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Daylight saving time

Daylight saving time (also called DST) is a term used for a system intended to "save" daylight (It is also known as summer time in both Britain and Europe). The official time is adjusted forward, (usually) one hour from its official standard time, remaining that way for the duration of the spring and summer months. This is intended to provide a better match between the hours of daylight and the active hours of work and school. DST is most commonly used in temperate regions, due to the considerable variation in the amount of daylight versus darkness through the seasons in those regions.

Note that the term commonly used in the United States, daylight savings time, is incorrect, for both historic (the correct name as provided by the act which inaugurated it in the United States is daylight saving time) and grammatical reasons.

Origin

It is sometimes asserted that DST was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in a letter to the editors of the Journal of Paris. (Read the full text.) However, the article was humorous; Franklin was not proposing DST, but rather that people should get up and go to bed earlier.

It was first seriously proposed by William Willett in the "Waste of Daylight", published in 1907, but he was unable to get the British government to adopt it despite considerable lobbying.

The idea of daylight saving time was first put into practice by the German government during the First World War between April 30 and October 1, 1916. Shortly afterward, the United Kingdom followed suit, first adopting DST between May 21 and October 1, 1916. Then on March 19, 1918, the U.S. Congress established several time zones (which were already in use by railroads and most cities since 1883) and made daylight saving time official (which went into effect on March 31) for the remainder of World War I. It was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. The law, however, proved so unpopular (mostly because people rose and went to bed earlier than in current times) that the law was later repealed.

Observation of DST

Daylight saving time is generally a temperate zone practice; day lengths in the tropics do not vary enough to justify DST. Hawaii, the only U.S. state in the tropics, does not observe DST.

The amount of the time shift varies, but one hour is the most common. The dates of the beginning and ending of DST also vary by country. With a few exceptions, switchovers between standard time and daylight saving time generally occur in the early morning hours of a Sunday morning, presumably because doing so then causes less disruption than a change on a weekday would.

DST commonly begins in the Northern Hemisphere on either the first Sunday in April or the last Sunday in March, and ends on the last Sunday in October. In the Southern Hemisphere, the beginning and ending dates are switched (thus the time difference between, e.g., the United Kingdom and Chile may be three, four, or five hours).

Usage and history by location

Africa

Egypt

Egypt operates Daylight-Saving Time between the last Friday in April and the last Thursday in September when the clocks are 3 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+3).

Asia

China

The People's Republic of China experimented with DST from 1986, but abandoned it in the 1990s. The PRC now uses one universal time zone for all of the nation from Urumqi in the northwest to Fujian in the southeast; the size of the nation was a major factor why DST was not considered practical in China.

India

India used DST briefly during its wars with Pakistan and China.

Iran

Iran uses the Persian calendar. Thus, DST in Iran starts on the first day of Farvardin (around 21-22 March) and ends on the first day of Mehr (around 22 September).

Israel

Israel adopts Daylight Saving Time on the last Friday before April 2 at 02:00, and returns to standard time at 02:00 of the Sunday of the month of Tishrei between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Israel's Daylight Saving Time rules have changed repeatedly in recent years; there has been trouble reaching a consensus regarding Gregorian calendar end dates for DST as they are dependant on Jewish Holidays, which follow the lunar Hebrew calendar. For more on this subject, see Israeli Daylight Saving Law.

Pakistan

Pakistan experimented with DST in 2002 going from +5:00 to +6:00. It has not used DST since then.

Australasia

Australia

In Australia, daylight saving time is a state/territory-based initiative. Some states/territories implement it and some do not.

New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia apply daylight saving time. Tasmania starts DST earlier than the others, usually near the beginning of October.

Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland do not have daylight saving. Queensland experimented with it for a year or two in the early 1970s, but it was not popular and was abandoned.

See the Australian time zones article or this site for maps and further information on standard and daylight saving time in Australia.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, daylight saving time begins at 2am (standard time) on the first Sunday in October each year, and ends at 2am (standard time) on the third Sunday of March. The Department of Internal Affairs gives further historical information on their website.

Europe

All countries in Europe, except Iceland as noted below, observe daylight-saving time and change on the same date: moving clocks forward one hour on the last Sunday in March and back one hour on the last Sunday in October. In the West European (UTC), Central European (UTC+1), and East European (UTC+2) time zones the change is simultaneous: on both dates the clocks are changed everywhere at 01:00 UTC, i.e. from local times of 01:00/02:00/03:00 to 02:00/03:00/04:00 in March, and vice versa in October. (See also: European Summer Time). In Russia, however, although the changeover dates are the same, clocks are moved forward or back at 02:00 winter time in all zones. Thus in Moscow (local time = UTC+3 in winter, UTC+4 in summer), daylight-saving time commences at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in March, and ends at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in October.

Iceland

With Iceland observing UTC all year round, despite being at a longitude which would indicate UTC-1, the country may be said to be on continuous DST. Polar or near-polar locations such as Iceland often opt out, as summer in these locations usually brings nearly uninterrupted daylight.

North America

North America generally follows the same procedure, going by local time in each zone, each time zone switching at 02:00 LST (local standard time) to 03:00 LDT (local daylight time) on the first Sunday in April, and again from 02:00 LDT to 01:00 LST on the last Sunday in October. In 2007, the starting and ending dates for DST will change in the United States and parts of Canada (see below).

