Electronic deadbolts and hardwired video doorbells are two of the trickiest smart home devices to install. Masonite, a company synonymous with entry doors—its NYSE stock ticker is DOOR—plans to eliminate the need for new homeowners to ever install either. The M-Pwr exterior smart door it’s displaying at CES 2022 integrates both components right into the door itself—with an assist from Yale Home and Ring respectively.
First announced in March, 2021, the M-Pwr looks very much like your everyday premium fiberglass door, and like other Masonite doors, it’s available in a variety of color and glass options. What sets the M-Pwr apart is the integration of a Ring video doorbell and a Yale smart deadbolt, along with a Yale state sensor than will inform you if the door is open or closed.
An onboard Wi-Fi adapter connects the door to your home’s network. The door is hardwired to the home’s electrical wiring, which enabled Masonite to build motion-activated LED lighting into the top and entry sides of the door frame to light your way in. The wiring eliminates the need for batteries for any aspect of the door and its components, but there is a backup battery onboard to ensure everything continues working—for up to 24 hours—during a power outage.
The bummer for DIYers is that the M-Pwr smart door will only be available in newly built homes; you won’t find a pre-hung model at your local home-improvement store, at least not anytime soon. Several prominent homebuilders partnered with Masonite to develop the M-Pwr, including northern Virginia-based Van Metre, Kentucky developer Ball Homes, and Charlotte, N.C.-based luxury homebuilder Barringer Homes. The company says it is actively seeking more builder partners.
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Author: eoswald, Freelance contributor
Ed is a technology journalist, music nut, and gadget geek who hails from the somewhat small town of Reading, Pennsylvania.
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