Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday morning

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Olenda Peña-Perez
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE --  On Aug. 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. 

The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress will retain the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete. 

In the U.S., clocks change at 2 a.m. local time. In spring, clocks spring forward from 1:59 a.m. to 3 a.m. 

One of the biggest reasons we change our clocks to Daylight Saving Time is to save energy. Energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting our homes are directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get up. Bedtime for most people is late evening through the year. When we go to bed, we turn off the lights and TV.
In the average home, 25 percent of all the electricity we use is for lighting and small appliances, such as TVs, VCRs and stereos, said Bob Aldrich, California Energy Commission. A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, we can cut the amount of electricity we consume each day. 

Studies done in the 1970s by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that we trim the entire country's electricity usage by about one percent each day with Daylight Saving Time. 

Daylight Saving Time "makes" the sun "set" one hour later and therefore reduces the period between sunset and bedtime by one hour. This means that less electricity would be used for lighting and appliances late in the day. 

We also use less electricity because we are home fewer hours during the "longer" days of spring and summer. 

Most people plan outdoor activities in the extra daylight hours. When we are not at home, we don't turn on the appliances and lights. 

A poll done by the U.S. Department of Transportation indicated that Americans liked Daylight Saving Time because "there is more light in the evenings, and they can do more in the evenings." 

While the amounts of energy saved per household are small ... added up they can be very large.