What is daylight saving actually saving?

The clocks struck 1 a.m. twice on the Sunday morning of Halloween weekend. This was no accident. This was the end of daylight saving. 

Daylight saving time began on March 9 and ended this Sunday, which means the clocks fell back and all were granted one additional hour of sleep. 

“I was confused because I fell asleep in the Uber at 1:30 a.m. and I woke up at 1 a.m.,” Theo Kratter ’29 said.

This is a practice that has been in effect since the late 19th century, but its utility remains contested. California is one of a few states that has considered ending daylight saving time. In 2020, Californians voted to remove daylight saving time. However, the state still follows the practice and there’s uncertainty as to whether legislators will take further action in the future. 

Daylight saving isn’t observed in all states, namely Hawaii and parts of Arizona. It’s also only followed in a third of countries worldwide. Some students at Stanford are experiencing daylight saving for the very first time on campus. 

“I never thought about it at all back home, and I’ve never been in the mainland during daylight saving so this was my first time seeing the clock turn back. It’s also weird now that it gets dark so early,” Chloe Hannsz ’29, a student from Hawaii, said.

On campus, you can now expect to see the sun set at approximately 5 p.m. and rise at 6:30 a.m., a stark shift from the daylight saving rising and setting times. 

The hours of sunlight on campus will continue to dwindle until the winter solstice, the day with the least amount of daylight in the whole year, which falls on Dec. 21. 

Some students found joy in the one additional hour of sleep from daylight savings. 

“Daylight savings was definitely strange for me. I don’t entirely understand it, but I was really excited to have an extra hour last night,” said Hannsz.

Others find the extra hour of sleep a small reward in comparison to the loss of sunlight and confusion that will ensue.

“It’s honestly depressing seeing it get dark this early. I walked out of a group meeting at 3:30 p.m. and it looked like the sun was setting. Three!” Kratter said. 

The rationale for daylight saving was initially for energy-conservation. It was an attempt to get waking hours to be more closely aligned with sunlight hours. It’s often been an idea attributed to Benjamin Franklin who wanted to reduce candle use at night. 

Scholars debate, though, on whether daylight savings actually saves as much energy as it used to. Data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicates that lighting now only contributes to 5% of household energy use and thus changing the clocks has a minimal impact on overall energy consumption. A study from Yale University also finds that energy consumption has increased as a consequence. Other scholars have found it depends on the weather conditions, state by state. 

Studies have also shown that changing the clocks can have wide ranging and extreme impacts from disrupting body rhythms to increasing car accidents and heart attacks. The type of consequences also varies widely depending on if an hour of sleep is gained or lost.  

“I see why it’s needed, but it’s really annoying,” said Esme Zeineh ’29. 

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