Daylight Saving Time change smoke and CO alarm batteries

Blog en español

Are your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms working?

We at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urge you to check your alarms this weekend when you set your clocks one hour ahead for Daylight Saving Time. Daylight Saving Time starts on Sunday at 2 a.m.

This is a great time to put fresh batteries in your alarms. Smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms do an important job of giving you and your family time to escape a fire or CO poisoning incident, but only if they have batteries that are working.  CPSC recommends replacing batteries in alarms once every year.

Why is this so important?  Because about 2,200 people die in home fires on average and there are about 400 CO poisoning deaths each year.

Many of those who died did not have working smoke or CO alarms in their homes. Don’t let this happen to you.

Here is what CPSC recommends:

• Change smoke and CO alarm batteries at least once each year.
• Test the alarms every month to make sure they are working.
• Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home and inside each bedroom.
• CO alarms should be installed on every level of the home and outside each sleeping area.

There is nothing we can do about losing an hour of sleep this weekend as clocks spring forward, but there is something we can do about keeping our families safe.  Make your home safer by making sure you have working alarms.