Today, we had to shift our clocks one hour forward because of Daylight Saving Time. Having lived in Singapore all my life prior to coming to Sydney, I never had to do this. In March, we shifted the clock one hour back and now we have to shift it one hour forward.
Intrigued by the idea, I decided to read up a little more on why we do it. The idea of daylight saving was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin during his sojourn as an American delegate in Paris in 1784, in an essay, “An Economical Project.” Go here to read more about it. Read about the history and you would also be surprised at all the legislation involved in the implementation of this concept. Below’s a sample of the information you will find at this very comprehensive website on Daylight Saving Time.
“The main purpose of Daylight Saving Time (called “Summer Time” many places in the world) is to make better use of daylight. We change our clocks during the summer months to move an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening. Countries have different change dates.
If you live near the equator, day and night are nearly the same length (12 hours). But elsewhere on Earth, there is much more daylight in the Summer than in the Winter. The closer you live to the North or South pole, the longer the summers. Thus, Daylight Saving Time (Summer Time) is not helpful in the tropics, and countries near the equator do not usually change their clocks.
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 / can do more in the evenings.” A 1976 survey of 2.7 million citizens in New South Wales found 68% liked daylight saving.
Daylight Saving Time also saves energy. Studies done by the U.S. Department of Transportation show that Daylight Saving Time trims the entire country’s electricity usage by a significant, but small amount, of less than one percent each day with Daylight Saving Time. We save energy in both the evening and the morning because we use less electricity for lighting and appliances. Similarly, In New Zealand, power companies have found that power usage decreases 3.5% when daylight saving starts. In the first week, peak evening consumption commonly drops around 5%.
Energy use and the demand for electricity for lighting our homes is directly connected to when we go to bed and when we get up. Bedtime for most of us 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. 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.

Daylight Saving Time also saves a small amount of energy in the morning when we rise. Studies show that 70 percent of all Americans rise prior to 7 a.m. during the workweek. During the summer months, sunrise is very early in the morning, so most people will wake after the sun rises. Because the sun is up, we will turn on fewer lights in our homes. Thus, we actually use less energy in the morning.
In the winter, the afternoon Daylight Saving Time advantage is offset by the morning’s need for more lighting. In spring and fall, the advantage is less than one hour. So, Daylight Saving Time saves energy for lighting in all seasons of the year except for the four darkest months of winter (November, December, January and February) when the afternoon advantage is offset by the need for lighting because of late sunrise.
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.
There is a small public health benefit to Daylight Saving time. Several studies in the U.S. and Britain have found that daylight, almost certainly because of improved visibility, substantially decreases (by four times) the likelihood of pedestrians being killed on the roads. Even if it is beneficial overall, Daylight Saving Time shifts this danger from the evening to the morning.