Loxone access in a business building: what remains after two years of operation — and what we removed

When we plan Loxone access solutions for commercial customers, we now always ask the same question: "Do you already have an installation you've learned from — or are you planning this for the first time?" The answer changes the conversation, because two years of practical experience teach something no datasheet captures.

For one of our customers — a service company in Bad Reichenhall with two locations and 22 employees — we have been operating a Loxone access solution since commissioning in spring 2023. What has stayed, what we have removed, and what we would plan differently next time.

What we installed, and why

The starting position: two buildings, different usage hours, employees with different access areas, a field service with varying attendance times. The customer no longer wanted classic keys — too much hassle when employees changed, too little control over absences.

We installed four Loxone NFC Code Touch Tree units at the main entrances and a storage area, plus three Loxone Intercom modules for reception areas, and one Miniserver Gen 2 per location. Access control via NFC cards, with time-zone control: field staff have access from 6:00 to 22:00, cleaning staff only Tuesday and Friday between 17:00 and 20:00, management unrestricted.

Setup and programming took four days, of which one and a half days were for cabling.

What still runs the same way after two years

The core function — controlled access according to schedule — runs without notable outages. We had one incident: in winter 2024 a defective door closer hydraulic caused the door not to close properly into the lock. That was not a Loxone problem but a mechanical one — but it made clear that an access solution is only as good as the hardware it is coupled to.

Administration via the Loxone interface works reliably. New employee: assign NFC card, select permission profile, done. That takes less than five minutes and requires no IT knowledge.

What we removed after two years

App-based opening. Originally we had set up the option for two managers to open doors via the Loxone Home App. In practice, this was hardly used — an NFC card is faster, more reliable, and doesn't need a smartphone. We deactivated the function after 14 months because it generated support questions ("the app doesn't open the door when I have no Wi-Fi") without measurable added value.

The detailed log. At the start we had activated a detailed access log that recorded every individual door opening with timestamp, card and door. After three months no one looked at the log any more. We reduced it to weekly summaries — who was in the building on which day, without minute-level precision. That is enough for the actual use cases.

SMS notifications for unknown NFC attempts. Sounds sensible, was not in practice: too many false alarms from cards from other systems (bus tickets, credit cards) accidentally held to the terminal. Deactivated after six weeks.

What we would plan differently next time

Door sensors as standard. We now know whether a door has been opened — but not whether it has also been closed afterwards. A separate magnetic contact at every door costs 30 to 50 euros per door and provides the information missing for a complete security alarm if the door doesn't close. On the next commercial project we will build this in from the start.

A central backup access medium. If an NFC card is lost, there is an emergency card in the safe. Sounds obvious — but during the initial setup we did not define a formal process for this. We now have a checklist that also covers the emergency organisation.

Anyone planning a Loxone access solution for a commercial property will find more information on our Loxone Access page. We are happy to come on site for an assessment and initial estimate — also for existing systems that need to be reviewed or extended. Further Loxone projects from our practice illustrate the breadth of deployment options.

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