The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is an exception in that the time changes take place at 00:01 local standard time and 00:01 local daylight time respectively. Also, in 1988, they experimented with Double Daylight Time, when the clocks went ahead by two hours, instead of the usual one hour.

Canada

In Canada, time is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, not federal. The governments of Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, and Alberta have pledged to change their daylight saving rules to match the new U.S. rules (The Calgary Sun). In 2007, their DST will start on the second Sunday of March, and return to standard time on the first Sunday in November. The remaining provinces and territories will continue change time on the first Sunday of April and last Sunday of October unless they change their legislation.

The province of Saskatchewan is the largest part of that country that does not use DST, that is, it does not adjust clocks in spring and fall. Saskatchewan is bisected by 105° west meridian, the central meridian of the Mountain Standard Time Zone (UTC−7), yet clocks are kept at UTC−6 all year long. (This policy was implemented when the Saskatchewan Time Act was passed in 1966, to solve the problems that arose when time zones varied from town to town.) Thus, in the summer months Saskatchewan is in sync with Mountain Daylight Time and in the winter months it is in sync with Central Standard Time. Observationally, this is equivalent to the province being on Mountain Daylight Time year-round, though officially the province is considered to be part of the Central time zone. The charter of the city of Lloydminster, which is bisected by the Saskatchewan–Alberta border, gives it a special exception (among areas in Saskatchewan) to use DST. Lloydminster and its immediately surrounding region in Saskatchewan use the same timekeeping routine used by Alberta, DST with Mountain Standard Time. Saskatchewan Government Relations gives further details on Saskatchewan's time policies.

Cuba

Cuba always starts its DST on April 1 but the end date varies. Since April 2004, Cuba has remained on DST.

Mexico

Mexico has adopted DST nationwide, even in its tropical regions, because of its increasing economic ties to the United States. The Mexican state of Sonora does not observe DST because it borders on the U.S. state of Arizona, which also does not observe DST.

United States

Through the end of 2006, the United States starts its DST on the first Sunday in April, and changes back to standard time on the last Sunday in October. Beginning in 2007, it will start DST on the second Sunday in March, and change back to standard time on the first Sunday in November.

Daylight saving time was reinstated in the United States on February 9, 1942, again as a wartime measure to conserve resources. This remained in effect until World War II began winding down and the requirement was removed on September 30, 1945.

From 1945 to 1966, U.S. federal law did not address daylight saving time. States and localities were free to observe daylight saving time or not. This resulted in a patchwork where some areas observed DST while adjacent areas did not, and it was not unheard of to have to reset one's clock several times during a relatively short trip (e.g., bus drivers operating between Moundsville, West Virginia, and Steubenville, Ohio had to reset their watches seven times over 35 miles).

The U.S. federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 mandated that daylight saving time begin nationwide on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. Any state that wanted to be exempt from daylight saving time could do so by passing a state law, provided that it exempt the entire state. The law was amended in 1972 to permit states that straddle a time zone boundary to exempt the entire area of the state lying in one time zone. The law was amended again in 1986 to begin daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April, to take effect the following year.

In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving in the United States was begun earlier in both 1974 and 1975, commencing on the first Sunday in January (January 6) in the former year and the last Sunday in February (February 23) in the latter.

Starting March 11, 2007, daylight saving time will be extended another four to five weeks, from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. The change was introduced by the Energy Policy Act of 2005; the House had originally approved a motion that would have extended DST even further. Proponents claimed that the extension would save "the equivalent of" 10,000 barrels of oil per day, but this figure was based on U.S. Department of Energy information from the 1970s, the accuracy and relevance of which the DoE no longer stands by. There is very little recent research on what the actual positive effects, if any, might be. (See this article, for example.)

The extension was greeted by criticism from the airline industry and those concerned for the safety of children traveling to school in the dark before the late sunrise.

An additional issue raised by this extension is that it requires reconfiguration of virtually every computer in the United States. Most computers are programmed to adjust automatically for DST, but they do so based on static tables stored directly on the computer itself. In order to change the dates and times at which the automatic jump to or from DST occurs, these tables must be modified, which requires some sort of manual intervention by a human being in the great majority of cases. A two-minute procedure for updating a computer, multiplied by a hundred million computers, represents nearly 1700 years of full-time labor. More difficult to quantify is the amount of labor and money that may be spent correcting errors that arise due to a failure to update computers. Certain types of information systems (those that schedule future events with reference to UTC, for example) are almost guaranteed to encounter serious desynchronization problems unless both computers and databases are carefully updated—in some cases by hand.

Arizona

Most of Arizona does not observe DST. However, the large Navajo Indian Reservation within it does.

Hawaii

Hawaii does not observe DST.

Indiana

DST has been a long-standing controversy in Indiana, not only as an agricultural state, but also because the border separating the Eastern and Central time zones divides the state. In the past, neighboring communities sometimes ended up one or even two hours apart. Being out of sync with neighboring states and the national changing of clocks, supporters argued, had a negative economic impact on the state. Some supporters claimed that some businesses had located out-of-state due to the time-related confusion. Opponents claimed that daylight saving time created costs and inconvenience associated with changing clocks twice a year and had little or no real value.

