What to do if your fire alarm system goes off when its cold?

 

Does your fire alarm in Cedar Rapids goes off when it's cold? Don't panic!

This may happen, especially during the cold season, because the batteries may have been drained. Thus the reason why you need to regularly check on your fire alarm systems during the change of seasons.

How does cold weather affect your fire alarm battery's function?

The connection between the positive and negative terminals of your battery generates an electric current. However, if there are insufficient electrons to supply the current of the battery, even if you connect these two terminals, no current will flow.

During cold weather, the chemical reactions between these two terminals process more slowly. Thus, there are times that it cannot deliver the required current you need. This causes it to malfunction.

How to know if the battery of your smoke detector is having problems?

To know if your battery is running low, you will see it beeping a few minutes. This is a sign that the batteries are low and it has to be replaced or warmed up for it to operate normally again.

Smoke Detector and the Carbon Monoxide Angle

There are instances wherein the beeping sound of your smoke alarm system may indeed be a sign of a high level of carbon monoxide in your area.

This is very much possible, especially during the cold winter months when families crank up the heating inside their homes by using:

• Furnaces
• Space Heaters
• Fire Places

However, these fuel-burning appliances also produce some levels of carbon monoxide. So, there may be a good reason this is why your alarm has gone off.

What's the best advice we can give if your fire alarm system goes off?

Rather than second-guessing the reason why your smoke alarm system is going on and off, it is best to have it regularly maintained. Troubleshoot yours with the following tips:

• Replace the batteries on a regular basis.
• Reset the power breaker when you notice any irregularity.
• Add a carbon monoxide detector to your house, to ensure the alarm is not set due to a malfunction.
• Regularly clean the dust and debris on your smoke detector
• Keep the contact details of your manufacturer for any problems that may arise.