An apartment intercom is a communication device used in the lobby or at the front entrance of a multi-tenant building or apartment house. It provides a connection to the tenants.

The new wireless intercom allows you to contact the resident’s smartphone or standard phone to request entry into the building. The lobby intercom display provides a list of all the tenants in the building.

The old apartment intercom systems were all analog-type intercoms and required wires from the lobby to all the apartments. Each apartment contained an answering intercom module. This intercom allowed the person in the apartment to talk to the visitor in the lobby. The tenant could then press the button to open the front door. These new IP intercoms replace the old analog intercoms.

The new IP access control systems connect to the network and provide the flexibility that allows you to install a single door at a time.

These new IP access control systems include the door reader and controller that is all located at the door. The electric lock is connected to the controller.

The older access control systems used a large central controller that was located in a closet. The labor to run wires from the controller to the reader, and the electric lock was high.

Today there are several ways to control a single door. There are single-door systems that use a keypad and IP door reader-controller systems that use card credentials or your smartphone for access.

This article compares the single-door access control systems that attach to the network.