An intercom system lets you speak to a visitor, see who is there and open the gate or door without walking out. It may be a simple audio panel at a home gate, a video system with a screen in the kitchen, a GSM intercom that rings your cellphone wherever you are, or a multi-unit system for a block of flats. Send one request with the layout and the distance to the gate, and installers in your area quote you directly. It is free and there is no obligation.
Audio, video, two-wire and IP
An audio intercom is the cheapest and suits a single gate. A video intercom adds a camera and a colour screen, which is worth it if deliveries or strangers ring at odd hours. Wiring is the next choice. Two-wire systems run over a simple pair of wires, which makes them good for replacing an old intercom. IP systems use network cable and let you answer in an app, add extra screens easily and connect to cameras.
Wireless intercoms save trenching across a garden, but check range, walls and power at the gate station. A battery or solar-powered panel needs checking after a few cloudy weeks.
Gate stations that survive outdoors
The outdoor unit takes the weather, sprinklers, spiders and the occasional kick. Ask for a stainless steel or heavy aluminium panel, a rain hood, sealed buttons and an infrared night light on the camera. Mount it at car-window height if drivers will use it, with the camera angled away from direct afternoon sun. Where the station sits in a public road or an unattended entrance, a vandal-resistant face plate is a sensible extra.
Cable length matters. Long runs from the house to a gate on a big plot lose signal or power, so give the installer the distance and the route, and ask whether a booster or an IP link is needed.
Phones, flats and linking to the gate
A GSM intercom uses a SIM card and calls up to several numbers, so you can open the gate from anywhere. It suits farms, plots and holiday homes with no wiring, but it needs signal and a prepaid or contract SIM that you keep active. For flats and complexes, a multi-unit panel lists the units and rings each flat, with codes for couriers and contractors.
Most intercoms release a relay that triggers a gate motor or a door lock, so the whole entrance works as one system. A full entry set may also include access control for residents.
What a quote should include
A basic audio kit costs far less than a video or multi-unit system, so get prices for the same specification. Ask what each quote includes: the gate station, indoor monitors or app licence, power supplies, cabling and trenching, the relay link to the gate, and a service call after installation. For apps, ask whether there is a monthly fee and where the video is stored.
What to include in your request
- Where the gate station and screens go
- Distance and route between them
- Audio, video or phone calling wanted
- How many flats or units need a button
- Whether it must open a gate motor
Intercom Systems for different sites
- Homeowners and families: a video panel at the gate with a screen in the kitchen or an app on the phone
- Estates, complexes and body corporates: a visitor panel at the pedestrian gate that rings the resident
- Offices, shops and retail centres: a buzzer and camera at the office door linked to reception
- Factories, warehouses and yards: a robust gate station at the truck entrance linked to the gatehouse
- Building sites and contractors: a GSM intercom on the site gate that calls the site manager
- Farms and smallholdings: a GSM intercom at the farm gate that rings the owner's phone
- Events, venues, hotels and lodges: a guest intercom at the lodge gate linked to reception
- Schools, clinics and churches: a door station at the school office or clinic after-hours entrance
Frequently asked questions
Can an intercom call my cellphone?
Will a video intercom work during load shedding?
How far from the house can the gate station be?
Can I keep my old intercom wiring?
Intercom Systems by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg