The practice of changing clocks forward in the spring and back in the autumn, known as Daylight Saving Time (DST), was proposed by George Hudson to provide more sunlight in the summer. However, changing a clock doesn't actually create more sunlight, but it does make the sun seem to rise and set later, giving people more time to enjoy the sunshine and summer weather after work. The time when clocks are moved forward is called Daylight Saving Time, and the rest of the year is called Standard Time.
DST was first proposed in 1895 in Wellington, but it wasn't well received until 1916 when Germany was the first country to implement it. The Germans believed DST would conserve energy by encouraging people to stay out later in the summer and use less artificial lighting. However, the effectiveness of DST in modern times is a complex issue. For example, in places like Phoenix, where the average summer high is 107 degrees, DST might actually cost electricity, not save it.
The practice of DST also has implications for scheduling meetings across time zones, as countries often disagree on when DST should start and end. This inconsistency can make planning international meetings challenging. Furthermore, DST is not consistently implemented within countries, leading to further complications. For instance, in the United States, DST is not observed in several states, including Arizona and Hawaii.
Despite the potential benefits of DST, such as providing more sunlight in the summer, it also has drawbacks. For example, it can lead to sleep deprivation and associated health problems, as people are less productive the week after the clock changes. Additionally, the hassle of switching the clocks twice a year can be seen as a disadvantage.
In conclusion, while DST may provide more sunlight in the summer, its effectiveness in saving electricity is debatable and it can lead to various complications, including sleep deprivation and difficulties in scheduling meetings across time zones. Therefore, the decision to implement DST is a complex one that needs to be carefully considered.
1. Countries move their clocks forward in the spring and back in the autumn.
2. The original idea behind this practice was proposed by George Hudson to give people more sunlight in the summer.
3. Moving the clocks forward doesn't make more sunlight, but it makes the sun seem to rise and set later.
4. The period when the clocks are moved forward is called Daylight Saving Time.
5. The rest of the year is called Standard Time.
6. This switch gives people more time to enjoy the sunshine and nice summer weather after work.
7. When winter comes, the clocks move back.
8. The further you travel from the equator, the more the seasons assert themselves.
9. The further a country is from the equator, the more likely it is to use daylight saving time.
10. Hudson proposed his idea in Wellington in 1895, but it wasn't well received until 1916 when Germany was the first country to put it into practice.
11. The Germans thought daylight saving time would conserve energy by encouraging people to stay out later in the summer and thus use less artificial lighting.
12. Air conditioning makes otherwise uninhabitable sections of the world quite tolerable places to live.
13. Turning on one air conditioner is the same as running dozens of tungsten light bulbs.
14. If people get more sunshine but don't use it to go outside, then Daylight Saving Time might actually cost electricity, not save it.
15. This is particularly true in a place like Phoenix, where the average summer high is 107 degrees and the record is 122.
16. If you suggest to an Arizonian to change their clocks in the summer to get more sunshine, they laugh in your face.
17. More sun and higher electricity bills are not what they want, which is why Arizona is the second state that never changes their clocks.
18. Another problem when trying to study daylight saving time is rapid changes in technology and electrical use.
19. As technology gets better, more electricity is dedicated to things that aren't light bulbs.
20. The lure of a hot, sweaty, mosquito-filled day outside is less appealing than technological entertainments and climate-controlled comfort inside.
21. Tungsten light bulbs that have remained unchanged for a century are giving way to CFLs and LEDs, greatly reducing the amount of energy required to light a room.
22. Even assuming that Daylight Saving Time is effective, it's probably less effective with every passing year.
23. The bottom line is while some studies say Daylight Saving Time costs more electricity and others say it saves electricity, the one thing they agree on is the effect size: not 20% or 10% but 1% or less, which, in the United States, works out to be about $4 per household.
24. $4 saved or spent on electricity over an entire year is not really a huge deal either way.
25. The most obvious trouble comes from sleep depravation – an already common problem in the western world that Daylight Saving Time makes measurably worse.
26. With time-tracking software, it's possible to see that people are less productive the week after the clock changes.
27. Sleep depravation can lead to heart attacks and suicides, and Daylight Saving Time Monday has a higher than normal spike in both.
28. Other troubles come from scheduling meetings across time zones.
29. Planning international meetings is made extra difficult when they don't agree on when Daylight Saving Time should start and end.
30. In the spring, Sydney is 11 hours ahead of London and New York is five hours behind.
31. But then New York is the first to enter Daylight Saving Time and moves its clock forward an hour.
32. Two weeks later London does the same.
33. In one more week, Sydney, being on the opposite side of the world, leaves Daylight Saving Time and moves its clock back an hour.
34. So in the space of three weeks, New York is five hours behind London, then four hours and then five hours again.
35. And Sydney is either 11, 10 or 9 hours from London and 16, 15 or 14 hours from New York.
36. And this whole crazy thing happens