From 1991 until April 1, 2006 the state had three kinds of time zones and DST observances:

  • 77 counties — most of the state — were on Eastern Standard Time but did not use DST.
  • 5 northwestern counties near Chicago, Illinois and 5 southwestern counties near Evansville, Indiana were on Central Standard Time and did use DST.
  • 2 counties near Cincinnati, Ohio and 3 counties near Louisville, Kentucky were on Eastern Standard time but did observe DST. Their observance of DST was unofficial in this case, as a strict reading of the Uniform Time Act would not allow for this situation, but by observing DST, they remained synchronized with the greater Louisville and Cincinnati metropolitan areas.

On April 29, 2005, the Indiana legislature voted to begin observing daylight saving time statewide in 2006. The bill to observe DST also required the governor to request federal review of the time zone divisions in the state. As a result of the review, the United States Department of Transportation moved eight more counties to the Central time zone, effective when DST begins on April 2, 2006. These counties are: Starke and Pulaski Counties in the Northwest, and Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry, and Pike in the Southwest. Currently, Pulaski and Martin counties are reconsidering their bid to join the Central time zone.

Standard Time Zone Boundary in the State of Indiana (a 139 KB pdf file) has some history, public comments from each county, the final DOT determination, and the resulting time zone boundary.

South America

Chile

Chile switches to DST at 24:00 on the second Saturday in October and reverts to Local Standard Time (LST) at 24:00 on the second Sunday the following March. The current law which affects the entire country was enacted in 1970, but it had observed the practice as early as 1927 when the country had been divided into two distinct time zones. In specific years the starting and ending dates have been modified for political or climatic reasons.

Brazil

Brazil adopted DST for the first time in 1931, but uninterruptedly since 1985 in southern states (south, southeast regions and states of Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul). Starting and ending dates are variable: normally, Brazilian DST starts at 00:00 on an October (rarely November) Sunday and ends at 00:00 on a February Sunday.

Rationales for DST

One of the major reasons given for observing DST is energy conservation. Theoretically, the amount of residential electricity needed in the evening hours is dependent both on when the sun sets and when people go to bed. Because people tend to observe the same bedtime year-round, by artificially moving sunset one hour later, the amount of energy used is theoretically reduced. United States Department of Transportation studies showed that DST reduces the country's electricity usage by one percent while DST is in effect.

Part of the reason that it is normally observed in the late spring, summer, and early autumn is because during the winter months the amount of energy saved by moving sunset one hour later is negated by the increased need for morning lighting by moving sunrise by the same amount. During the summer most people would wake up after the sun rises, regardless of whether daylight saving time is in effect or not, so there is no increased need for morning lighting to offset the afternoon drop in energy usage.

Another perceived benefit of DST is increased opportunities for outdoor activities. Most people plan outdoor activities during the increased hours of sunlight. Other benefits cited include prevention of traffic injuries (by allowing more people to return home from work or school in daylight), and crime reduction (by reducing people's risk of being targets of crimes that are more common in dark areas).

When the U.S. went on extended DST in 1974 and 1975 in response to the 1973 energy crisis, Department of Transportation studies found that observing DST in March and April saved 10,000 barrels of oil a day, and prevented about 2,000 traffic injuries and 50 fatalities saving about U.S. $28 million in traffic costs. (Stats from this article).

Criticism of DST

DST is not universally accepted; many localities do not observe it. Opponents claim that there is not enough benefit to justify the need to adjust clocks twice every year. The disruption in sleep patterns associated with setting clocks either forward or backward correlates with a spike in the number of severe auto accidents, as well as lost productivity as sleep-disrupted workers adjust to the schedule change. It is also noted that much effort is spent reminding everyone twice a year of the change, and thousands are inconvenienced by showing up at the wrong time when they forget.

There is also a question whether the decrease in lighting costs justifies the increase in summertime air conditioning costs. While many people use more sunlight under DST, most people also experience more heat, which prompts many people to turn on the air conditioner during the warmer afternoon hours. When air conditioning was not widely available, the change did save energy; however, air conditioning is much more widespread now than it was several decades ago. Air conditioning often uses more energy than artificial lighting. It was for this reason that Arizona rejected DST and opted to stay on standard time all year.

It is also speculated that one of the benefits—more afternoon sun—would also actually increase energy consumption as people get into their cars to enjoy more time for shopping and the like.

No formal studies have been performed, but an enormous amount of time has been spent by software developers to deal with the fact that 2400 hours past 2pm is not necessarily 2pm 100 days later.

For example, during a North American time change, an autumn night where clocks are reset from 3 AM summer to 2 AM winter time, times between 2AM and 3AM will occur twice, causing confusion in transport schedules, payment systems, etc.

Some studies do show that changing the clock increases the traffic accident rate.[1] Following the spring shift to daylight saving time (when one hour of sleep is lost) there is a measurable increase in the number of traffic accidents that result in fatalities.

Some campaigners in Britain would like the country to stay on British Summer Time (BST) all year round, or in other words, adopt Central European Time and abolish BST. Alternatively, some would like Britain to adopt Central European Time and jump forward another hour during the summer (adopting a Single/Double Summer Time from Britain's perspective). This would make winter evenings longer, thereby reducing traffic accidents and cases of seasonal affective disorder. Opponents point to the longer hours of darkness on winter mornings, especially in Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland which might well cause an increase in road accidents.

DST is particularly unpopular among people working in agriculture because the animals do not observe it, and thus the people are placed out of synchronization with the rest of the community, including school times, broadcast schedules, and the like.

