Q: Why do we change to Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. before spring actually begins, whereas in Europe they do it 10 days after? Are we more advanced in our calculations? — Pavittar Safir, Roswell
A: The start of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the U.S. was moved up about one month as part of the 2005 Energy Policy Act. That extended DST from early March to late October, instead of early April to late October. One of the purposes of extending DST was to cut energy usage, factoring that if days are longer, Americans will use less power to light their houses at night. Researchers have found, however, that longer days have increased the demands on cooling homes during summer months. Michael Downing (michaeldowningbooks.com), an author and lecturer at Tufts University who wrote "Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time," told Q&A on the News in an email that Americans also spend more on fuel because the days are longer. That results in a $1 billion boost in sales each year, mostly from fuel sales, for the nation's convenience stores. "We get in our cars and drive, increasing the demand for gasoline," he wrote. DST in the U.S. begins two weeks to about one month before DST in Europe. This year, DST began on March 9 in the U.S.; it begins March 30 in Europe. "We can thank the retail lobby for the new dates, which put us out of sync with every other daylight-saving nation in the Northern Hemisphere, but Canada," Downing wrote.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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