Daylight Savings Time: Rationale And Original Idea

Susan Here; and I thought this was very interesting. I hope you will too.

From webxhibits:

First a brief definition:

The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called "Summer Time" in many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening.

Then some reason why we do it;

According to some sources, DST saves energy. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1975 showed that Daylight Saving Time trims the entire country's electricity usage by a small but significant amount, about one percent each day, because less electricity is used for lighting and appliances. Similarly, in New Zealand, power companies have found that power usage decreases 3.5 percent when daylight saving starts. In the first week, peak evening consumption commonly drops around five percent.

The rationale behind the 1975 study of DST-related energy savings was that energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting homes is directly related to the times when people go to bed at night and rise in the morning. In the average home, 25 percent of electricity was used for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs and stereos. A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurred in the evening when families were home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, the amount of electricity consumed each day decreased.

And finally the Original Idea:

The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784, in an essay, "An Economical Project."

Frankly, I think we should just let Mother Nature do what she does when she wants and stop messing with this. There is going to be more sunlight in the summer and less in the winter "naturally". You should follow the link and read the whole story. It's a good one.
Technorati Tags: day light savings time, Benjamin Franklin, saving energy, DST, news, politics