According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, daylight saving time saves energy. Since the sun sets one hour later in the evenings, the need to use electricity for household lighting and appliances is reduced. The same can be applied for the morning hours, as most people will wake up after the sun has risen.
In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy studied the impact of the extended daylight saving time on energy consumption and found that the extra four weeks saved about 0.5% in total electricity per day. While that number might seem small, it added up to electricity savings of 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours — or the amount of electricity used by more than 100,000 households for an entire year, according to the department website.
The Colombus Dispatch news article has written.
