David Bolton How a Maglock Talks to Your Fire Alarm: Wiring the Release Circuit the Right Way What This Guide Covers and Who It Helps This article explains how electromagnetic locks (maglocks) must be wired to connect with a building fire alarm system. It is written for commercial electrical c... access control wiring egress compliance electrified hardware electromagnetic locks fire alarm integration Aug 22, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Mantrap Installations: How to Specify the Right Hardware for a Two-Door Security Vestibule What This Guide Covers and Who It Is For A mantrap, also called a security vestibule or airlock entry, is a controlled access passage that uses two doors in sequence to prevent tailgating and unauthor... access control commercial door hardware electrified hardware exit devices security vestibule Aug 20, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Delayed Egress Alarm Modules: What Specifiers and Facility Teams Get Wrong Before the Door Goes Live What This Article Covers -- And Who It Helps Delayed egress alarm modules are one of the most misunderstood options in the exit device world. Specifiers order the wrong configuration. Facilities teams... code compliance delayed egress electrified hardware exit devices life safety Aug 17, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton From Signal to Secured: How Emergency Lockdown Systems Actually Talk to Door Hardware What This Article Covers and Who It Helps When a building triggers a lockdown -- whether at a K-12 school, a hospital campus, or a corporate facility -- the door hardware has to respond correctly, imm... access control electrified hardware life safety lockdown integration school security Aug 16, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Electric Latch Retraction on Exit Devices: How Access Control Unlocks the Door Without Touching the Bar What This Article Covers and Who It Helps If you are specifying or installing an access-controlled opening that also requires panic hardware, electric latch retraction (ELR) is the mechanism that ties... access control electric latch retraction electrified hardware exit devices fire-rated hardware Jul 28, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Electrified Exit Device Trim: How the Outside Lever Controls Ingress Without Blocking Egress What This Article Covers and Who It Helps Electrified exit device trim is the outside lever, handle, or pull mounted on the secure side of a panic bar that is controlled by an access system rather tha... access control electrified hardware exit devices fire-rated door hardware panic hardware Jul 24, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton Electric Strike Monitoring: What the Auxiliary Switch Actually Does on an Access-Controlled Opening What This Article Covers This guide explains how auxiliary switch monitoring works on electric strikes used in commercial access control openings. If you are a security integrator, commercial contract... access control commercial security door hardware monitoring electric strikes electrified hardware Apr 23, 2026 Our Blog
David Bolton 8-Wire vs. 4-Wire Electric Hinges: Matching Circuit Count to Your Electrified Opening Before You Order Why Circuit Count Is the Decision That Happens Too Late Contractors and facility managers often select an electric hinge by size and finish, then discover at rough-in that the circuit count is wrong. ... access control commercial door hardware electric hinges electrified hardware power transfer Apr 23, 2026 Our Blog