Aperio wireless locks help Scottish university achieve its sustainability goals

Challenge

Founded in the early 1400s, the University of St Andrews is globally renowned and was recently ranked as the UK’s top university1. It occupies around 150 separate buildings in and around the town in Fife, Scotland. Home to the St Andrews Prize for the Environment, it has many teams and departments that have won awards for sustainability, energy efficiency and environmental action.

The University’s vision is to be net zero by 2035. St Andrews will take out all avoidable greenhouse gases it releases into the atmosphere and compensate for emissions that are unavoidable. To replace multiple different standalone access control technologies which had been installed at student halls at different times over the years, university accommodation

Requirements

∙ An energy efficient access solution to match the university’s sustainability ethos

∙ Electronic locks which would integrate fully with both the university’s central system and their student ID card

∙ The ability to manage and control the entire system, including doors in multiple buildings, from a single point and in real time

Solution

The university has installed Aperio wireless locks on around 1,693 student bedrooms. St Andrews takes its environmental footprint very seriously3: These battery-powered, wire-free electronic locks are a natural fit for their accommodation. The entire Halls of Residence estate will run Aperio. The locking devices offer significant energy efficiency benefits. Locks are wireless, so can be installed with little energy use and no need for a wired connection to mains electricity. They consume zero energy when idle and run on standard batteries, consuming little power in operation. Maintenance involves a change of battery every two years (approx.), nothing more.

Through an entire life-cycle, Aperio combines energy efficiency with cost effectiveness. Online central management has improved access for all building users. Student ID is now combined with a room entry credential, which saves issuing two cards. Staff and maintenance teams can have access rights issued or changed with a couple of clicks in the management system. The whole experience is streamlined.

1) www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-58596714

2) https://campaigns.assaabloyopeningsolutions.eu/aperio-cost-savings

3) see www.st-andrews.ac.uk/sustainability