Ben Franklin -- Initiator of Daylight Savings Time

 We can thank or cuss Ben Franklin for the idea of Daylight Savings. He was apparently the first person to suggest the concept, based on research on that topic.

Franklin, while serving as U.S. Ambassador to France, in Paris, wrote of being awakened at 6 a.m. and realizing to his surprise, that the sun would rise far earlier than he usually did. He imagined the resources that might be saved if he and others rose before noon and burned less midnight oil, or so Franklin wrote in a newspaper at the time. He realized it would be beneficial to make better use of daylight but he did not really know how to implement it.

World War I Lessons

Later, during World War I, it was realized that savings could be made on a grand scale. Germany was the first to adopt time changes to reduce artificial lighting and in turn save coal for the war effort. As would be expected, there were friends and foes of the idea.

In the United States, a federal law standardized the yearly start and end of daylight saving time in 1918 for the states the chose to observe it.

World War II Lessons

Later, during World War II the U.S. made daylight saving time mandatory for the entire country. It was a way to save wartime resources. Between February 9, 1942, and September 30, 1945, the government went one step further. During this time daylight saving time was observed year-round, essentially making it the new standard time, if only for a few years.

Arab Oil Embargo-1973-74

Since then, Daylight Saving Time was optional for the states. Thus the beginning and end shifted or disappeared. During the Arab Oil embargo of 1973-74, the U.S. again extended daylight saving time through the winter, resulting in a reported one percent decrease in the country’s electrical load.

Then in 2005, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was enacted mandating a month-long extension of Daylight Saving Time beginning in 2007.

In recent years several studies have suggested that daylight saving time doesn't actually save energy—and might even result in a net loss. Environmental economist Hendrick Wolff of the University of Washington co-authored a paper that studied Australian power-use data when parts of the country extended daylight saving time for the 2000 Sydney Olympics and others did not. The researchers found that the practice reduced lighting and electricity consumption in the evening but increased energy use in the now dark mornings—wiping out the evening gains.

But Wolff, one of many scholars who contributed to the federal report, suggested that the numbers were subject to statistical variability and shouldn't be taken as hard facts.

Location Is Everything

And daylight savings' energy gains in the U.S. largely depend on your location in relation to the Mason-Dixon Line, Wolff said.

"The North might be a slight winner, because the North doesn't have as much air conditioning," he said. "But the South is a definite loser in terms of energy consumption. The South has more energy consumption under daylight saving."

How much energy did you save this past Daylight Savings year?