Carrie Uffindell

Thieves and burglars aren’t the only thing you need to protect against in the Bay Area this winter. Help safeguard your home and your family from cold weather with these simple money-saving tips.

• Clean your gutters. When the leaves start falling, protect your home’s exterior and foundation walls by cleaning your gutters and downspouts. When your gutters are clogged, rain and melting snow can back up, allowing water to seep into the house, causing flood or water damage.

• Seal air leaks. Another great way to weatherize your home is to find and seal any drafts. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, air leaks can account for 5%-30% of your energy bill. Most common areas include recessed lighting, door and window frames, chimney flashing and furnace flues. Go here to learn how to detect leaks. Seal any gaps with caulk or weather-stripping.

• Inspect heating ducts. Studies show that a home with poorly connected and insulated ductworks can lose up to 60% of its heated air before it reaches the vents. Every couple of years, hire a professional to inspect and clean your ducts. This will remove any dust, animal hair and other junk that can collect and cause respiratory issues.

• Clean that chimney. If your home has a chimney and/or a fireplace, have a certified chimney sweep inspect them each year in case of damage or hazards.

• Maintain your furnace. Before the coldest weather hits, turn on your furnace to make sure it’s working properly. A brief, strong odor is natural when you first fire it up. If the smell continues, turn off the furnace and call a professional. And be sure to change or clean the filter regularly throughout winter. A dirty filter obstructs air flow, reducing your furnace’s efficiency and, in extreme cases, can even cause a fire.

• Check your alarms. With the furnaces and other heating systems running in winter, the season usually sees an increase in the number of house fires and CO poisoning. Now’s an excellent time to test your smoke and CO detectors, changing any batteries over a year old. It’s also a good idea to test your fire extinguisher to ensure it still works too.

 

 

Denalect Alarm proudly serves the home security and business alarm system needs of Contra Costa County in Northern California: Anitoch, Blackhawk, Concord, Danville, Dublin, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Walnut Creek.

If you’re a homeowner in California, you should be aware of a new law protecting you, your family and your property from the dangers of Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

A poisonous gas that is odorless and colorless, Carbon monoxide is produced whenever fuels such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood or charcoal are burned. Idling vehicles, heaters, fireplaces, furnaces and fuel-burning appliances – all can produce CO in your home.

When used and maintained properly, fuel-burning appliances produce a non-hazardous amount of Carbon monoxide. It’s when these appliances are malfunctioning or used incorrectly that they can turn deadly. Each year, hundreds of people die from accidental CO poisoning, even more from CO produced by a car or truck idling in the garage. For more info on CO and the symptoms of CO poisoning, click here.

With the passage of the Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act of 2010, all residential properties with an attached garage or fuel-burning appliances must be equipped with a California State Fire Marshal-approved Carbon monoxide alarm or detector.

What’s the difference between a CO alarm and a CO detector? A carbon monoxide alarm is a stand-alone unit which has its own built-in power supply and audible device. A carbon monoxide detector is designed to be used along with your fire alarm system, drawing its power from the alarm panel. For a list of approved CO devices, click here.    

If you wish to learn more about protecting your home from CO, feel free to contact us. You can also click here to read FAQs provided by CAL Fire and the office of the state fire marshal.

Denalect customers can save money by coordinating their annual alarm inspection with a CO detection assessment.

Note: CO alarms aren’t intended or suitable for fire and smoke detection. If your CO detector is battery-operated, it should be tested regularly (once a month is best) and have the battery replaced once a year. If installing a CO detector yourself and unsure where to place it, consult the manufacturer’s recommendations in the installation guide.

Denalect Alarm proudly serves the home security and business alarm system needs of Contra Costa County in Northern California: Anitoch, Blackhawk, Concord, Danville, Dublin, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Walnut Creek.

If you’re a homeowner, you may know that installing an alarm system is just the first step in securing your property. Without routine maintenance, your system can fail, exposing you and your family to theft.

Whether you have a technician come out or prefer to do the work yourself, here are some tips on how to keep it running smoothly for years to come.

