Keys are such small things.

However, they play a crucial role in keeping your home and your car (among other things) safe!

While they may be broadly similar, house and car keys are NOT the same.

Throughout the years, both car and house
keys have continually evolved to better keep you safe. Nowadays, car and house keys may as well come from completely different planets!

Full disclosure: we’re only going to be talking about basic house and car keys in this section. While there are certainly more advanced options out there,
most houses (and cars, for that matter) don’t make use of them.

Okay, now that we have that out of the way, onto the show!

residential keys

1) House key and car key design

Take a look at your house keys. Now take a look at your car keys.

Notice anything different?

Unlike house keys, car keys are double-sided, Notice how both the top and the bottom of your car keys have grooves and teeth, whereas the vast majority
of house keys only have them on one.

Why’s this?

Simple: when you insert your house keys, in most cases, you’ll be able to see what you’re doing, giving you the ability to get the right side and line
it up perfectly the first time.

But thanks to the location of your car ignition, that’s much harder with car keys.

Hence, car manufacturers started producing car keys with grooves on the top and the bottom, as well as locks that would accept keys cut in this manner.

The result? You can start your car without even having to look.

On top of convenience, this also had a number of other side effects…

 

2) Complexity

While this may sound like a bad thing, from a security standpoint this is exactly what you want!

Simply put, more complex locking systems are harder to break.

And that means a lock that’s better at protecting your home or vehicle!

Thanks to a design that features pins on both the top and the bottom, car locks are a more formidable foe for would-be lockpickers.

By contrast, most house keys only have grooves on one side. While this makes cutting a replacement cheaper, it also makes picking them a somewhat easier
prospect.

Not to mention, most modern car keys also come with a host of advanced security features…

car keys

3) Security features

It’s not just your car key keeping your vehicle safe against ne’er do wells – the vast majority of modern car keys come with some pretty advanced security
features as standard.

Case in point: transponder keys.

Car keys nowadays come with little microchips built in. These chips talk to your car, emitting a unique code.

Without the code, your car won’t unlock and the engine won’t start, even if the key itself fits.

By contrast, very few house keys have this feature. While digital and “smart” keys are starting to gain ground, the vast majority of house keys are still plain old metal – nothing more!

 

Get a reliable Melbourne locksmith in both your car and house key needs

Whether you’ve run into trouble with your house keys or car keys, you can trust Galmier Locksmiths to get you out of your pickle.

Galmier Locksmiths provides quality service for domestic and auto locksmithing problems alike.

With a service area that covers the entirety of Melbourne’s south-east, you can rely on us when a speedy response is key.

We’re backed by more than a decade of experience. No matter the problem, we come to you with on-the spot fixes, allowing you to enjoy peace-of-mind. And
that includes out-of-hours service too!

Contact us today on 0407 022 234 or click here to lodge
a job with us.