Daylight Saving Time May Increase Energy Costs

Today, somebody ripped-off one of my precious work hours when my clocks were legally mandated to jump ahead one hour in support of energy conservation. Like the egg-laying chickens, my body feels healthier with warmer weather and more daylight hours to work with each spring. I feel healthier; not richer through any reduction of energy use.

Back in the days of Ben Franklin, Daylight Saving Time was dreamed up as a way to utilized available daylight hours for the purpose of economic production, and in effort to save citizens energy costs associated with the burning of candles, lanterns, and wood supplies. Today, we are worried about gas, oil, and electricity consumptions.

Gas and Oil: Unlike previous generations, today's population is locked-into a given "x" of gas and oil consumption for heat, manufacturing, and transportation purposes. As we enjoy longer daylight hours, our consumption needs increase to align with our daylight activity.

Transportation costs increase during daylight savings hours as we are allowed the time for activities beyond normal work or school routines. Oil makes plastic and plastic consumption increases as our population needs more yard clean-up bags, recreational toys, and outside accommodations.

Electricity: Our national electrical use is not about light bulbs; electricity controls our environments. Daylight savings time requires additional environmental control as individuals use allowed recreational time to migrate between a series of controlled environments. Personal electrical needs in television or computer time will also goes up.

Each year this country experiences regional black-outs or brown-outs during daylight savings time months as our electricity providers attempt to keep up with our demands for controlled environments and entertainment. Air conditioners are turned down at bedtime, and televisions are turned off; extended daylight hours allow for extra electrical usage.

National Cost: Most Americans are on an energy budget; income is not increasing along with rising energy costs. In some homes, basic need energy needs are beyond ability to pay on minimum wage income. Our national energy battle is being conducted on two fronts: we need more supplies, and we need all supplies priced for public consumption.

While people are on a fixed energy income, they must also consider that the supply of energy available is at fixed amount; while yearly, our joint energy demands increase. What this means is that our fixed supply of energy is being distributed for higher money to those who can afford to pay. As supplies decrease, demands increase, prices go up.

Somewhere, we must have a group of politicians holding their calculators upside-down. Logic dictates that to reserve our dwindling energy supply, we must stay away from programs like daylight savings time that allow opportunity for additional consumptions. In prior times the rules were different; we had available energy for all extended needs.

Personal Cost: For every week that my afternoon daylight hours are longer, I will fill them with energy consumption. My radio will play, my television will run, my heater will do extra duty until my new bedtime arrives. I will add at least thirty hours of energy consumption into my budget per month.

If a normal family adds one hour of television, one hour of computer, and one hour of heat or air conditioning daily into their household budget for the 6 month period of daylight savings time, they will have an additional 51.00 in expenses to pay for. The family saves only 6.00 by turning off six light bulbs during this same time span. (Click here for an appliance cost calculator.)

People must start to think like the coyote if they do not want to be eaten like sheep. Daylight savings time makes us feel good, and we pay a price for this nice feeling. Our politicians promoting this savings plan as environmentally sane, or economically beneficial, are wrong. Extended play hours = Extended energy consumptions.