Installed in multi-tenant buildings worldwide, apartment buzzer systems are among the most common building entry systems. Typically seen in multifamily properties, apartment buzzers allow residents to open doors for visitors without leaving their apartments. But have you ever wondered about their buzzing sound and where it comes from? In this post, we share everything you need about that apartment buzzer sound.
Below, we explain:
What is an apartment buzzer sound?
An apartment buzzer sound is a noise created by an apartment buzzer system to either:
- Notify tenants of a visitor
- Notify visitors that the door is unlocked
The smart buzzer sound notifies tenants that they have a visitor who needs access to the building. For visitors, this sound signals that the tenant has unlocked the door.
How is an apartment buzzer sound made?
An electrical current produces apartment buzzer sounds. This current can power a traditional speaker (like what you’d find in a stereo system) or a vibration plate.
When tenants hear the buzzer sound, they hear the speaker inside the intercom substation in their apartment unit. But when visitors hear the buzzer sound, they hear noise from a piezoelectrical vibration plate installed at the building’s entrance.
Types of apartment buzzer sounds
There are two types of apartment buzzer sounds:
The apartment buzzer sound that residents hear
The apartment buzzer sound that tenants hear comes from the speaker inside the intercom system’s substation installed in their apartment unit.
When visitors need property access, they call a tenant by pushing the ‘call’ button on the intercom base station installed at the building’s entryway. This closes a circuit and sends electricity to the intercom substation, which produces a buzzing sound and notifies the resident they have a visitor.
Below, listen to the sound commonly heard by tenants when a visitor buzzes them.
The apartment buzzer sound that visitors hear
The buzzer sound that visitors hear results from applying an electrical current to piezoelectrical material installed at the building’s entrance.
When a tenant grants property access to a visitor, they push a ‘door open’ button on the intercom substation inside their apartment. This closes a circuit, sending an electrical signal to the electronic door strike at the building entrance. Closing the circuit simultaneously unlocks the door and vibrates the piezoelectrical plate, creating an auditory buzzing sound. When the visitor hears that sound, they know the door is open.
Below, listen to the sound visitors commonly hear when tenants buzz them into a building.