Other critics suggest that DST is, at its heart, government paternalism and that people rise in the morning as a matter of choice because many people enjoy nighttime hours and their jobs do not require them to make the most of daylight. Different people start their day at different times (office workers start their day later than factory workers, who start their day later than farm workers), regardless of daylight saving time.

Mnemonic

The mnemonic "spring forward, fall back" tells us how to reset clocks when the time changes, regardless of hemisphere (although it has to be remembered that spring and autumn occur during different months in the northern and southern hemispheres). This uses the word "fall" to mean "autumn"; while this usage has died out in British English, it is still very common in North American English. Another common mnemonic of equal meaning is "spring ahead, fall behind."

Associated practices

Fire safety officials in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States encourage citizens to use the two annual time changes as a reminder to check the batteries in home and office fire alarms and smoke detectors. For example, the Country Fire Authority of Victoria in Australia has been running a program called "Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery" for several years. This is especially important in autumn, just before the heating season causes an increase in home fires.

The name

In the standard form of the name, "daylight saving" is a compound adjective (part of which is a participle) that modifies "time." A common variant is daylight savings time. Although this alternate form is frequently heard in speech, it is nonstandard and appears rarely in edited writing. Most compound adjectives are joined with a hyphen, but "daylight-saving time," too, is nonstandard. Nevertheless, the form "daylight savings time" appears without remark as to its nonstandardness in some dictionaries, including The American Heritage Dictionary.

Notes

  1. ^  Ferguson, S.A. et al. (1995) Daylight saving time and motor vehicle crashes: the reduction in pedestrian and vehicle occupant fatalities. American Journal of Public Health 85, 92–95.

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Nevertheless, the form "daylight savings time" appears without remark as to its nonstandardness in some dictionaries, including The American Heritage Dictionary. Numerous discrepencies have emerged over the years, though the Lutz's continued claims that the book was essentially true help keep the legend alive in the public eye. Most compound adjectives are joined with a hyphen, but "daylight-saving time," too, is nonstandard. Weber had admitted that much of the story was created over "many bottles of wine" with the Lutz's [5]. In the standard form of the name, "daylight saving" is a compound adjective (part of which is a participle) that modifies "time." A common variant is daylight savings time. Although this alternate form is frequently heard in speech, it is nonstandard and appears rarely in edited writing. Weber" [4]. This is especially important in autumn, just before the heating season causes an increase in home fires. Weinstein dismissed the Lutz's claims, saying "it appears to me that to a large extent the book is a work of fiction, relying in a large part upon the suggestions of Mr.

For example, the Country Fire Authority of Victoria in Australia has been running a program called "Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery" for several years. Weinstein. Fire safety officials in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States encourage citizens to use the two annual time changes as a reminder to check the batteries in home and office fire alarms and smoke detectors. District Court judge Jack B. Another common mnemonic of equal meaning is "spring ahead, fall behind.". Eventually, the claims against the news corporations were dropped for lack of evidence, and the remainder of the case was tried by Brooklyn U.S. This uses the word "fall" to mean "autumn"; while this usage has died out in British English, it is still very common in North American English. Hoffman, Weber, and Burton immediately filed a countersuit alleging fraud and breach of contract.

The mnemonic "spring forward, fall back" tells us how to reset clocks when the time changes, regardless of hemisphere (although it has to be remembered that spring and autumn occur during different months in the northern and southern hemispheres). The story started to fall apart when the Lutz's filed suit against Paul Hoffman (a writer working on an account of the hauntings), William Weber (DeFeo's Lawyer), Bernard Burton, Frederick Mars (both clairvoyants who had examined the house), Good Housekeeping, New York Sunday News and the Hearst Corporation (who had published articles related to the hauntings), alleging invasion of privacy, misappropration of names for trade purposes, and mental distress. Different people start their day at different times (office workers start their day later than factory workers, who start their day later than farm workers), regardless of daylight saving time. The popular consensus today, however, among researchers of the incident is that "the facts depicted in the books (and the movies to follow) were written entirely as a profit making scheme" [3]. Other critics suggest that DST is, at its heart, government paternalism and that people rise in the morning as a matter of choice because many people enjoy nighttime hours and their jobs do not require them to make the most of daylight. The book and the subsequent movies were promoted as being based on a true story, and for a time Anson's word that "There is simply too much independent corroboration of their narrative to support the speculation that [the Lutzes] either imagined or fabricated these events" held. DST is particularly unpopular among people working in agriculture because the animals do not observe it, and thus the people are placed out of synchronization with the rest of the community, including school times, broadcast schedules, and the like. On January 14, 1976, George and Kathy Lutz, with their three children and their dog, Harry, fled the house on 112 Ocean Avenue, leaving most of their possessions behind.

Opponents point to the longer hours of darkness on winter mornings, especially in Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland which might well cause an increase in road accidents. After getting in touch with Father Ray, he managed to convince George and Kathy to take some belongings and stay at Kathy’s mother’s house in Deer Park, for the time being until they sorted out what problems were in the house. This would make winter evenings longer, thereby reducing traffic accidents and cases of seasonal affective disorder. To this day, events of this night have not been disclosed fully by any of the Lutz family, as they have described it as too frightening. Alternatively, some would like Britain to adopt Central European Time and jump forward another hour during the summer (adopting a Single/Double Summer Time from Britain's perspective). By mid-January of 1976, and after another attempt at a house blessing by George and Kathy, they experienced what would be their final night in the house. Some campaigners in Britain would like the country to stay on British Summer Time (BST) all year round, or in other words, adopt Central European Time and abolish BST. When taking his advice and walking around the house doing the Lord’s prayer each of the rooms, George and Kathy would hear a chorus of voices telling them “Will you please stop!”.

