Daylight Spending Time?

We all just “sprung forward” – set our clocks ahead, got ourselves (and our kids!) adjusted to a new time, found that one clock that didn’t get changed and wonder, for however long, if that’s really what time it is, etc. And we all happily put up with it (ok, some of us not so happily) because we know that daylight savings time saves energy!

Or does it? Congress and President Bush say it does. The Energy Policy Act of 2005, which was signed into law on July 29, 2005, added an extra month to Daylight Savings Time in order to save energy. And at first glance, it makes sense – we get more daylight, so we’re less likely to have to use electricity to light our homes.

Except no studies have shown that DST actually saves energy. Sure, we might save a few pennies a month in our home electric bills, and that does add up. But, according to Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, when we have more daylight, we don’t stay home. We go do stuff! We go outside, we go to the ballpark, to the mall, wherever. But we’re Americans. When we go out to do whatever it is we’re doing with our extra hour, you can bet we’re not walking – we’re driving. So whatever little energy we may save at home, we’re using up in our cars. More than likely, we’re using more than we save. And not only that, a recent Australian study showed that the energy saved in the evening is made up for by the extra energy used in the now-dark mornings.

However, DST is a wonderful spending policy. The first lobby for DST in congress was the US Chamber of Commerce. When it’s still light when you get finished with work, you’re more likely to make a quick run to the mall, rather than just head home. In 1986, the golf industry said that 1 additional month of DST would bring in an additional $200 million in golf club sales and greens fees.

This year, in addition to the extra 3 weeks of DST in the spring, we’ve also got one more week in the fall. Now, kids will trick-or-treat on daylight time, not standard time. And the candy companies are thrilled. An extra hour of daylight is an extra hour of candy collecting. In 1985, during the senate hearings on DST, the candy lobbyists even put a candy pumpkin on the seat of every senator.

So, DST doesn’t really save any energy. It makes us spend more money, and requires us to buy more candy for Halloween. Don’t get me wrong – the extra hour of daylight is wonderful, and I enjoy the extra hour of sleep when we “fall back”. But let’s be truthful. If we’re extending Daylight Savings Time an extra month (we now have 8 months of DST each year – sort of muddies the waters on the term “standard time”, doesn’t it?), we should at least know the real reason we’re doing it. And it’s not for energy savings.

Really want to save energy? Here’s some simple ways:

• get a programmable thermostat and set it so you’re using less heating/cooling when you’re not home or sleeping
• lower the temperature on your water heater – 120 degrees is a nice compromise. Hot enough for a nice shower, but not so hot you’ll get scalded
• change your lightbulbs from conventional incandescent to more energy efficient styles. The advantage with many of these, besides saving energy, is that they last much longer than regular bulbs!
• In spring and fall (and cooler summer days), open your windows and let nature cool your house instead of using your air conditioning.

And when you are taking advantage of the extra daylight, and driving around for some extra shopping, or a baseball game, or whatever, carpool!

-emschwar