Tech Talks with Jeff: Wave to Open - A Touchless Solution for Everyday
Welcome to Tech Talks with Jeff! A blog where our Business Development Manager, Jeff Barret, sits down with our Marketing Coordinator, Aly, to discuss his latest findings and his opinions on recent news and developments. Like what you see? Want to know Jeff's opinion on something specific? Let us know!
Jeff is a big Wave to Open fan - he loves convenience but also sees the importance of accessibility in the built environment. Jeff is also a fan of Camden Door Controls, one of our premier partners. Jeff touts Camden for reliable, well-made Canadian products. See what Jeff has to say:
We've been talking a lot about Camden in the office recently, and in one of our recent newsletters, your staff pick was Camden Wave to Open Switches. Could you explain the benefits of the "Wave to Open" technology to me?
Definitely! I think a lot of today's buildings are multi-residential, so right off the bat, there are a lot of condos, townhouses, rentals, and things like that.
Wave to Open switches in community areas is definitely key. So, for example, in my life, I wave to open my condo door or at my office, I wave to get in and out of the car lot, I wave to open to get to the elevator. The elevators themselves are push buttons, but essentially, everything else is a wave right until I get to my apartment door.
Convenience
A favourite high-end residential application, believe it or not, is using it for garage doors or interior doors from a garage to a house. So, you pull up into the driveway, your GPRS triggers your automation to open your garage door, your lights go on, you wave your foot under your car, and your trunk opens up, but then you have to walk up to the door and physically turn the door, and ut all your groceries down to walk in. So even in a situation like that, Wave to Open is our key.
Accessibility
Also, accessibility - I think that's a huge one in today's world. It's not just about not touching things, but also the ability to make using technology to make life easier for all of us, so accessibility would be a big part of it as well.
Power Solutions
Honestly, I think solutions aside, there is not only a hard-wired version but with features like the kinetic Wave to Open, where it's the push itself that creates a kinetic charge to supply the power for that action. So it's really a self-serving, no-charge kind of device that you can install depending on the environment. But it really boils down to the operator, the strike and where you're going to put it.
But to me, health, convenience, and accessibility are the biggest reasons for it right now.
You touched on a lot there. I guess the first thing that came to my mind was whether it was more difficult to install than a standard switch.
No—short answer. Because any switch is sort of the same, it's just a touch action vs. connecting the relay, so as long as we're connecting or completing the loop, it's going to trigger the strike. So, no, essentially, it is just a switch. Just how it's triggered is different, but not having to touch a surface definitely plays a big role.
I don't know if there are fewer mechanical parts per se; from a mechanical perspective, I think all are pretty similar inside. It's literally just the application that determines how to trigger it.
Are there any other additional benefits for installers? Why would installers choose Wave to Open over a standard device?
I think I'd probably take it a step further and ask what type of Wave to Open button or push button they would add. So, what application are you using it for? We've got the column bars, which are more push buttons that work great for some situations, but I really just think it depends on the application.
What are some other good applications for the Wave to Open?
Well, I guess I would say is it's less Wave to Open a more wireless switch, so it doesn't necessarily have to be a wave to open.
Maybe the public can walk up to the door and swing their hand to open it. But let's say you had a transmitter behind your desk, so when somebody came up and knocked on the door, You could unlock the door from your desk without having to go over. It's the same action, but it's being triggered by a switch. Or it could still be a Wave to Open inside, but it would be triggered by an employee, so I think that's where the other application would come into play. Let's say you've got a jewelry store, and somebody is at the door to come in, and you've got it set so they can only come in off the street if they are buzzed in. You could absolutely put a Wave to Open behind the cash, so even if the employee had their hands full and saw someone at the door, they could wave their leg past the Wave to Open and open the door. It doesn't have to be a public access. I think those kinds of settings, warehouses, and any of that kind of stuff are really key.
Do you have anything else that you would like to add about Camden Wave to Open?
I think I would just touch on quality since I've been selling Camden products and the Wave to Opens and operators for years. Now, I'm living a condominium life myself, as are a lot of my friends, and I've noticed how many defective units are out there—I'm not going to name names—in my own building.
I've said this before: this building's not even four years old, and they're on their second failed switch at some of these exits now. So I mean two failed switches in four years - that's not good product. So, even if the solution is good, you need to make sure that the product is good. I've said this before, too: Camden is a top-quality Canadian-made company. I've been selling these Camden products for six years, and I can literally count on one hand how many times it's been a Camden defective product on a return, and that is night and day difference from a lot of operators, strikes and Wave to Open wireless switches, etc. It's just not the case with Camden, so I think that's the last piece. Don't be afraid of them. There were some issues when they first launched, especially when COVID hit, but Camden has perfected them. Now they work, and they work very well.
