Daylight time question

[Hawkmoon]

Daylight time for all of the United States (except Arizona and Hawaii) ends next weekend. The duration of "daylight savings time" was extended in 2007, to run from mid-March to the first Sunday in November. This was supposedly pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

I have never understood how tinkering with the clocks in any way conserves energy. Can someone explain this mystery to me?

[griz]

I've heard it explained that having people get up before it's light causes them to use more electricity since they turn on the lights.  But I think it's just a catch phrase at this point.  In the same way "Racist" = Bad, "Conserves Energy" = Good.

[230RN]

I always figured it was just to allow summertime activities to go on "later" by the clock.  So incidentally that saves some lighting energy.  But we're only "saving" daylight from the morning and using it later in the day,.and that's why it's called Daylight Savings Time.  Here it's MDT or MST for Mountain time.

Apparently most agricultural folks don't like it much because the animals get hungry by solar time, so the farmers have to get up to take care of them "earlier" by the clock. So incidentally that uses some lighting energy .

So since there are more urbanites "saving" energy late in the "clock" day  than there are rural folks "using" energy early in the "clock" day, there's a net energy savings effect.

Or let me put it this way: "There's supposedly a net energy savings effect."

I expect there's a latitude contributor to this "savings" but I'm not about to noodle that out on only one cup of AM coffee.

Terry (yawn), 230RN

Hmmm... so after sipping on that second cuppa and abluting, Terry mutters to himself, "So let's see.... at 40° latitude, I'm almost halfway up to the North Pole from the Equator.... now, at the Arctic Circle, which is 90° minus the earth's tilt..."

[Ben]

I expect there's a latitude contributor to this "savings" but I'm not about to noodle that out on only one cup of AM coffee.

Terry (yawn), 230RN

As someone who is an early riser and that has always despised DST, I despise it even more living on the Western edge of the Mountain time zone (in fact I live well into the Pacific time zone if you draw a straight line). I get up at 0500. Right now, the sun doesn't come up here until 0815, so yeah, lots of lights and energy are used in the morning.

If they make DST fulltime, sunrise will be ~0920 in December in these parts. For at least half the year, peak morning commute, and kids going to school, will be in the dark. I imagine accidents will rise significantly.

[K Frame]

"Can someone explain this mystery to me?"

Sure! It's easy!

It's never worked the way everyone says it will.

See? Easy.

[K Frame]

I don't much mind the fall back time change (except for forgetting to reset Seren's body clock every year), but I HATE HATE HATE the spring forward time change. Completely screws me up for at least a week.

[Boomhauer]

During the winter I get up in the dark, drive to work in the dark, drive home with the sun blinding me in the face as it sets and get home right in the dark

During DST I still get up in the dark and drive to work in the dark but at least I have some decent time at home with it still light out to grill out and play with the dogs and take care of the lawn.

[RoadKingLarry]

When I was working for someone else I always appreciated the extra daylight at the end of the workday during DST. Winter time it was always dark when I left for work and dark when I got home, hated that. Being "retired" I pretty well set my own hours so don't care anymore.

[230RN]

As someone who is an early riser and that has always despised DST, I despise it even more living on the Western edge of the Mountain time zone (in fact I live well into the Pacific time zone if you draw a straight line). I get up at 0500. Right now, the sun doesn't come up here until 0815, so yeah, lots of lights and energy are used in the morning.

If they make DST fulltime, sunrise will be ~0920 in December in these parts. For at least half the year, peak morning commute, and kids going to school, will be in the dark. I imagine accidents will rise significantly.

Well, you're pretty far north, too, compared to CA.

There are some places which only advance and retard the clock by a half hour instead of an hour.  There's no law that says geographical boundaries have to be straight lines.  The international date "line" wanders around the pacific quite a bit.

[HankB]

When I was working for someone else I always appreciated the extra daylight at the end of the workday during DST. Winter time it was always dark when I left for work and dark when I got home, hated that. Being "retired" I pretty well set my own hours so don't care anymore.

This could have been my post. 

[Kingcreek]

Years ago, an old friend of the family and retired farmer, absolutely refused to change his clocks or acknowledge DST in any way. He always had a pocket watch in the bib of his coveralls. As a youngster I used to ask him what time it was just to get him to pull his watch and announce xx o’clock Gods Time!

[ConstitutionCowboy]

It's very simple for me. Sun goes down, turn on the light. Sun come up, turn the light off. The clock be damned! 

Woody 

[Perd Hapley]

Another year. Another 2 rounds of kvetching about DST. For that reason alone, I want it gone.

[Hawkmoon]

Not too long ago, I read somewhere that some geniuses wanted (in the holy name of ENERGY CONSERVATION to switch the eastern time zone to the same time as the Atlantic time zone -- for the entire year. That's essentially making it daylight time all year.

I still can't convince myself that daylight time saves any energy. Especially today, when more homes and more commercial buildings are computer controlled (and smarter than the average bureaucrat), the lights and the temperature are going to happen when they need to happen, irrespective of the clock.

What going back to non-daylight time means for me is that it might be a little lighter when I leave for work (but it hasn't been dark anyway), but it'll be full dark when I leave work.

[ConstitutionCowboy]

Another year. Another 2 rounds of kvetching about DST. For that reason alone, I want it gone.

Me Too!

Woody

[Ben]

Another year. Another 2 rounds of kvetching about DST. For that reason alone, I want it gone.

We need to do something about the people kvetching about the kvetching. 

[Tuco]

We need to do something about the people kvetching about the kvetching. 

That's just about enough of that

[ConstitutionCowboy]

We need to do something about the people kvetching about the kvetching. 

Too late!

Woody

[230RN]

Years ago, an old friend of the family and retired farmer, absolutely refused to change his clocks or acknowledge DST in any way. He always had a pocket watch in the bib of his coveralls. As a youngster I used to ask him what time it was just to get him to pull his watch and announce xx o’clock Gods Time!

So where was the Garden of Eden with respect to Greenwich England's longitude of zero?  Maybe we should reconsider the lpcation of the "Prime Meridian."

[MechAg94]

Not too long ago, I read somewhere that some geniuses wanted (in the holy name of ENERGY CONSERVATION to switch the eastern time zone to the same time as the Atlantic time zone -- for the entire year. That's essentially making it daylight time all year.

I still can't convince myself that daylight time saves any energy. Especially today, when more homes and more commercial buildings are computer controlled (and smarter than the average bureaucrat), the lights and the temperature are going to happen when they need to happen, irrespective of the clock.

What going back to non-daylight time means for me is that it might be a little lighter when I leave for work (but it hasn't been dark anyway), but it'll be full dark when I leave work.

I don't think it saves "significant" energy.  Unless someone has high wattage lights, the energy used by lighting is pretty small.  The highest wattage lights most people have are the outdoor lights which will be on anyway.  Most other energy uses are going to be more or less the same no matter what time people get up. 

[zahc]

I heard the Senate passed a law this year to stop clock changing. What ever happened to that?

[Tuco]

I heard the Senate passed a law this year to stop clock changing. What ever happened to that?

You can have my "set time" button when you pry it from my cold sleepy fingers