Locking Sash Windows

 In the process of updating my house I'm changing the windows back to something more suitable for the age of the house, and that is putting in sash windows.... double glazed ones, of course.

The problem with the old windows, and the new ones, was how to tell if they were locked or not. I could tell if they were open or not, but that didn't tell me if they were locked.

There is a solution for the style of lock I have on my old windows, except it wouldn't fit as my old windows were made before the standard was set for this kind of lock. My sash windows just had standard sash locks and I was not aware of anything I could use.... until Avia released their Sash Window Lock.

Ordering

Now this is a little bizarre. Avia is part of Mighton, a British company just outside Cambridge, but their current products all seem aimed at the Americas, as shown on their Avia web site. In the past, they did have a UK/EU Smart lock, but that has disappeared. This meant that, initially, I couldn't order the sash window lock, but now it is available in the UK on Amazon and I initially ordered 2 to see if it works for me.

The devices comes in 5 colours. 

Gold for Donald Trump, White, Black, Chrome and, finally, Satin Chrome.

My existing locks were white, but that was mainly because I didn't realise I could order different hardware when I ordered the windows , and so I chose Satin Chrome. Nice, but understated.

Unboxing

It comes in what seems to have become the standard Apple Style white box. When you open the lid, you see some booklets under which are the lock and the wider of the two keeps, that being the 11mm version, and the battery which you can just see on the bottom.

Initially I was a bit taken aback as to where the other, narrower, keep was and why the box was so deep - I hate over packaging! It wasn't obvious, but you can pull out the top and underneath is the narrower keep and 4 screws.

I think still over packaged, but it definitely gives a premium feel which, at the price, is definitely what they are going for.

Price.

Let's talk about that and let's start with a comparison, all in UK £'s and US$

• Avia Sash Window Lock. £43.70/$59
• Eve Door & Window. £34.95/$38
• Aqara P2 £25.34/$29.99

Whilst not strictly the same, it's the best comparison I can get.

The two main differences here are:

1. The Avia Sash Window Lock is a lock, not just a contact sensor so there are moving parts.
2. The Avia Sash Window Lock is mostly made of metal, except the black part, which contains the electronics and is made of plastic. Eve and Aqara are made of white plastic.
3. The Avia lock uses BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) whilst Eve and Aqara use Matter over Thread.

You can make up your own mind about the difference between Eve and Aqara, but I have found that Eve is more reliable than Aqara.

I'd therefore argue that the Avia device is more premium and thus the premium price. Also, I cannot find another device, even for other smart home setups, that does what this device does... which gets us to the device itself.

What does it actually do?

It shows up in HomeKit as a sensor. It is a bit more than contact sensor though. For the Sash window Lock to show closed it has to be closed AND locked.

Installation.

There's no installation instructions in the package, but there is a link in the "getting started" and one of the things it tells you to do is to download the app to which it gives a link on Avia's web site or tells you to just search for it in the App Store. Well, you try typing in Avia in the App Store and see what happens. Why couldn't they just put a QR code there? So, here is the link: 

There's also a great little installation video.

Having said that, it's mostly intuitive. I mean, after all, it is two pieces of equipment and 4 screws. One little tip is that, obviously, the battery has to go in the correct way around. Handily, Avia have put a + on the underside of the plastic housing so you know that the positive side of the battery needs to be that side around.

I thought that there would be a standard distance for the screws to be apart.... naively as it happens. There isn't.

What I did was use on of the existing holes and screwed one side of the keep down in that hole. I then used a small drill bit in a Dremel to create a hole for the other screw. Note, this drill bit needs to be smaller than the diameter of the screw as you want the screw to bight. 

Once the keep was in place, I then added the lock and locked it. Made sure the lock did not go over the edge of the window. Again, drilled holes for the screws and screwed it in place. Very simple.

One thing that I have realised, though, is that to change the battery I am going to have to unscrew the lock as the electronics housing is kept in place by the screw holes. Literally the lock housing sits over the top of the electronics housing. I am a tad concerned about the screw holes wearing out over time.

It also seemed a bit daft to me to put the HomeKit code on the bottom, but there's really nowhere else to put it unless you want to spoil the look of the device. At least Avia supplies 2 other sets of stickers in the box. I added the device to HomePass

Setup.

It looks like the only way to get firmware updates is via the app, so you do need to download it.

Once in there it is fairly intuitive.

You tap the "+" icon in the top right, select the kind of device you want, and then "Pair".

This then takes you through the standard Apple Home set up process.

There is very little you can do in the app, except change the name of the device, which room it is in and update the firmware.

The last picture above shows the two devices I've set up in Apple Home.

Above, you can see the same window before and after. I removed the Aqara P2 as it was no longer needed and, yes, that I see in the reflection :-)

Thoughts.

Basically, why isn't it Matter over Thread? Seems to me that Avia would get a much bigger market as they wouldn't be limited to Apple Home. The clue may be in the packaging. It says "Apple HomeKit" not Apple Home and I also noticed that the device has CE (EU) certification and not UKCA (UK only and one of our Brexit benefits). I then went looking on line as the box talks about IOT Breakthrough product of the year, and it was a few years ago. There was also a video from 2023 with Avia partnering with another company on this device, so it's been around for a while. I'm rather suspecting the development process on this device has taken a while and thus why the technology is a little old hat. Don't get me wrong, it works, just not what I'd have chosen if I'd been the Product Manager. For example, BLE is going to have a Mesh like Thread. Not a worry for me as every room I'll be putting these in has some kind of HomePod or tv, but it may be an issue for others. It's also rather ironic that Avia themselves espouse the benefits of Thread over BLE on their own web site.

The implication of this, for me, is that I can't add it into my Security System, which is based on my Aqara M3, because it can't see the device. However, overall, I feel more secure as I will now KNOW that my windows are locked.

Lastly, it also means that when I come to sell my house, will I be leaving these behind or taking them with me?

I do think it's a good device though, and I'll be buying more to cover all my sash windows.