Since this thread got bumped, I'll chime in.
I have a no name electronic doorknob lock on my house (back door, covered patio.) I paid $100 at Fry's electronics. I just changed the battery this week. It has held up well and worked every time for the last 4 years! It was seriously on sale when I bought it, and there weren't lots of choices in the market. I've been very pleased with it's performance.
For my garage shop, I put in a commercial electric door strike. We weren't diligent about locking the door, since it is only steps from our back door and the freezer and pantry are in there. When our neighborhood had a rash of burglaries, I decided to upgrade security and convenience at the same time. I bought a wireless key fob activated switch, and fastened it inside the house. Now we just hit a button to unlock the door as we're going out to the garage. Very simple and I could put the extra keyfob on my ring if I wanted to. (I could have wired a push button, but it was WAY easier to go wireless.) I spent about an hour fitting the strike, and about $60 total.
The best thing about the electric strike is that the knob and key are unchanged and can be used in an emergency.
Daedalus-- (and anyone else worried about picking a lock) just go on youtube and search on "bump key". You will be horrified. A couple of bucks and some simple tools and any kid can open your pin tumbler lock in seconds without leaving any evidence. I was able to do it in less than 5 minutes on my commercial locks at my real shop. My landlord was stunned when I showed him. You can even buy sets of the most common keys online for a few bucks to save making your own. Bottom line, unless your locks are Medeco (and even those can be beaten) and you've hardened all the other weak spots in your building envelop, relying on a keyed lock is just optimistic.
zuk
