Get unnecessary materials out of our buildings!

The next step in sustainability

In the Climate Agreement, it was agreed that greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030. By 2050, the Netherlands must even run entirely on renewable energy. "In new construction projects, a natural gas connection is now prohibited, and existing buildings are also increasingly switching to renewable energy sources," says Boudewijn Damler, director of sales & marketing at Intratone. "The next step in our opinion is to also remove the cabling and indoor stations for the access control and intercom systems from our buildings. Because this, too, provides significant savings."

Moving towards a sustainable and circular construction and installation sector, Intratone is fully committed to themes of sustainability, flexibility and reduction of materials. "Distinctive about our access control and intercom systems is the use of the cell phone network, which allows significant savings on cabling," Damler said. "Spread throughout Europe, more than 2 million homes are already using our solutions. With this, we have already saved about 40,000 kilometers of cabling, which is roughly equivalent to the distance from the North Pole to the South Pole and back again!" By replacing the indoor stations with residents' own smartphones, these savings go even further. "Assuming about 200 grams of plastic, 300 grams of electronics and 20 meters of cable per indoor station, we also avoided about 900 tons of potential waste. A weight comparable to two Boeing 747s filled to the brim. An enormous gain in investment costs and sustainability. Because what you don't use, you don't have to assemble, produce and use as raw materials. Now that we are increasingly going up in height with our homes, the choice of a sustainable access control and intercom system is almost a necessity."

European production

Intratone is a brand of Cogelec and originated in France. "We combine the knowledge of the Dutch market with the clout and know-how of a European organization," Damler said. "Our access control and intercom systems are still manufactured in France. Instead of costly and long transports from China (and associated CO₂-emissions) so customers invariably benefit from local production and supply of materials."

Remote mutation and key management

With Intratone's access control and intercom systems, residents no longer need physical keys, he says. "Interesting in the context of sustainability and CO₂-reduction is also that building managers no longer have to get into their cars for every (small) change. Thanks to our secure online management portal, mutation and key management can be carried out remotely very easily. Whether on desktop, tablet or smartphone, which also allows building managers to facilitate a larger working area."

Digital information boards

Also of interest to building managers and housing associations are Intratone's digital information boards, which can be easily installed in the building entrance and on which residents can be informed remotely. For example, about approaching maintenance work, eliminating the need to hand out information letters.

Efficient parcel delivery

Intratone's systems allow residents to operate the central entrance door with their own smartphone. Easily and intuitively from the comfort of their armchair, which offers great advantages for disabled or elderly residents. "Because users always carry their smartphones with them, opportunities for efficient(er) package delivery also arise," Damler said. "According to the Consumers Union, parcel delivery services currently face two major challenges. For example, packages are too often left in unsafe places without permission. Also, parcel delivery services too often have to make a second delivery attempt or drive on to a pickup point because residents turn out not to be home at the delivery time. Intratone offers a solution to both challenges, as residents can communicate directly with the package delivery person at the door via their smartphone. Because they can also open the central access door remotely, their packages can be safely delivered to a location of their choosing. Although we do not (yet) have exact figures of the savings that can be realized, the reduction in time, trips and CO₂-emissions significantly."

Innovation and experience center 

Damler challenges Owner Associations with sustainable ambitions to investigate the opportunities for sustainable access control and intercom systems in their buildings. "Anyone who would like to see, feel and experience our possibilities can visit our innovation and experience center in Waddinxveen for this without obligation."