Based in the Wicklow Mountains of Co. Wicklow, Ireland, Powerscourt Estate is a leading visitor attraction with approximately 500,000 visitors every year to the house, estate and golf club. The gardens were voted number three in the World’s Top 10 Gardens by National Geographic magazine.
Requirements
Powerscourt Estate contracted Pioneer Security to provide a new security system that could control access to the house, golf club and gardens. The existing security system in place was antiquated with poor image quality, so needed updating. The goal was one platform that unified two systems – integration with the tilling system and gates, and access to the golf club.
Sarah Slazenger, Powerscourt Director, says: ‘We were looking for a solution that would integrate with our retail ticket sales system. We wanted to issue tickets with a barcode, and have a system that could work in a number of locations with different access control methods, but importantly it needed to be userfriendly for our customers whilst also securing the estate.’
Solution
Jody Connaughton, Communications Division Manager at Pioneer Security, was esponsible for the installation. Jody says: ‘The estate didn’t want to have to replace two systems, but just one that could manage everything, so choosing Paxton’s Net2 was a no-brainer. They had spoken to other suppliers and had been told “we can’t do it.” But Paxton could.’
Pioneer Security used Net2 software with Net2 plus door control units to control access to the estate entrance, golf club, gardens and walking areas. Net2 is a user-friendly and flexible networked access control system, designed to make the management of any site straightforward. Easy to use and feature rich, it moves beyond the basics of the flow of people, offering benefits such as building control and system integration. Net2 plus is Paxton’s most advanced door control unit, employing the use of PoE technology to plug straight into an existing network with no need for additional wiring making installation quick.
The Result
The Net2 system was integrated with the tilling system using a software conduit from Intreba to control access to specific walkways via barcode verification using a combination of MIFARE® and HID proximity readers, and Paxton’s TOUCHLOCK
vandal resistant keypad. Paxton’s Net2 Entry door entry system provides high quality video door entry. Visitors purchase a ticket at Powerscourt House and within minutes can present their barcode to the turnstiles at the gates granting them one
day’s access to the estate.
Powerscourt Hotel is run separately and they are charged for their guests using the riverwalk on the Estate. Hotel guests are given a code for accessing the riverwalk which is changed weekly so expired codes cannot be reused. The estate management create reports of how many hotel guests are accessing the gates to the riverwalk.
Sarah says: ‘We have a number of users on the system and they find it easy to use. We now have an integrated and reliable system that suits our particular requirements. It’s straightforward and allows us to report on the various user types, for instance the number of visits, which is really useful.’
For more information please visit www.paxton.co.uk