Some studies do show that changing the clock increases the traffic accident rate.[1] Following the spring shift to daylight saving time (when one hour of sleep is lost) there is a measurable increase in the number of traffic accidents that result in fatalities. When it was apparent to the Lutz’s that something was wrong with their house that they could not explain rationally, it was suggested by a friend of George’s, who had had similar experiences in his house, that he and Kathy do a blessing of their own and open all the windows in the rooms and tell whatever was there to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. For example, during a North American time change, an autumn night where clocks are reset from 3 AM summer to 2 AM winter time, times between 2AM and 3AM will occur twice, causing confusion in transport schedules, payment systems, etc. Some of the experiences in the house for the Lutz family are as follows:. No formal studies have been performed, but an enormous amount of time has been spent by software developers to deal with the fact that 2400 hours past 2pm is not necessarily 2pm 100 days later. Each family member would experience different things as individuals which made such a profound psychological effect that it was difficult to explain them to even other family members that lived in the house, and it was like they “were each living in a different house”. It is also speculated that one of the benefits—more afternoon sun—would also actually increase energy consumption as people get into their cars to enjoy more time for shopping and the like. The instances of paranormal activity were later described as being “in a three-ringed circus”.

It was for this reason that Arizona rejected DST and opted to stay on standard time all year. Occurrences were subtle and escalated as time went by. Air conditioning often uses more energy than artificial lighting. The sensations in the house experienced by the Lutz family did not happen at an accelerated pace instantly. When air conditioning was not widely available, the change did save energy; however, air conditioning is much more widespread now than it was several decades ago. Because they planned to use the room as a “sewing room” nothing else was mentioned of it, until much later after George and Kathy had fled the house. While many people use more sunlight under DST, most people also experience more heat, which prompts many people to turn on the air conditioner during the warmer afternoon hours. Instead he told them he felt uncomfortable in that room and would prefer it if nobody spent too much time in that room.

There is also a question whether the decrease in lighting costs justifies the increase in summertime air conditioning costs. When leaving the house, Father Ray did not mention this incident to either George or Kathy, more than likely because he did not wish to cause them unnecessary concern. It is also noted that much effort is spent reminding everyone twice a year of the change, and thousands are inconvenienced by showing up at the wrong time when they forget. Much later, after fleeing, George and Kathy learned from Father Ray that when blessing a particular room on the second-storey, which would be referred to as the “sewing room” (formerly Marc and John Matthew DeFeo’s bedroom), he discovered an unnatural coldness in this room, and heard an unearthly voice telling him to “Get Out!” Startled by this, Father Ray was subsequently slapped by an unseen force. The disruption in sleep patterns associated with setting clocks either forward or backward correlates with a spike in the number of severe auto accidents, as well as lost productivity as sleep-disrupted workers adjust to the schedule change. Father Ray arrived to do the house blessing on the day the Lutz’s were moving in and as they busily unpacked outside he went in and performed the house blessing. Opponents claim that there is not enough benefit to justify the need to adjust clocks twice every year. Being an ecclesiastical judge at the local Catholic establishment, Father Ray was not in the habit of doing house-blessings but since he and George were friends, he was doing it as a favour.

DST is not universally accepted; many localities do not observe it. George only knew of one Catholic priest, named Father Ray, who was also a close friend, who agreed to do the house blessing. (Stats from this article). Kathy was a non-practising Catholic at the time and explained the process. $28 million in traffic costs. At the time George was a non-Catholic (at the time he was a non-practising Methodist) and had no experience with what a house blessing entailed. went on extended DST in 1974 and 1975 in response to the 1973 energy crisis, Department of Transportation studies found that observing DST in March and April saved 10,000 barrels of oil a day, and prevented about 2,000 traffic injuries and 50 fatalities saving about U.S. When a friend of George’s learned of the house he insisted George have the house blessed.

When the U.S. They moved in on December 18, 1975. Other benefits cited include prevention of traffic injuries (by allowing more people to return home from work or school in daylight), and crime reduction (by reducing people's risk of being targets of crimes that are more common in dark areas). After family discussions, it was agreed that it was not an issue. Most people plan outdoor activities during the increased hours of sunlight. During their first inspection of the house the realtor told them about the DeFeo murders the previous November and asked if this changed their opinion on wanting to purchase the house. Another perceived benefit of DST is increased opportunities for outdoor activities. Kathy had three children from a previous marriage and a black Labrador named Harry.

During the summer most people would wake up after the sun rises, regardless of whether daylight saving time is in effect or not, so there is no increased need for morning lighting to offset the afternoon drop in energy usage. George and Kathy were married in July and had their own houses, however they wanted to start a new life with a new home, for a new marriage. Part of the reason that it is normally observed in the late spring, summer, and early autumn is because during the winter months the amount of energy saved by moving sunset one hour later is negated by the increased need for morning lighting by moving sunrise by the same amount. The house on 112 Ocean Avenue remained empty for 13 months until late 1975, when George and Kathleen Lutz purchased the 2 ½ floor house. United States Department of Transportation studies showed that DST reduces the country's electricity usage by one percent while DST is in effect. He was convicted of second degree murder and is currently serving a life sentence. Because people tend to observe the same bedtime year-round, by artificially moving sunset one hour later, the amount of energy used is theoretically reduced. DeFeo's attorney pursued that line of questioning during the trial, only to have it backfire on him when DeFeo testified that he had not heard any voices the night of the murders [2].

