Spring ahead and Fall back, is the best catch phrase to understand and remember Daylight saving time.
Daylight Saving Time Explained
Sun is a great source of heat and light. Daylight saving time is just making optimal usage of sunlight. During summers the days become longer than nights. Hence throughout summers, clocks are moved ahead by an hour and during winters clocks are rolled back to the standard time. By moving the clock ahead by one hour, adhering to daylight saving time, an additional hour of daylight is added to the summer evenings. It results in electricity saving. Since antiquity humans have been inspired by nature and have implemented various energy usage and saving techniques from natural resources.
Daylight Saving Time Implementation
In United States the clocks are moved ahead by one hour on the second Sunday of March at 2 a.m. That is, after 1:59 a.m. it will be 3.00 a.m. Similarly on the first Sunday of November the clocks are rolled back by one hour to its Standard Time. That is after 1.59 a.m. it will be 1.00 am instead of 2.00 am.
The daylight saving time commencement and ending dates have been varying since its inception. The current dates are effective from 2007 according to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. For the year 2009 the daylight saving time will start on March 8th and end on November 1st. Daylight saving time is effective according to different time zones in United States.
Daylight Saving Time History
During 1784, Benjamin Franklin pioneered the concept of daylight saving time, in the journal, An Economical Project. Later in 1907 it was proposed by London builder, William Willet in the paper, Waste of Daylight.
In 1915, during World War I, Germany became the first country to observe daylight saving time. In United States it was implemented according to the Uniform Time Act of 1966 passed by the congress and the states started observing Daylight Saving Time.
Daylight Saving Time Usage
*To make optimal usage of sunlight during long sunny summer days and reducing electricity consumption.
*When we set the clock for Daylight saving time, it is good reminder to change the batteries of household smoke detectors as well. It is highly recommended by The National Fire Protection Association and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The time, 2.00 a.m. is appropriate to implement Daylight saving time, as most people are at home, fewer movements of trains and buses. Restaurants and Bars also close by then. It is the best time to alter clocks causing minimal commotion.
Daylight Saving Time is observed in forty-eight US states except Hawaii and Arizona(Navajo Indian Reservation in Arizona observe Daylight Saving Time). The state of Indiana took to Daylight Saving Time very recently in the year 2006.
Today technology has made it easy to observe daylight saving time. The computer clock and the mobile phone clock automatically update time change via satellites and time servers. Wrist watches and wall clocks still needs to be set manually.
