Daylight Savings Time This Weekend – Why do we spring forward?

We all know the saying, “Spring Forward, Fall Back.”   Every spring we move our clocks forward an hour when Daylight Savings Time begins, and move them back in the fall when it ends.  This weekend (technically Sunday, March 14 at 2:00 a.m.) don’t forget to change your clocks.  Starting in 2007, Daylight Savings Time was extended by one month – beginning at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and lasting until 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November.

In recent years, government has paid much attention to energy conservation, offering credits for adapting green technologies, making a home more energy efficient, trading in gas guzzlers, and upgrading to energy efficient appliances.  Many of these credits are a part of the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, which actually implements many of the ideas originally introduced in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

One of the main reasons we change our clocks is to conserve energy.  Energy use and demand is directly affected by the number of hours we are awake – TVs are in use, lights are on,  and appliances are in use. The average home spends 25 percent of their electricity on lighting and small appliances, of which a large portion is used when families are home and awake in the evening.  By moving the clock ahead one hour, we can cut our daily consumption of electricity.  Studies have shown that Daylight Savings Time reduces our country’s use of electricity by about one percent each day.

When Daylight Savings Time is in effect, the sun sets an hour later which means homeowners will not have to turn the lights on as much or as early. Also, with the added hour of sunlight many Americans spend more time outdoors instead of inside where they are more inclined to consume electricity.  While that may seem like a small savings per household, the net affect for our country is significant.

HLB Gross Collins, P.C. is committed to green technologies and reducing energy usage. When we moved to our new office in 2009, we completed our initiative to become a paperless office and we incorporated many energy efficient lighting and electrical strategies into the design of the new office.

This weekend when you move your clock forward, don’t think about that precious hour of sleep you will lose. Instead, think about the overall impact that Daylight Savings Time has on our country’s effort to use less energy, and the impact that will have for generations to come.

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