Turn The Clocks Back? Daylight Savings Time Claimed To Waste Energy

Daylight savings time 2013 makes us a turn the clocks back tonight at midnight, but is that just a waste of energy?

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, polls asking whether we should turn the clocks back for daylight savings time indicate high support by Americans.

A 2012 survey by Rasmussen Reports found that 40 percent of American disagree with daylight savings time, while 45 percent believe it’s better to keep things as they are. But Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time, claims that studies have shown the time shift doesn’t actually do anything to cut down on energy usage.

Some recent studies suggest the theory behind turning the clocks back might be good, but the reality might really result in increased use of electricity. With modern changes in home heating and cooling usage, the perceived “savings” has actually turned out in some cases to cost more than it saves.

Arizona is one of the few states who are exempted from daylight savings time due to their extreme heat. If Arizona were to turn the clocks back, the sun would be out until 9 PM, and the heat would be there right along with it. The short of it is that there wouldn’t be any energy savings from observing daylight savings time.

So while there might be individual exceptions, what about the United States as a whole? The US Department of Energy looked at the effects of turning the clocks back on national energy consumption, checking in with 67 electric utilities. That study showed a savings of about 0.5 percent per day, or 1.3 trillion watt hours. This sounds small, but impressive energy savings could power 100,000 houses for an entire year. Included in that study was not only residential power use, but also commercial.

Besides debates over energy usage, some studies claim if we turn the clocks back our health is harmed:

Should we continue to turn the clocks back for daylight savings time?