Theoretically, the amount of residential electricity needed in the evening hours is dependent both on when the sun sets and when people go to bed. However CourtTV's account of the murder case makes no mention of these claims, implying that DeFeo in fact did not contest his confession until the trial [1]. One of the major reasons given for observing DST is energy conservation. He also claimed when killing his parents the weapon made no sound when firing it. Starting and ending dates are variable: normally, Brazilian DST starts at 00:00 on an October (rarely November) Sunday and ends at 00:00 on a February Sunday. DeFeo also claimed to have seen shadow figures moving about the house during the murders. Brazil adopted DST for the first time in 1931, but uninterruptedly since 1985 in southern states (south, southeast regions and states of Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul). The popular story of ensuing events is that DeFeo’s original claims were that the murders were mob-connected had changed to “hearing voices,” demonic possession, and being handed the murder weapon, a .35 calibre Marlin hunting rifle, by a “pair of black hands”.

In specific years the starting and ending dates have been modified for political or climatic reasons. Ronald DeFeo Jr., the only surviving member, claimed that they had been murdered by the mob until he confessed to the murders. The current law which affects the entire country was enacted in 1970, but it had observed the practice as early as 1927 when the country had been divided into two distinct time zones. On November 13, 1974, police found that all but one of the members of the family residing at 112 Oceanside Ave., the DeFeo's, had been murdered in the middle of the night. Chile switches to DST at 24:00 on the second Saturday in October and reverts to Local Standard Time (LST) at 24:00 on the second Sunday the following March. Main Article: Ronald DeFeo, Jr. Standard Time Zone Boundary in the State of Indiana (a 139 KB pdf file) has some history, public comments from each county, the final DOT determination, and the resulting time zone boundary. The Lutz family, having lived in the house for only 28 days, fled their house with very few belongings, claiming to have been terrorized by paranormal phenomenon.

Currently, Pulaski and Martin counties are reconsidering their bid to join the Central time zone. Thirteen months earlier the house on 112 Ocean Avenue was the scene of a brutal mass murder. These counties are: Starke and Pulaski Counties in the Northwest, and Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry, and Pike in the Southwest. Both book and film revolve around the Lutz family, who move into the Dutch Colonial home in the village of Amityville, a New York City suburb on the south shore of Long Island, New York village. As a result of the review, the United States Department of Transportation moved eight more counties to the Central time zone, effective when DST begins on April 2, 2006. . The bill to observe DST also required the governor to request federal review of the time zone divisions in the state. The novel is also the basis of two movies made in 1979 and 2005.

On April 29, 2005, the Indiana legislature voted to begin observing daylight saving time statewide in 2006. The Amityville Horror was a best-selling 1977 novel by Jay Anson. From 1991 until April 1, 2006 the state had three kinds of time zones and DST observances:. The Amityville Horror (2005 film). Opponents claimed that daylight saving time created costs and inconvenience associated with changing clocks twice a year and had little or no real value. The Amityville Horror (1979 film). Some supporters claimed that some businesses had located out-of-state due to the time-related confusion. Later it was theorized that it could have been “Jody”.

Being out of sync with neighboring states and the national changing of clocks, supporters argued, had a negative economic impact on the state. When he raced upstairs and to her room there was no sign of this mysterious entity. In the past, neighboring communities sometimes ended up one or even two hours apart. While checking the boathouse one night, George saw a pair of “red eyes” looking at him from Missy’s bedroom window. DST has been a long-standing controversy in Indiana, not only as an agricultural state, but also because the border separating the Eastern and Central time zones divides the state. When he got downstairs the noise would stop. Hawaii does not observe DST. George would hear what was described as a “German marching band tuning up” or what also sounded like a clock radio playing not quite on frequency.

However, the large Navajo Indian Reservation within it does. Nobody else heard these sounds even though it was loud enough to wake the house. Most of Arizona does not observe DST. He would race downstairs to see the dog sleeping soundly at the front door. Certain types of information systems (those that schedule future events with reference to UTC, for example) are almost guaranteed to encounter serious desynchronization problems unless both computers and databases are carefully updated—in some cases by hand. George would be awoken by the sound of the front door slamming when there was no door slamming. More difficult to quantify is the amount of labor and money that may be spent correcting errors that arise due to a failure to update computers. The Lutz’s youngest daughter, Missy, developed an imaginary friend named “Jody” who it was later discovered was not so imaginary and who it would be discovered could change form from a little boy to a demonic pig-like creature.

A two-minute procedure for updating a computer, multiplied by a hundred million computers, represents nearly 1700 years of full-time labor. There were cold spots and strange odours of scented perfume and excrement in certain areas of the house where there were no wind drafts or any piping whatsoever to explain a source. In order to change the dates and times at which the automatic jump to or from DST occurs, these tables must be modified, which requires some sort of manual intervention by a human being in the great majority of cases. This room had a profound effect on their dog, Harry, who refused to go near it and cowered away as if sensing something negative there. Most computers are programmed to adjust automatically for DST, but they do so based on static tables stored directly on the computer itself. The room was referred to as “the red room”. An additional issue raised by this extension is that it requires reconfiguration of virtually every computer in the United States. This did not show up on the blue prints of the house.

