In compliance with the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005, most of the United States will end daylight-saving time by reverting to standard time at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 4.
The change from daylight-saving time to standard time is coming late this year as part of the legislation, which is designed to save energy by providing more daylight during the evening. The Department of Energy will study the subsequent energy savings and report back to Congress by December. Congress reserved the right to switch back to the former schedule.
Previous studies by the DOE show that daylight-saving time trims the entire country's electricity usage by a small but significant amount, about 1 percent each day, because less electricity is used for lighting and appliances. In addition, the Department of Transportation said there are fewer traffic accidents when there is more light.
There are a few other reasons for the switch. By extending daylight-saving time to the first Sunday in November, trick-or-treaters will have more light and safety on Halloween.
But there is yet another civic-minded aspect. Because of the coinciding election period in the United States, the change may encourage greater voter turnout. The theory is that more people might be induced to head to the polls if it is still daylight when they return home from work.
Daylight-saving time began the last Sunday in March. In 2008, daylight-saving time will begin again on March 9 and end on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Though formally adopted in 1918, observing daylight-saving time began in earnest in 1966. Most countries around the world also utilize daylight-saving time. Japan, India and China, however, do not. In Europe, standard time was reverted to on Sunday, Oct. 28.
Remember to set your clocks back one hour late Saturday night.
