Several of the best smart home devices are designed for your front door: video doorbells, smart locks and door sensors that can trigger a smart home routine, like turning your lights on. We’d consider making your home’s entry intelligent a multi-step process, but Masonite is hoping to change that with the first-ever, fully-integrated smart door announced during CES 2022.
In collaboration with industry-leading brands like Ring and Yale Home, the Masonite M-Pwr Smart Door promises the most connected front door possible. So rather than accumulating a bunch of individual devices and figuring out more efficient way to power each of them, the M-Pwr Smart Door provides a one-stop solution.
What makes Masonite’s smart door different from the average dumb door is a built-in power system that’s wired to your home’s electricity. That means you shouldn’t have to worry about replacing batteries, a common demand for the best smart locks, for example. And in the case your house loses power, the M-Pwr Smart Door comes with a backup battery, so you’ll always be able to secure your home.
At launch, the Masonite smart door will come with sensors, lights, a Ring Video Doorbell and a Yale smart lock. When I asked the company about supporting a broader selection of the best video doorbells and smart locks, it suggested at least some modularity to accommodate next-generation devices. I can install a new smart lock whenever I like, but replacing my entire front door to keep up with advancing smart home technology is impractical — not to mention, expensive.
The whole smart door ordeal likely won’t come cheap, either. As I’ve learned, you save thousands when you DIY your smart home, setting up a $199 video doorbell and $249 smart lock in your own time. The Masonite M-Pwr Smart Door is more of an elevated smart home solution for those who want and can afford a hands-off approach. It reminds me of something in Control4’s tier rather than something you’d see displayed at Best Buy.
And like Control4’s smart home system, the M-Pwr Smart Door requires professional installation. You’ll need an electrician to hook the door up to your home’s wiring. I learned about neutral wires and C-Wires along my own smart home adventures, but wiring a smart door is well out of my league.
Of course, one of the luxuries of a smart door is getting to customize its look for your home. The Masonite M-Pwr Smart Door is available in a variety of styles, colors and finishes, including multiple glass options.
It’s currently being deployed via building partners, so we can’t offer much information in terms of availability, but I think it’s interesting to see how conventional home elements are being adapted for the Internet of Things. Maybe integrated smart windows or smart staircases or smart cabinets will be next.