Testing Your Alarm System

Test your system once a year to be sure Denalect still receives the alarm signal. “This is the most reliable way to make sure your alarm system can communicate with us,” explains Denalect’s owner and founder Rod Uffindell.

Prefer to test the alarm system yourself? A Saturday or Sunday afternoon usually works best. Just follow these easy step-by-step instructions:

• Call Denalect’s Central Station and tell them you are testing your system.
• Turn on the system while you’re in the house. Then you want to trigger the alarm. For example, open a window or door. Let it ring 15 seconds then turn it off by entering your code.
• Call the Central Station to make sure they received your alarm’s signal. Note: Your phone line may be disabled for a short time if the alarm is set up to use the phone lines to contact us.

If you have any questions or would like Denalect to walk you through the testing process, feel free to contact us at (925) 935-2680, weekdays between 9:30am to 4pm, and ask for the service department.

Or schedule a technician to come out and test the system for you. For a small additional monthly fee, Denalect offers a maintenance program, which covers the cost of all necessary tests, battery replacements, etc.

Replace Old Batteries

In alarm maintenance, another important step is replacing the old batteries. How often do they need to be replaced? While every system is different, here are some general guidelines:

• All of Denalect’s alarm systems have backup batteries in case of power failures. Expect to change those batteries every 3-5 years.
• Batteries for wireless alarm sensors and panic buttons also need to be replaced periodically.
• If your alarm has smoke detectors installed by Denalect, they will most likely draw their power from the alarm panel. If your house came with smoke detectors, then you will most likely need to replace the batteries every year.

Unsure which batteries your system need to be replaced? If your alarm was installed by Denalect, we’ll have that information on record. Call us weekdays at (925) 935-2680, between 9:30am to 4pm, and ask for the service department. You can even drop by our business office and we’ll sell you the batteries you need.

Or set up an appointment with one of our technicians to replace the batteries for you. Just contact our business office at (925) 935-2680, between 9am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.

> If you’re an existing Denalect customer, it’s a good idea to let us know whenever there’s any work done on your telephone lines or if you’re switching providers. Certain alarm systems might be affected by, or not work with, some of the phone providers out there. That’s why we provide several different options for monitoring your system, including cellular, internet and our own private wireless network.

Denalect Alarm is proud to serve home alarm and business security and alarm systems in Northern California: Antioch, Blackhawk, Concord, Danville, Dublin, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Walnut Creek.

Plan on traveling out of town this summer or fall? Here are 12 important safety tips to help protect your home while you’re away.

1. Check all the locks and deadbolts on your doors and windows. Replace old deadbolts that might be easy to kick in. For windows, insert dowel rods inside the window frame so they can’t be forced open.

2. Test your home security and/or smoke alarms. Replace any dead batteries.

3. Notify your security company that you’ll be away. Give a trusted family member, friend or neighbor your alarm code, the security company’s contact info, your itinerary and your contact numbers in case of emergencies.

4. Install a motion-sensor on one or more outdoor lights. Inside, set inside lights and/or a stereo to turn off and on randomly.

5. Hold your mail, newspaper and garbage service. Or better yet, have a trusted neighbor or house sitter collect your deliveries every day and bring in the garbage bins on collection day.

6. Don’t leave a spare key outside. Instead, give it to a trusted family member, friend or neighbor.

7. Arrange to have your lawn mowed while you’re gone.

8. Prune any shrubs or trees near your home’s doors or windows, so burglars can’t conceal themselves.

9. Secure the garage by unplugging the electric door opener or deadbolt the door so can’t be opened. If you’re leaving a car at home, park it outside against the garage door to block access. Be sure to remove any garage door remotes from the car.

10. Lock up any valuables.

11. Unplug small appliances or electronics, such as the coffeemaker or the TV, or make sure they are plugged into a surge protector. An unexpected power surge can damage these items or even cause a fire.

And finally…

12. Don’t broadcast you’re out of town on your voice mail, email, Facebook or other social media sites. Wait to post your vacation photos until after you return.

 

Denalect Alarm proudly serves the home and business security needs of Contra Costa County in Northern California: Concord, Danville, Dublin, El Cerrito, Hercules, Lafayette, Livermore, Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, Pleasanton, San Ramon and Walnut Creek.