A Friendly Reminder to “Spring Forward” Tonight!

Daylight saving time will begin at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 13, so remember to set clocks an hour ahead. The time will remain an hour ahead until it “falls back” to standard time Nov. 6.

Daylight saving is a means of getting more light out of the day by advancing clocks by one hour during the summer. This way, sunrise is one hour later in the morning, when most people are usually asleep anyway, and sunset is one hour later in the evening.

Also, when you reset clocks in the spring and fall, at the same time check smoke alarm batteries. And, don’t stop there. Check the back-up batteries in all household safety systems as, for example, carbon-monoxide detectors and burglar-alarm control panels. Many other electronic products have back-up batteries, too, that save stored information or keep them operating in a power failure. Memory in telephones and answering machines and even some alarm clocks and sprinkler timers are examples. In fact, time changes should be a reminder to do all sorts of things — like replacing filters in air conditioners and furnaces, changing the direction of ceiling fans (forward in summer, reverse in winter) and resetting programmable thermostats. When alarms are fully powered, you’re protected.