11/29/2004

Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time can be a real pain come April and October of each year. Why do we really have Daylight Saving Time anyways? I've always thought that we could just have one set time that everyone follows. Of Course, my idea would probably cut down on a lot of confusion, but according to a recent article I found on the internet we would miss out on a lot of energy saving opportunities. The article stated that, "one of the biggest reasons we change our clocks during Daylight Saving Time is that it saves energy. Energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting our homes is directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get up." The article also said that on average about, "25 percent of all the electricity we use is for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs, and stereos." Therefore if we can cut down on the amount of time we use these types of applicances we can conserve energy, and Daylight Saving Time does that.

I never really realized how much the time of day could affect our energy consumption, but the idea makes a lot of sense. The United States is not the only country that practices Daylight Saving Time either. The Daylight Saving Time concept is one that is practiced worldwide. Some countries begin and end Daylight Saving Time on different months than the United States, but the idea is basically the same. Some countries are even known to adjust their clocks up to two hours forwards or backwards. Sometimes the time changes can be a hassle, but the logic behind this concept is really quite interesting. I highly recommend you read the article that I have hyper-linked to this post.

2 comments:

pramahaphil said...

Daylight Savings Time is a pain in the butt. I understand that it is supposedly is for our own good by saving on energy costs. However, most people could just as easily take some simple steps to reduce energy costs such as throwing out old fridges, turning out lights when they are not in use, etc. For a parent, daylight savings time really makes life difficult for a few weeks. I'd rather be treated as an intelligent enough person that could make energy saving decisions in my own home.

Dr. Tufte said...

I can tell that Pramahaphil has kids - daylight savings time wrecks havoc with our 2 and 5 year olds sleeping schedules.

I am very dubious about the idea that daylight savings time saves money. I can follow the arguments, but I have this sense of foreboding that something isn't being counted properly. But I can't figure out what that is yet.