Daylight Saving Time: Hoax or Help?

By Sean Stillmaker in Miscellaneous on Mar 13, 2011 6:15PM

Spring forward fall back. We love it in autumn, but are cursing it now. Daylight Saving Time has been touted as an energy saving measure that maximizes sunlight availability, but some say otherwise. We’ve been losing that hour for 45 years straight today, and remain skeptical of the benefits.

DST is an option for states and U.S. territories: Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa did not set their clocks back today. Indiana was on that list too until 2006 after Former President George W. Bush revamped DST in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which put the period to it’s current format (second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November).

With Indiana being new to the game they quickly had to find out what’s going on. A 2008 study examined residential electricity consumption and found DST increased consumption overall by 1 percent - contradicting the DST policy intent. However, a congressional 2008 study found total electricity consumption was saved by .03 percent.

Prior to the most recent period change, DST has undergone seven changes since it first started. To conserve resources for the war effort Congress enacted DST during WW I from 1918-1919. It was so unpopular with the country it was repealed. During WW II it was enacted again, and repealed after the war. When the Department of Transportation started in 1966 it was given oversight on time laws. DST was formalized in the Uniform Time Act of 1966.

During the Arab Oil Embargo DST was extended for 10 months in 1974 and eight months in 1975. The department said 10,000 barrels of oil were saved each day. But the extended DST did not last past 1975 due to opposition from farming states.

Afterward, DST was going from the last Sunday in April to last Sunday in October. Former President Ronald Reagan changed DST in 1986 starting it on the first Sunday in April. A 2001 California Energy Commission study noted most savings on electricity will occur under Winter DST (last Sunday in October-first Sunday of April). California put a bill in Congress to be on DST all year round, but it never gained traction.

Overall Daylight Saving Time does not seem to provide any great benefit. Some scientists go so far as concluding detrimental health effects from the time change. By next week we won't even care.