The extension was greeted by criticism from the airline industry and those concerned for the safety of children traveling to school in the dark before the late sunrise. Kathy discovered a small hidden crawl space behind shelving in the basement, the walls painted red. (See this article, for example.). Kathy would feel a sensation as if “being embraced” in a loving manner, by an unseen force. There is very little recent research on what the actual positive effects, if any, might be. These details were later confirmed when they met with Ronald DeFeo’s defence attorney. Department of Energy information from the 1970s, the accuracy and relevance of which the DoE no longer stands by. Kathy would have vivid nightmares about the murders, and discovered which order the murders occurred and who was shot where.

Proponents claimed that the extension would save "the equivalent of" 10,000 barrels of oil per day, but this figure was based on U.S. Later it would be learned that it was the estimated time of death with the DeFeo murders. The change was introduced by the Energy Policy Act of 2005; the House had originally approved a motion that would have extended DST even further. George would wake up around 3.15am every morning and then would go out to check the boathouse. Starting March 11, 2007, daylight saving time will be extended another four to five weeks, from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. They are part of a work of literature alleging supernatural events and have not been independently verified by impartial research. In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving in the United States was begun earlier in both 1974 and 1975, commencing on the first Sunday in January (January 6) in the former year and the last Sunday in February (February 23) in the latter. This section contains allegations of events that support the contention that the house was actually haunted.

The law was amended again in 1986 to begin daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April, to take effect the following year. This section contains information that is a part of the public record separate from specific allegations of supernatural events which form the heart of the book and movies. The law was amended in 1972 to permit states that straddle a time zone boundary to exempt the entire area of the state lying in one time zone. Any state that wanted to be exempt from daylight saving time could do so by passing a state law, provided that it exempt the entire state. federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 mandated that daylight saving time begin nationwide on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October.

The U.S. This resulted in a patchwork where some areas observed DST while adjacent areas did not, and it was not unheard of to have to reset one's clock several times during a relatively short trip (e.g., bus drivers operating between Moundsville, West Virginia, and Steubenville, Ohio had to reset their watches seven times over 35 miles). States and localities were free to observe daylight saving time or not. federal law did not address daylight saving time.

From 1945 to 1966, U.S. This remained in effect until World War II began winding down and the requirement was removed on September 30, 1945. Daylight saving time was reinstated in the United States on February 9, 1942, again as a wartime measure to conserve resources. Beginning in 2007, it will start DST on the second Sunday in March, and change back to standard time on the first Sunday in November.

Through the end of 2006, the United States starts its DST on the first Sunday in April, and changes back to standard time on the last Sunday in October. state of Arizona, which also does not observe DST. The Mexican state of Sonora does not observe DST because it borders on the U.S. Mexico has adopted DST nationwide, even in its tropical regions, because of its increasing economic ties to the United States.

Since April 2004, Cuba has remained on DST. Cuba always starts its DST on April 1 but the end date varies. Saskatchewan Government Relations gives further details on Saskatchewan's time policies. Lloydminster and its immediately surrounding region in Saskatchewan use the same timekeeping routine used by Alberta, DST with Mountain Standard Time.

The charter of the city of Lloydminster, which is bisected by the Saskatchewan–Alberta border, gives it a special exception (among areas in Saskatchewan) to use DST. Observationally, this is equivalent to the province being on Mountain Daylight Time year-round, though officially the province is considered to be part of the Central time zone. (This policy was implemented when the Saskatchewan Time Act was passed in 1966, to solve the problems that arose when time zones varied from town to town.) Thus, in the summer months Saskatchewan is in sync with Mountain Daylight Time and in the winter months it is in sync with Central Standard Time. Saskatchewan is bisected by 105° west meridian, the central meridian of the Mountain Standard Time Zone (UTC−7), yet clocks are kept at UTC−6 all year long.

The province of Saskatchewan is the largest part of that country that does not use DST, that is, it does not adjust clocks in spring and fall. The remaining provinces and territories will continue change time on the first Sunday of April and last Sunday of October unless they change their legislation. In 2007, their DST will start on the second Sunday of March, and return to standard time on the first Sunday in November. rules (The Calgary Sun).

The governments of Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, and Alberta have pledged to change their daylight saving rules to match the new U.S. In Canada, time is under provincial and territorial jurisdiction, not federal. Also, in 1988, they experimented with Double Daylight Time, when the clocks went ahead by two hours, instead of the usual one hour. The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador is an exception in that the time changes take place at 00:01 local standard time and 00:01 local daylight time respectively.

In 2007, the starting and ending dates for DST will change in the United States and parts of Canada (see below). North America generally follows the same procedure, going by local time in each zone, each time zone switching at 02:00 LST (local standard time) to 03:00 LDT (local daylight time) on the first Sunday in April, and again from 02:00 LDT to 01:00 LST on the last Sunday in October. Polar or near-polar locations such as Iceland often opt out, as summer in these locations usually brings nearly uninterrupted daylight. With Iceland observing UTC all year round, despite being at a longitude which would indicate UTC-1, the country may be said to be on continuous DST.

