Daylight Savings Time ended at 2:00 a.m. Sunday November 3, 2019.
Did you remember to set your clocks back one hour?
Did you also remember to test your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and replace the batteries?
Most 120 Volt smoke detectors use 9 Volt batteries as a backup in case of a power outage. The backup batteries should be replaced every year.
Other smoke/CO alarms like the Google Nest Protect require long-life lithium AA batteries which may last longer than one year. The Nest app will send a notification when the backup batteries need replacement.
According to the National Fire Protection Association 71% of smoke alarms that fail to operate have dead or missing batteries.
Smoke detectors should be manually tested every month.
In addition to replacing the backup batteries regularly it is also recommended to replace smoke/CO detectors every 7-10 years.