Videx Touch Free Exit Button, Surface, Infrared, Stainless Plate SP80NT/S

Overview

An infrared exit button senses a nearby hand and switches a relay, which removes the need to touch a shared surface. It sits among the wider choice of exit buttons and door release devices, for doors where hygiene or ease of use matters.

How it works

• Sensor: the infrared sensor watches the space just in front of the black button and reacts when a hand comes within the set range.
• VR1: this control sets the relay output time, or a latching toggle ON/OFF mode where one wave turns the relay on and the next turns it off.
• VR2: this control sets how far the sensor reaches. A short reach cuts unwanted triggers from people walking past.

Where to use it

It suits any room with solid walls and no easy route for a flush box, because the surface housing sits on the wall. Outdoors it needs protection from direct rain, which means a porch or canopy rather than an open wall.

What the figures mean in practice

• IP65: an IP rating describes protection from dust and water. IP65 means dust tight and protected from water jets, and here it applies to the button with its resin potted electronics.
• Max. 1A@30Vdc: this is the most the relay can switch. As a rule, a lock drawing more current needs an interposing relay, so check the lock's documentation.
• 25mA in standby: this small draw adds little to a shared supply, but count it when sizing a power supply with the lock on the same circuit.

Installing it

Set the range first, then the time, with the door and lock working. Walk past it to check that it does not trigger on its own, and shorten the range if it does.

A fail safe lock releases when power stops, and a maglock is the usual example, while an electric strike may work either way round. Use the NC or NO contact to suit the lock.

This button is not an emergency release. On an escape route, the door usually needs a separate release route, so speak to whoever holds the fire strategy. The access control guide and magnetic lock guide explain why.