Daylight Savings Time 2017: A Guide To When, Why, What & How

Nov 01, 2017

Daylight Savings Time 2017

Daylight Savings Time is coming to an end here in the U.S. this weekend. We’re sure you’ve heard of this time of year, but how much do you really know about daylight savings time? Here is your go-to daylight savings time 2017 guide. Learn about the when,why, what, and how of this time construct and why we still use it today. Quiz your friends and become a weather expert.

When

When is daylight savings time? This year, daylight savings fell on Sunday, March 12. The clocks turned forward at 2 am.

So why do we care about it now in November? Well, it’s about to end. Actually, it’s ending this weekend on Sunday, November 5. AT 2 am we will “fall back in fall.” Fall is the perfect time to teach students about Daylight Savings Time. The beginning of the year can be crazy for teachers, especially when it gets darker, so check out our school safety tips for fall.

Why

Why do we have daylight savings at all? While it can be confusing for some people, daylight savings helps us have longer daylight hours in the summer and a whole hour extra in bed when autumn arrives.

In 1895, George Hudson proposed the idea of daylight saving. However, a man named William Willett created a pamphlet called “The Waste of Daylight” in 1907 to stop people from wasting hours of sunlight in the summer months. Remember, though, the summer months are perfect for dangerous thunderstorms. A lightning alert system can help keep people safe.

Proponents of Daylight Savings Time argue that most people prefer a greater increase in daylight hours after the typical 9-5 workday. Supporters also argue that Daylight Savings Time decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lightning and heating.

What

Next on our daylight savings time guide: What is daylight savings? In the spring, we move clocks forward by one hour and “spring forward.” By springing forward, we get more daylight in the evenings and less in the mornings. In the fall, we move clocks back one hour and “fall back.” Sunrise and sunset will be about one hour earlier until Daylight Savings starts up again.

How

To understand Daylight Savings Time 2017, we have to go back to the first Daylight Savings Time ever. Germany became the first country to adopt this clock changing plan. This happened on April 30, 1916. They did this in order to save on coal usage. The next month, Britain followed. Two years later, Daylight Savings started in the U.S. However, it’s important to note that most of Arizona and Hawaii don’t use Daylight Savings Time.

Most smartphones and digital clocks change automatically, but certain vehicles and face clocks need manually changing.