Commercial access control installation
Cablify installs and wires access control for commercial doors: readers, electrified locks, door position switches, request-to-exit devices and controllers, coordinated with your door hardware supplier and fire alarm contractor.
- Readers
- OSDP or Wiegand; card, fob and mobile
- Locks
- Fail-safe or fail-secure, chosen per door
- Egress
- Release on fire alarm where code requires it
- Equipment standard
- UL 294 for access control units
What goes on one door
A controlled door is four or five devices, a power supply and a home run of cable, all of which have to agree with the door hardware.
Reader
Card, fob, PIN or mobile credential, mounted beside the door on the approach side.
Electrified lock
An electric strike, electrified lockset, exit device or magnetic lock, matched to the door, the frame and the fire rating.
Door position switch
A contact in the frame head that reports whether the door is actually closed, so a propped door raises an alarm.
Request-to-exit
A motion sensor or button on the inside that tells the system someone is leaving, so it does not log a forced door.
Controller and power
The door controller and lock power supply, mounted on the secure side, with battery backup sized for the locks.
Cable
A composite cable to each door is common. Belden’s example bundles a shielded 22 AWG 6-conductor for the reader, two 22 AWG 4-conductors for the door contact and exit device, and an 18 AWG 4-conductor for lock power.
Fail-safe or fail-secure
What a lock does when it loses power decides where it can be used. We set this per door with your hardware supplier.
| Type | With power removed | Typical doors | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fail-safe | Unlocked | Stairwell re-entry doors, magnetic locks, some perimeter doors | Needs a code-compliant release path and power backup to stay secure |
| Fail-secure | Locked from outside, free exit from inside | Offices, IT rooms, storage and fire-rated doors with electric strikes | Electric strikes on fire doors must be fail-secure |
Egress rules for locked doors
Electrified locks on exit paths fall under the life safety codes. The local building official has the final say, and the section numbers depend on the edition your city has adopted.
Sensor release
A sensor on the egress side unlocks the door as someone approaches. Loss of power unlocks it, a manual release is mounted 40 to 48 inches above the floor within 5 feet of the door, the door stays unlocked at least 30 seconds, and fire alarm or sprinkler activation unlocks it.
Delayed egress
The door releases 15 seconds after someone pushes on it, or 30 seconds where the authority having jurisdiction approves. A force of 15 pounds for up to 3 seconds starts the timer.
Door hardware release
Electrified hardware released by the door’s own lever or exit device, the most common arrangement on office doors.
The 2021 IBC numbers these 1010.2.12 for sensor release and 1010.2.13 for delayed egress.
Readers and credentials
Many older readers talk to the controller over Wiegand: one-way, unencrypted and unsupervised, with one reader per cable run of up to about 500 feet. OSDP, published as IEC 60839-11-5 in 2020, is two-way over RS-485, runs up to about 4,000 feet and can put several readers on one bus. With Secure Channel turned on, it uses AES-128 encryption.
125 kHz proximity cards can be copied with cheap tools, and the system cannot tell a copy from the original. When readers are being replaced anyway, we recommend moving to OSDP readers and a more secure credential at the same time.
| Wiegand | OSDP | |
|---|---|---|
| Direction | Reader to controller only | Two-way |
| Encryption | None | AES-128 with Secure Channel |
| Supervision | No | Yes |
| Distance | About 500 ft | About 4,000 ft |
| Readers per run | One | Several on one bus |
Several states license the companies that install access control. In Texas, for example, the Private Security Act treats a company that installs electronic access control devices as a regulated business. Licensing rules for your state are checked before the job is quoted. See low voltage cabling for examples by state, and security cameras for video at the same doors.
Common questions
What is the difference between fail-safe and fail-secure?
A fail-safe lock unlocks when power is removed. A fail-secure lock stays locked from the outside but still lets people exit from inside. Stairwell re-entry doors usually need fail-safe locks, and electric strikes on fire doors must be fail-secure.
Is OSDP better than Wiegand?
For new work, yes. OSDP is two-way, supervised, runs farther and supports AES-128 encryption with Secure Channel. Wiegand sends unencrypted data one way and cannot tell the controller if a reader is removed.
How high should a card reader be mounted?
The ADA reach range of 15 to 48 inches applies to operable parts, and door hardware goes 34 to 48 inches above the floor. Most readers are mounted so the face sits within those ranges beside the door.
Does access control have to connect to the fire alarm?
Where the code requires release on fire alarm, such as sensor-release doors on exit paths, yes. We provide the release wiring at the controller and coordinate the connection with your fire alarm contractor.
What does access control cost per door?
It depends on the lock type, the door and frame, whether the door is fire-rated, the reader and credential, the cable distance to the controller and the software licensing. We price per door from a door schedule or a walk-through.
Request an access control quote
Send the address, the number of doors and what each door is, such as main entrance, IT room or stairwell. A door schedule from the architect helps.