It may not look like it outside, but spring is at our doorstep! Soon we’ll be attending backyard BBQs, shuttling the kids to little league practice and complaining about the heat! There is no better indication of the coming of springtime than setting the clocks forward one hour for Daylight Saving Time!
Even though most will set their clocks forward by one hour before bedtime on Saturday night, the exact time of DST 2015 is 2am on Sunday morning, March 8th. Two clocks you normally will not have to change are on your cell phones and cable boxes. These are usually automatically programmed to adjust for time change.
You may wonder, why do we observe Daylight Saving Time? At one time, it was to save electricity. But newer studies have been challenging the long-held reason.
In general, the demand for electricity for lighting our homes is directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get up. When we go to sleep, we turn off our TVs and lights. In the average American home, 25% of electricity we use is from electronic appliances and lights, and a good percentage of that usage occurs in the evening when families are home. So, by moving the clock ahead one hour, we cut the amount of electricity we use each day.
In fact, Philadelphian Benjamin Franklin was the first person to suggest DST in 1784, but the idea didn’t catch on until World War I to save on artificial lighting costs. Overall, Daylight Saving Time is said to cut back 1% of daily electricity usage!
So, spring forward and enjoy the coming warmth!
