Onzane Access Control Devices [by Shelly]

Access control in Communities

One of the most common problems in homeowners' associations is access control. Access control typically involves controlling who can enter by opening the community's perimeter gates, the garage door, and the doors to any common areas.

Solutions to this problem have historically included technical solutions based on physical keys, proximity keys, and finally, more advanced technology through digital keys. All solutions have their advantages and disadvantages, but technological solutions based on digital keys are the ones that are most on everyone's lips lately. The use of smart locks, which can be integrated with different authentication systems and even allow remote opening or centralized control of said openings, are the devices that allow for automating door access and obtaining significant benefits from their use.

The problem with smart locks

However, like almost all technologies, until now we have relied on proprietary technological solutions from the manufacturer that provided them, making the access control system highly proprietary and difficult to integrate with third parties. As smart lock technology converges toward more open systems, it is possible to use devices from different manufacturers that can communicate with each other and allow these locks to be integrated with third-party applications. This process has been significantly accelerated in the home environment thanks to devices like Google Home and Amazon Alexa.

However, in more professional environments such as community centers or office buildings, the use of proprietary systems remains widespread, with manufacturers providing more comprehensive but equally closed solutions, which hinder the community's future growth or cause a medium-term problem when new controls or improvements are required.

Onzane's proposal

In our case, with the knowledge and direct contact we have with the Communities and their Property Managers, we find that access control to the community and the parking area continues to be extremely important and could be greatly improved in terms of both the technology used and its cost.

Until now, our Onzane application integrated with third-party access control device manufacturers, which allowed for centralized access control within the community. However, these solutions were complex to implement and sometimes too expensive for smaller communities that lack the resources to install them.

Therefore, we have been working to solve this problem, in addition to offering our communities cutting-edge technology that allows for access control, but that doesn't require proprietary technology from a manufacturer or a system that is too expensive to implement. And after a long time, we are pleased to announce that we have a solution based on open devices that use standard communication protocols and are truly affordable for the improvements they can provide to communities.

In our quest for open technology, we've integrated Shelly's relay devices with Onzane, using a communication system that uses standard, open protocols and allows us to offer all possible security measures to an access control system.

Shelly's integrated relays

Within the Shelly range, we find devices that act as relays and can be used to control the opening of a door in a community, whether it be an entrance, a garage, or a common area. A relay is an electrical device that, in conjunction with an electronic lock, allows the door to be opened by controlling the power supply.

Specifically, we have performed integration tests with Onzane on the following Shelly devices:

• Shelly 1 Gen3: is a low-cost, low-size relay that can be used to control doors with electric locks, such as those commonly found at community entrances.
• Shelly Plus 1: It is an equally low-cost and small device, which in addition to doors can be used to open motorized garage doors.
• Shelly Pro 1: It is a more professional device that allows wired communications and can also be used to turn on lights in common installations in the Communities.
• Shelly Pro 2: It is a device with two relays, which is usually used in sports courts in the Communities, where you want to control the gates and the lights at the same time.
• Shelly Pro 3: It is a device with three relays, used for more complex cases where control of three different elements is required, such as exterior doors, interior doors, lights or air conditioning systems.

Any of these devices can now be directly integrated with Onzane and with electric locks on most existing doors in today's residential communities. Our solution, which we call Onzane [by Shelly] access control devices, can be purchased directly from us or directly from the manufacturer and subsequently integrated into our application using a custom configuration that ensures maximum communication and security.

Free trial devices

We will soon be adding these solutions to our product catalog with complete specifications that can be easily viewed on our website.

And as we usually do with our own app, we provide interested communities with a free test device so they can install it in their facilities and test firsthand how its integration with the Onzane app works, allowing them to configure digital keys for residents and centrally manage community access control.

For larger communities, where highly usable and reliable systems are required, we can also conduct a customized study along with a technical and financial proposal to automate community access through the integration of the Onzane app. Simply contact us and start improving access to your community.