It’s finally March which means it’s time to “spring forward” and set our clocks an hour ahead in observance of Daylight Saving Time. While it’s a nuisance to change the clocks throughout the house, it does offer the perfect opportunity for a home safety checkup. Plan to spend a little extra time this Sunday checking, resetting, and updating your important parts of you home.
Check and Replace
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide (CO) Detectors: You should be changing the batteries in your system twice a year. You can use Daylight Saving as a good reminder for when to change them again. If your detectors are tied into your security system, make sure to put the system into test mode to avoid a false alarm. Replace smoke detectors every ten years and CO detectors every five years.
Reset and Update
Home alarm systems: Make sure the correct Daylight Saving Time dates are programmed into your alarms system’s control panel. Some systems will automatically adjust, but others need to be manually programmed. EPS Security customers should contact our friendly Customer Care team if they have questions with system programming.
Smart home: As the days start getting longer and the weather warmer, it’s a good idea to review your smart home settings to make they are readjusted to reflect these changes. If you have a lighting schedule, you will want to update it to automatically go off later in the evening as it will start getting darker much later. You may also have your smart thermostat on a timer and will want to make sure the temperature schedule in your home changes as the weather gets warmer.
Daylight Saving means Energy Saving
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, Daylight Saving Time was created to help reduce electricity use in buildings. In 2007, four extra weeks of Daylight Saving Time was added as a way further the impact of energy saving. In fact, in 2008, Energy Department experts studied the effects of Daylight Saving on energy consumption in the U.S. and found that the extra four weeks saved about 0.5 percent in total electricity per day (that’s equal to the electricity used by more than 100,000 households for an entire year!)
Make sure to take advantage of energy saving this year by turning off the lights when the sun is out and using your smart home devices to schedule better energy-saving habits!
Are you interested in Smart Home Automation and Security? Click the link below to find out how EPS Security can help you create a smarter and safer home.