Post: Wallace Cooper

I'm leaning towards the battery backup systems. While smart locks offer convenience, I've seen too many issues with them failing during power outages, leaving homeowners locked out or vulnerable. A solid battery backup ensures essential security systems remain operational, which feels like a more fundamental layer of protection.

The article mentions that some smart locks have a backup battery or a physical key override. It's not always an either/or situation. For Chicago, where power can be unreliable during storms, having both a reliable battery backup for the whole system and a smart lock with a key backup seems like the most logical approach.