Thus in Moscow (local time = UTC+3 in winter, UTC+4 in summer), daylight-saving time commences at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in March, and ends at 23:00 UTC on the day before the last Sunday in October. In Russia, however, although the changeover dates are the same, clocks are moved forward or back at 02:00 winter time in all zones. (See also: European Summer Time). from local times of 01:00/02:00/03:00 to 02:00/03:00/04:00 in March, and vice versa in October.

In the West European (UTC), Central European (UTC+1), and East European (UTC+2) time zones the change is simultaneous: on both dates the clocks are changed everywhere at 01:00 UTC, i.e. All countries in Europe, except Iceland as noted below, observe daylight-saving time and change on the same date: moving clocks forward one hour on the last Sunday in March and back one hour on the last Sunday in October. The Department of Internal Affairs gives further historical information on their website. In New Zealand, daylight saving time begins at 2am (standard time) on the first Sunday in October each year, and ends at 2am (standard time) on the third Sunday of March.

See the Australian time zones article or this site for maps and further information on standard and daylight saving time in Australia. Queensland experimented with it for a year or two in the early 1970s, but it was not popular and was abandoned. Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland do not have daylight saving. Tasmania starts DST earlier than the others, usually near the beginning of October.

New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia apply daylight saving time. Some states/territories implement it and some do not. In Australia, daylight saving time is a state/territory-based initiative. It has not used DST since then.

Pakistan experimented with DST in 2002 going from +5:00 to +6:00. For more on this subject, see Israeli Daylight Saving Law. Israel's Daylight Saving Time rules have changed repeatedly in recent years; there has been trouble reaching a consensus regarding Gregorian calendar end dates for DST as they are dependant on Jewish Holidays, which follow the lunar Hebrew calendar. Israel adopts Daylight Saving Time on the last Friday before April 2 at 02:00, and returns to standard time at 02:00 of the Sunday of the month of Tishrei between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Thus, DST in Iran starts on the first day of Farvardin (around 21-22 March) and ends on the first day of Mehr (around 22 September). Iran uses the Persian calendar. India used DST briefly during its wars with Pakistan and China. The PRC now uses one universal time zone for all of the nation from Urumqi in the northwest to Fujian in the southeast; the size of the nation was a major factor why DST was not considered practical in China.

The People's Republic of China experimented with DST from 1986, but abandoned it in the 1990s. Egypt operates Daylight-Saving Time between the last Friday in April and the last Thursday in September when the clocks are 3 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+3). In the Southern Hemisphere, the beginning and ending dates are switched (thus the time difference between, e.g., the United Kingdom and Chile may be three, four, or five hours). DST commonly begins in the Northern Hemisphere on either the first Sunday in April or the last Sunday in March, and ends on the last Sunday in October.

With a few exceptions, switchovers between standard time and daylight saving time generally occur in the early morning hours of a Sunday morning, presumably because doing so then causes less disruption than a change on a weekday would. The dates of the beginning and ending of DST also vary by country. The amount of the time shift varies, but one hour is the most common. state in the tropics, does not observe DST.

Hawaii, the only U.S. Daylight saving time is generally a temperate zone practice; day lengths in the tropics do not vary enough to justify DST. The law, however, proved so unpopular (mostly because people rose and went to bed earlier than in current times) that the law was later repealed. It was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919.

Congress established several time zones (which were already in use by railroads and most cities since 1883) and made daylight saving time official (which went into effect on March 31) for the remainder of World War I. Then on March 19, 1918, the U.S. Shortly afterward, the United Kingdom followed suit, first adopting DST between May 21 and October 1, 1916. The idea of daylight saving time was first put into practice by the German government during the First World War between April 30 and October 1, 1916.

It was first seriously proposed by William Willett in the "Waste of Daylight", published in 1907, but he was unable to get the British government to adopt it despite considerable lobbying. (Read the full text.) However, the article was humorous; Franklin was not proposing DST, but rather that people should get up and go to bed earlier. It is sometimes asserted that DST was first proposed by Benjamin Franklin in a letter to the editors of the Journal of Paris. .

Note that the term commonly used in the United States, daylight savings time, is incorrect, for both historic (the correct name as provided by the act which inaugurated it in the United States is daylight saving time) and grammatical reasons. DST is most commonly used in temperate regions, due to the considerable variation in the amount of daylight versus darkness through the seasons in those regions. This is intended to provide a better match between the hours of daylight and the active hours of work and school. The official time is adjusted forward, (usually) one hour from its official standard time, remaining that way for the duration of the spring and summer months.

Daylight saving time (also called DST) is a term used for a system intended to "save" daylight (It is also known as summer time in both Britain and Europe). American Journal of Public Health 85, 92–95. (1995) Daylight saving time and motor vehicle crashes: the reduction in pedestrian and vehicle occupant fatalities. et al.

^  Ferguson, S.A. Their observance of DST was unofficial in this case, as a strict reading of the Uniform Time Act would not allow for this situation, but by observing DST, they remained synchronized with the greater Louisville and Cincinnati metropolitan areas. 2 counties near Cincinnati, Ohio and 3 counties near Louisville, Kentucky were on Eastern Standard time but did observe DST. 5 northwestern counties near Chicago, Illinois and 5 southwestern counties near Evansville, Indiana were on Central Standard Time and did use DST.

77 counties — most of the state — were on Eastern Standard Time but did not use DST.