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Once again, it is the time of year to “fall back” to end Daylight Savings Time and return to standard time. So it's a perfect time to remember to change your smoke alarm batteries.  Adopting the habit of changing smoke alarm batteries either at the end or the beginning of Daylight Savings Time will keep your family safe and help you to avoid homeowners insurance claims by protecting your home from fire and smoke damage.

Everyone knows the value of a reliable smoke alarm. However, having smoke alarms in your home isn't enough. The smoke alarms must actually work if you are to have effective fire protection.  Here at Patterson Insurance Management Inc, we're all about your safety.  We encourage you to get into the habit of doing a quick check of your smoke alarm each month to ensure that they are working properly, and to change the batteries in each smoke detection device at least once a year to ensure that their batteries are fresh and strong. 

If Neglected, Smoke Alarms Could Stop Functioning

Smoke alarms could fail to detect smoke and fire for several reasons.   If they have not been replaced in some time, they might outlive their usefulness, especially if they are more than 10 years old. However, more commonly, these alarms don't work because their battery is dead or because the smoke alarm has been disconnected or is missing its batteries.  In fact, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) warns that about two-thirds of home fire deaths in 2005-2009 resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

The Smoke Alarm Might Fail to Remind You

Why not just wait until the smoke alarm's beeping alerts you that your smoke alarm batteries need to be replaced.  That's a bad idea for many reasons such as…

• You might not even know that your alarms are not working if you are not at home during time from when the beeping alert begins until your smoke alarm batteries go totally dead. This leaves your family and your home unprotected against fire.
• If you don't have replacement smoke alarm batteries ready when the beeping alert occurs, you might be tempted to just stop the beeping by removing the batteries or disconnecting your smoke alarm. Of course, this dangerously diminishes your protection from a fire until you remember to replace the batteries and get your smoke alarm working again.

Replacing Smoke Alarm Batteries

• If your smoke alarm is giving you frequent nuisance alarms, then it’s time to replace the entire smoke alarm unit. Don’t be tempted to just disconnect the battery to stop the nuisance alarms

• Install the correct type of replacement battery as recommended in the manual or label on your smoke alarm, and follow all directions. Avoid using rechargeable batteries in your smoke alarm because manufacturers of smoke alarms advise against them.

• Almost all smoke alarms batteries should be replaced each year, including those in hard-wired smoke alarms with battery backup. The only exceptions are hard-wired smoke alarms without a battery backup and smoke alarms that have a 10-year battery that cannot be replaced. In the latter case, you would replace the complete smoke alarm every 10 years.
• Remember to change the batteries in your carbon monoxide alarm at the same time that you change your smoke alarm batteries.
• Take the opportunity to clean your smoke alarm at the time that you change the batteries each year.
   
• More About Home Smoke Alarms from the NFPA (Video) 
• Smoke Alarms: Installation and Maintenance Tips
• Smoke Alarm Types: Ionization vs. Photoelectric