For some of us, it’s that time of the year again when we ask “when does daylight saving time end?” even when it hasn’t even started yet 
. It’s probably the only disliked idea that came from Benjamin Franklin, who thought of Daylight Saving Time (DST) or Summer Time originally. Dislike might even be a weak word for it since Google searches has smatterings of “abolish daylight saving time” and “demonstrations against daylight saving time.” Demonstrations… :chuckle:.
One of the rationale used for implementing DST is energy conservation. We are supposed to save energy from being less inside our homes and therefore using less appliances and consuming less electricity. Daylight Saving Time had some backing from a U.S. Department of Transportation research done in the ’70s that cited a small but significant (1%) savings in energy consumption… if all goes well.
Problem is, not all researches point that way. In Indiana, U.S.A., the government expected a $7 million saving in energy usage when they switched all counties to DST last 2005. However. over a course of 3 years, scientists studied energy cosumption in the state and found that Indiana actually spent 48.6 million more due to DST (Source: WebExhibits.org). Of course, the bill came with the acompanying increase in emissions.
A report by the California Energy Commission, which can be downloaded here, also concluded that there is only a minuscule amount in energy savings when the state switched to DST.
By the way, DST in the U.S. starts on the second Sunday of March. That’s March 8 for 2009 and March 14 in 2010. It ends on the first Sunday of November.
What do you think? Does DST really lessen the individual homeowner’s electric bills?
Some fire protection associations and government agencies suggest that we change the batteries on smoke detectors when we change our clock’s time to DST. To make sure we save electricity, why not change our remaining incandescent lamps tp CFLs as well? 
Believe it or not, here in Australia, we have people complaining that the extra daylight caused by daylight saving actually causes their curtains to fade!
Not only does it fade curtains but also carpets! DST also screws up the body clocks and can be more expensive on the energy bills. Here in Texas, the heat does not start cooling down until after the sunsets and then it does not cool much more. So air conditioning is running full force 24×7 during the hottest months.
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Funny, I thought DST was implemented to keep kids waiting for school buses off the roads in the dark in the AM.
When I grew up in Houston, there was no daylight savings time. The days were long enough, I guess. It was in the mid-60s when they implemented it, I think. Hard to remember anything from the 60s, lol.
All the best.
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I telecommute from home and my hours start early in the morning. I use more electricity lighting my office during this so called saving time than I do during standard time.
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DST does screw up a lot of things. It was supposed to be a joke by Benjamin Franklin.
Thanks for all the comments.
I love daylight savings time and I am all for it. Too bad it’s not in effect where I live. I heard about the curtains argument in Australia
and I accept that it can make you use more energy where it’s really hot (like the Texas example), but on the other hand, it makes you turn the light on one hour later in the evening. Multiply that by millions and I think it can save energy. Plus, you can enjoy the day one hour longer. I realize some people don’t care for that, but I like it.
I don’t see how daylight savings time could possibly save any energy, since instead of turning your lights on sooner at night, you wake up in the dark and have to put the lights on in the morning.
Nowhere is there any scientific evidence that proves that lightbulbs burn less energy based on what time of the day you use them. So using them in the morning is the same as at night.
It seems every year they come up with a new reason for DST, based on whatever the current trend of thinking is. Back when crime was on everybody’s minds, they gave the excuse for it as being good for crime reduction, allowing people to get home from work while it’s still daylight instead of going home in the dark and getting mugged.
But that logic was flawed too, since if it really did work, wouldn’t you just shift to it year round instead of turning the clocks back in the fall and putting everyone at a greater risk of being mugged again?
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I believe daylight savings time must save energy because I know when I wake up and it is light outside I typically don’t turn on the lights but if it is dark I do.