For a Dublin office, apartment block or busy home, face recognition access control replaces fobs and door codes with a reader that knows who is allowed in and opens the door in well under a second. Dahua's FACT readers do this reliably for the money, provided the door hardware is right and the data protection groundwork is done before the first face is enrolled.
Access control problems usually look the same: a box of unreturned fobs, a door code that half the building knows, or a former employee who could still walk in. A face reader with a card fallback fixes all three. Here is how we approach it in Dublin buildings.
How face recognition access control works at the door
Each person's face is enrolled once, on the reader or from management software. From then on they walk up, the camera matches them against the stored list, and the reader signals the lock to release. Every entry is logged with a time, so a manager can see who came in and when.
Dahua describes its FACT range as four in one: access control, time attendance, intercom and an IP camera combined. The readers have a 4.3 inch touch screen, and the face recognition access controller in Dahua's current box has a card reader built in under the screen, so a single unit covers people who use their face and people who carry a card.
Why Dahua's FACT readers
There are plenty of brands to choose from. The Dahua units stand out on speed and on the tools around them. According to the Dahua FACT Series leaflet, recognition takes less than 0.3 seconds per person, and the readers still recognise people wearing masks, hats or glasses. They are managed through SmartPSS Lite for a single site or DSS Pro for larger estates, with the DMSS app on a phone for remote unlocking and alarm alerts. The larger models also give a Wiegand output, which lets them feed an existing third party access control panel rather than replacing it.
| Building | What face recognition access control solves | What we usually fit |
|---|---|---|
| Office of 10 to 50 staff | Shared fobs, leavers keeping access, no record of who is in | One reader at the main door, card fallback, SmartPSS Lite on a PC |
| Multi tenant office building | Different companies on different floors | Readers per entrance and lift lobby, DSS Pro for the managing agent |
| Apartment block or managed development | Constant fob replacement and copied fobs | Reader at the main entrance and the car park door, resident cards as backup |
| Clinic, salon or gym | Staff areas that must stay closed to the public | Reader on the staff door, card for part time and locum staff |
| Family home | Lost keys, children coming home from school | Reader at the side or back door, linked to the alarm and lights |
What the door needs
The reader is the visible part. What makes it work is behind the frame:
- A powered lock suited to the door: an electric strike for a timber office door, a maglock for glass, or a motorised lock for a front door.
- A request to exit button on the inside, and a release that meets fire escape rules for the building.
- A door contact so the system knows if the door is forced or propped open.
- A network cable and a backed up power supply, so the reader stays managed and the door behaves correctly in a power cut. We plan these with the rest of the building's wired and wireless systems.
- Good mounting: faces seen straight on, out of direct backlight from a glazed entrance.
In a house that is being built or gutted, run the cables now. Our security wiring checklist shows what to leave at each door.
The GDPR side, in plain terms
A face template is biometric data, and under the GDPR it is special category data. The Data Protection Commission showed how seriously it takes this when, on 12 June 2025, it fined the Department of Social Protection €550,000 over facial matching for the Public Services Card. The DPC found no valid lawful basis for collecting and keeping the biometric data, too little transparency, and gaps in the impact assessment. None of that was about the technology failing; it was about the paperwork and the reasons.
For a Dublin business putting a face reader on a door, the lessons are easy to apply:
- Write down why face recognition is needed at that door, and do a data protection impact assessment before going live.
- Give every person a non biometric choice, such as a card, with no disadvantage for using it.
- Tell staff, tenants or members exactly what is stored and for how long, and delete a template the day someone leaves.
- Keep the data on the reader or on your own server, with administrator access limited to named people.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. We build the system around your policy, and we are happy to talk it through with whoever handles data protection for you.
Fitting it into the bigger picture
Access control is rarely the only thing a client wants. In homes we often join the door reader to home automation, so arriving home after dark turns on the hall and kitchen lights, and in offices it shares the network with meeting rooms and screens. The best results come from planning it all together during a consultation and design visit.
Questions we are often asked
Is face recognition access control safe from someone holding up a photo?
The readers we fit have liveness detection, and Dahua states that its anti spoofing algorithm refuses photos and videos. We check this on site at handover.
Can it replace our existing fob system?
Often it can sit alongside it. The larger Dahua models have a Wiegand output, so they can feed an existing panel, and the built in card reader can take many existing cards. We survey first to confirm.
Does every employee have to use their face?
No, and they should not have to. A card on the same reader gives anyone who prefers it the same access.
How quickly can someone be removed?
In the management software, in a minute or two. Their face and card then stop working.
Will it record when people come and go?
Yes. Every entry is logged, which is useful for security and, if your policy allows it, for time attendance.
Thinking about face recognition access control for an office, apartment block or home in Dublin? We will survey the doors, recommend the right Dahua reader and set it up properly. Book a consultation or call Dublin on 01 906 9326.
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