toplock May 10, 2023An electric strike, though sometimes called an electric strike lock, is not a standalone lockset. However, it’s the necessary and convenient aid to update the conventional mechanical lockset to become electrically controlled thus able to be incorporated into the modern access control system.
An electric strike is manufactured at a relatively lower cost, easy to install, and compatible with the vast majority of mechanical bolt locks. It’s widely applied to wooden doors, metal doors, fireproof doors, community gate doors,s and so forth, so it’s well received by people who want to upgrade their access control or security systems for residential or commercial use.
Why can an electric strike fulfill this function? Let’s learn about the electric strike by the following aspects.
Electric Strike Working Principle
Electric strike utilizes the solenoid or so-called wire coil to produce electromagnetic impulse with an electric power supply, to push or pull the interior releasing the lever to control the electric strike keeper latch open or closed, so that it can keep the mechanical lock latch inside the electric strike cavity or release it to retract to the lock body.
In a word, an electric strike works as a substitute strike plate that is supplied with the original lockset to provide more controllable operations.
Electric Strike Fail Type
Since the electric strike requires electric power to perform, it has two fail types: fail safe or fail secure, which are related to life safety, specifically fire protection or emergency escape, or property security.
Fail-safe (NC-Normally Closed) is referred to the electric strike to be released or unlocked when power fails. This is especially mandatory for the fire exit and emergency exit. This fail type is preferred for most of the market demand.
Fail secure (NO-Normally Open) means the electric strike is locked when the power supply fails. This is to keep the property secure when the power is cut. For this type, an uninterruptible power supply is usually recommended to kit with it, in order to open the electric strike when the routine power supply is down.
For TOPLOCK electric strikes, some models are designed with NO/NC interchangeable.
Electric Strike Structure
Basic Electric Strike Body
This is the critical part of an electric strike, where the force and multiple functions are generated. The electric strike body usually includes the keeper latch, pushing a lever, joint hooking lever, wire coil/solenoid, and strike housing. These components establish the basic performance of an electric strike: creating an electric pulse to depress or hold the latch bolt of the mechanical lock once only per operation.
Additional Components-Hold Open Mechanism
With the basic performance mentioned above, each electric impulse lasts a short very duration, which may be bothering for busy egress, especially of public offices or buildings. Therefore, the hold-open button or similar opening mechanism is invented to release and hold the latch bolt of the mechanical lock only once on each electric pulse. In this case, unless people open the door after such an electric pulse to restore the electric strike keeper latch, the latch bolt of the mechanical lock will hold the keeper latch all the time.
Additional Components-Manual Unlocking Lever
Since the electric strike requires power to operate, it would be inconvenient when there’s a power outage. The manual unlocking lever, which is also called a manual releasing lever, can help it out. By switching the manual unlocking lever, the keeper latch of the electric strike can be released mechanically even if it’s in the locking status triggered by the electric pulse.
Additional Components-Keeper Latch Guard
A keeper latch guard is not the necessary part of an electric strike, but it can help to ease the installation if you choose to add it:
- With the keeper latch guard, you don’t need to widen the opening of the door frame because it allows enough space for the swing of the keeper latches. Without it, you need to allocate the corresponding space in the door frame to accommodate the movement of the keeper latch.
- The keeper latch guard can cover the cutout of the door frame for a neat and integral looking after the installation. Especially when you want to install the electric strike on the door frame edge, or when you want to replace the old electric strike with a larger opening. The keeper latch guard is able to cover this well.
- The keeper latch guard also somewhat protects the keep latch from tampering, compared with those electric strikes with it.
Additional Components-DC12V & DC24V Interchangeable Design
Normally the voltage of the electric strike can be DC12V, DC24V, AC12V, or AC24V. Some manufacturers can make the electric strike with both voltages interchangeable on either DC or AC, like the 17-year-old electric lock manufacturer TOPLCOK.
In the beginning, when the electric strikes were created, it was using AC voltage, which usually makes some slight buzz noise. Also, AC voltage is possible to be affected by the environment so it may be unstable. With the development of technology, DC voltage is widely used instead, supplying more stable and quiet power. Whether to use AC or DC, 12V or 24V, or conversion between the same type of voltage, mostly depends on which is available for you and what access control system the electric strike will be incorporated.
Electric Strike Faceplate
The electric strike faceplate is designed to fix the electric strike body to the door frame. It can be made in many sizes (if made with cutouts, the cutout sizes can also vary within the faceplate dimensions), different materials, and certain angles, depending on what kind of door frame and wherein the door frame the electric strike is installed.
The most common electric strike faceplates are flat, suitable to almost all door frame types with enough width to fix the electric strike in the center depth.
On the edge of the door frame, electric strikes with the angled faceplate should be adopted to fulfill the installation and offer aesthetically nice protection for the door frame. In some cases, an electric strike kit with a keeper latch guard may take the place of electric strikes with angled faceplates.
Regarding how to install an electric strike, please refer to the TOPLOCK installation guide here:
TOPLOCK Electric Strike Quality
Electric strikes are one of the most popular locking devices in the access control industry nowadays. You can find it from the majority of access control manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, retailers, etc., but you will also find the quality varies from factory to factory.
With a 17-year dedication to access control products, TOPLOCK promises their electric strikes with a SUS304 stainless steel faceplate instead of an iron plate, a double-sized copper coil in lieu of a single short aluminum coil, a metal pushing lever, a manual unlocking lever and keeper latch guard but not plastic ones, accurate CNC processing and fine deburring rather than rough treatment. TOPLOCK always gives top priority to quality in order to offer premium products to the market.
