You know summer has really slipped away when Daylight Saving Time ends.
And it did just that when the clock struck 1:59 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 4. This basically meant it was time to fall back and set your clocks one hour earlier to usher in what is supposed to provide more daylight hours in the mornings.
So what does turning the clock back actually do for us? It means morning commutes should be brighter while evening skies will become darker much earlier.
If you're lucky, and own electronic devices, most automatically adjust when Daylight Saving Time begins or ends.
Here are six more things you might not have known about Daylight Saving Time.
Changing Batteries, Checking Alarms
When you change your clocks in the fall and spring, it’s also a good time to change smoke detector batteries.
According to the Orange County Fire Authority, this is the best time to check your smoke alarm and change batteries. Nationally, about 75 percent of failed smoke alarms are due to missing batteries.
"A recent fire in Santa Ana resulted in the death of a woman and serious injury to her husband" said OCFA Fire Marshal Laura Blaul. "There were no smoke alarms in their home, which is typical in almost every home fire resulting in serious injury or death. A smoke alarm is essential in providing you the extra time you need to safely get out of your home. Make sure you have one in every sleeping area; Make sure your family is safe."
In efforts to reduce risks, the OCFA has developed a program called "Install, Inspect, Protect."
Key components include:
Install:
- Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home, inside each sleeping area, and in every hallway leading to sleeping areas.
- Replace the entire unit every 10 years
Inspect:
- Test your hard-wired and battery operated smoke alarms every month.
- Change the batteries twice a year, when changing your clocks for both battery operated and hard wired smoke alarms.
- Clean your smoke alarms every year.
Protect:
- Plan a home escape plan and ensure that everyone in the household knows the sound the alarm makes and what to do if they hear it.
- Identify two ways out of each room and designate a meeting place outside the home to account for family members in the event of an emergency.
- Practice your home fire drills every six months and remember to crawl lo under the smoke and go.
- Call 911 immediately and ensure that everyone knows your home escape plan.
Did you know: Arizona, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands and American Samoa do not observe Daylight Saving Time.
Don't fret too much, Daylight Saving Time begins again on March 10, 2013, when we "spring" forward.
