battery power can be guaranteed to unlock at least 50 times, so you have enough time to buy new batteries and replace them.

4. Conclusion

Low cost, stable, universal, and easy to buy, 4 AA batteries are still the best power supply solution for smart locks. There is no need to give up peace of mind because of a power failure, the smart lock designs have solved this problem very well. Please just remember, you are safe and secure to use the smart locks, It would be a great choice to use a smart lock in your daily life.