You Can Spring Forward, But You Won't Save Energy

TreeHugger Labs proved conclusively two years ago that Daylight Saving Time was counterproductive; now it appears that other research is backing us up. When the idea was thought up, the biggest use of electricity was lighting, so it actually did save energy; now, with population shifts and upsizing of housing, air conditioning predominates and more we burn more electricity. An Australian researcher said "Basically if people wake up early in the morning and go to bed earlier, they do save artificial illumination at night and reduce electricity consumption in the evening. Our study confirmed that effect. But we also found that more electricity is consumed in the morning. In the end, these two effects wash each other out." An Indiana study concluded that "daylight saving time did save on lighting use but that heating and air-conditioning use more than offset any gains." ::National Geographic