Spring is just around the corner and what better way to celebrate the change of seasons than to have one more hour of daylight.
So, what does that mean for you? One less hour of sleep, but more sunlight. Gear up-- warmer weather is on the horizon.
How did daylight savings time start?
Benjamin Franklin was the first person to suggest daylight savings time to save on burned oil but he didn't know how to implement the time change. It wasn't until World War I that daylight savings time was adopted on a grand scale. Germany was the first country to implement such time change. This was to help reduce the artificial lighting and save coal for the war efforts. United States first implemented the time change in 1918, but was optional from state to state.
In 1942, during World War II, the United States made daylight savings time mandatory for the whole country, as a way to save energy for the war efforts. At that time, the change was only meant to be in place for a couple of years. Since that time, the time change became optional from state to state. The start and end dates have changed and even disappeared over the years.
Why did daylight savings time change from October to November?
Due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight savings time was extended in 2007. Wyoming Senator Michael Enzi and Michigan Representative Fred Upton pushed for the extension from October to November to allow children to go trick-or-treating in the daylight, for safety reasons. The committee agreed. Since such change, Halloween related injuries have greatly reduced.
Do all U.S states observe daylight savings time?
Most U.S. states observe the time change. Currently, the only states that do not observe this standard savings time are Arizona, territories of Puerto Rico and Hawaii.
Does daylight savings time actually save money?
Although many reports do not demonstrate an energy savings, a report in 2008, by Matthew Kotchen, an economist at the University of California, indicated that Americans save in artificial lighting but has an increase charges in air conditioning because daylight savings adds one hour of hotter temperatures at night. This results in higher electrical bills. This begs the question, is the State of Ohio mandating the daylight savings time to help energy companies profit from an extra hour? That is the question, many Ohioans want answered, as well as individuals in other states that participate in daylight savings time.
Even though, daylight savings time was designed not only to help with energy costs it was also designed to add an additional hour of daylight to the summer. Some of us are sad to see it end in November.
Why did the end of daylight savings time change from October to November?
Due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight savings time was extended in 2007. Wyoming Senator Michael Enzi and Michigan Representative Fred Upton pushed for the extension from October to November to allow children to go trick-or-treating in the daylight, for safety reasons. The committee agreed. Since such change, Halloween related injuries have greatly reduced.
Don't forget to spring forward!
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