Today there are many different types of intercoms available for residential apartments, and an understanding of each is necessary for the user to select a system that best fits their needs.
Needless to say,
intercoms are a key element in the security of residential buildings. Today there are many different types of intercoms available for residential apartments, and an understanding of each is necessary for the user to select a system that best fits their needs.
In many ways, intercoms are a critical component in the security of apartment complexes. How do you find out who is at the door downstairs without physically going there? The answer is the intercom, which allows the tenant to see or hear who is visiting.
With construction booms taking place in urban settings across the globe, demands for intercoms are rising as well. According to Markets Report World, the global intercom market is expected to register a compound annual growth of 7.92 percent between 2018 and 2025, growing from US$2.2 billion to $3.7 billion. “Fast urbanization in different economies coupled with elevated building automation is driving the adoption of door intercom systems for residential and commercial applications,” the repost said.
Intercoms have gone through various stages, from speaking tubes when they first came out to cloud-based technology where the video of the person at the door can be transmitted to the tenant’s smart device. Below are some of the intercoms available today for apartments and their pros and cons.
Analog intercom systems
According to a recent
blogpost by Kintronics, analog intercoms have wires going from the lobby panel to each apartment and are available as
two-wire and four-wire systems. In terms of their pros and cons, the former requires less wires and are thus more money-saving; however, they allows one-way communication only so the person needs to push the talk button to speak. As for four-wire systems, they allow people on both ends to talk and hear at the same time yet require more wires.
Digital intercom systems
According to the post, digital intercom systems connect intercoms using special digital protocols for example VoIP and SIP. “These systems provide much more control than the analog systems. Many intercoms are connected over the network to a single control point like a computer or apartment intercom. The central computer (or panel) can be used to select and communicate with one intercom at a time,” the post said. “The pros are that the digital intercom uses the network infrastructure to communicate from the central station to all the intercoms on the network. It can support IP video. As for the cons, it requires a separate IP camera at each intercom station to include video.”
It’s important to note that more and more, intercoms are
video-based, allowing residents and visitors to see each other on their respective panels. Demands are expected to drive the growth of the global video intercom devices market, which is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 12.8 percent from 2019 to 2025, according to Grand View Research.
Touch-screen Intercoms
According to the post, the latest lobby intercoms provide a wireless connection from the lobby intercom station to an app on your smartphone. “The lobby panel includes a camera so the person at the door can be seen as well as heard. The systems use a cloud server that directs the communication from the lobby panel to the smartphone apps. The app allows the user to see and talk to the person at the door. They can release the lock in the lobby using their smartphone,” the post said.
While the advantages are numerous, there’s one downside to touch-screen intercoms. “They require a monthly subscription fee that supports the cloud server connection,” the post said.