We get about half of our total annual rainfall in Glendale during monsoon season. These sudden downpours, high winds, and lightning can affect more than roads, roofs, trees, and outdoor furniture. They can also affect the electrical and low-voltage systems that help protect and light your home.
So, if you’re seeing an outdoor motion sensor light turn on and off repeatedly at night or are asking why do my smoke detectors keep going off, it might be storm-related. Lightning strikes, power surges, and moisture getting inside your unit or electrical system may be the cause, especially if you have older devices.
Storms Can Trigger Home Alarms and Sensors
Alarms and sensor lights are designed to react to changes. During monsoon season, the weather changes, sometimes dramatically.
High winds blow tree branches, patio furniture, trash cans, and anything else you left outside across your lawn. We get a lot of dust here, too, and not just when there’s a haboob. Lightning can confuse sensors with sudden brightness during nighttime hours. Some outdoor security lights use infrared technology to detect moving body heat. During a monsoon, high bursts of hot desert wind can mimic that heat movement, causing your lights to cycle constantly.
All of these can trigger your motion sensor. And if water gets inside, your system may simply malfunction. So, if your motion sensor light turns on and off repeatedly at night, storm conditions may be the reason. Even the rapid drop in barometric pressure right before a storm hits can shift air currents inside older sensors, triggering a false alarm before the rain even starts.
This behavior may happen from time to time, but if you’re seeing it happen commonly or your fixture is more sensitive than it should be, there may be another problem going on inside. Heat, sun exposure, dust, and storm vibration also wear down exterior fixtures over time. A light that worked fine for years may start acting up when weather stresses older wiring or internal components. Years of intense desert heat expand metal components, so when humid moisture hits those hot fixtures, it can cause rapid corrosion on the electrical terminals, leading to voltage drops that keep the light cycling on and off.
If the fixture buzzes, flickers, sparks, smells burnt, or trips a breaker, have a professional electrician evaluate it.
Why Do My Smoke Detectors Keep Going on and off During Monsoon Weather?
Smoke detectors should always be taken seriously. If an alarm sounds, you first want to make sure there’s no smoke or fire.
However, smoke detectors that keep going on and off can happen during storm season, too. Smoke detectors are designed to sense particles in the air. So, dust storms can interfere with the sensing chamber, and humidity can make some detectors more prone to nuisance alarms. Power flickers can also cause hardwired smoke detectors to chirp, reset, or alarm, especially if backup batteries are weak.
Storms and outages often reveal weak backup batteries. A detector may chirp after a power interruption because the battery is low or failing. Even if a hardwired smoke detector is on a battery backup, a sudden power surge sends an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) through your home’s copper wiring. Sensitive electronic chipsets inside the detector can mistake this sudden electrical pulse for a fire signal.
It may also be just time to replace your smoke detectors. Many homeowners don’t know that smoke detectors come with expiration dates. Typically, they last about 10 years. After that, they should be replaced.
When Repeated Alarms Are Not Just a Nuisance
If your sensors and alarm trip occasionally during a storm, it may not be a problem. If it happens regularly, don’t ignore it.
Your home may need electrical service if alarms sound repeatedly with no clear trigger, multiple smoke detectors go off together, lights flicker before alarms activate, breakers trip during storms, or outdoor fixtures show moisture, rust, buzzing, or discoloration. Sensor lights that stay on all night, cycle constantly, or trip breakers may also point to a wiring or fixture problem.
Our electricians can inspect your alarms, outdoor lighting, sensor fixtures, wiring, breakers, and any electrical concerns you may have. In some cases, a whole-home surge protector may be the best solution to protect your electrical system and prevent storm power surges from frying your circuits.
Schedule electrical service with George Brazil Plumbing & Electrical today.