Why do the New England states have Daylight Savings Time?

Answer 1

Daylight Saving Time (Not Daylight "Savings" Time)

Daylight Saving Time Extended by Four Weeks in U.S. Starting in 2007

By Matt Rosenberg, About.com

See More About:

• daylight saving time
• time zones
• physical geography

Getty Images

Oct 12 2009

On Sunday, November 1 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time ends in the United States.

Every spring we move our clocks one hour ahead and "lose" an hour during the night and each fall we move our clocks back one hour and "gain" an extra hour. But Daylight Saving Time (and not Daylight Savings Time with an "s") wasn't just created to confuse our schedules.

The phrase "Spring forward, fall back" helps people remember how Daylight Saving Time affects their clocks. At 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, we set our clocks forward one hour ahead of standard time ("spring forward"). We "fall back" at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November by setting our clock back one hour and thus returning to standard time.

The change to Daylight Saving Time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. During the eight month period of Daylight Saving Time, the names of time in each of the time zones in the U.S. change as well. Eastern Standard Time (EST) becomes Eastern Daylight Time, Central Standard Time (CST) becomes Central Daylight Time (CDT), Mountain Standard Time (MST) becomes Mountain Daylight Tome (MDT), Pacific Standard Time becomes Pacific Daylight Time (PDT), and so forth.

Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October. During World War II the federal government again required the states to observe the time change. Between the wars and after World War II, states and communities chose whether or not to observe Daylight Saving Time. In 1966, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act which standardized the length of Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time is four weeks longer since 2007 due to the passage of the Energy Policy Act in 2005. The Act extended Daylight Saving Time by four weeks from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, with the hope that it would save 10,000 barrels of oil each day through reduced use of power by businesses during daylight hours. Unfortunately, it is exceedingly difficult to determine energy savings from Daylight Saving Time and based on a variety of factors, it is possible that little or no energy is saved by Daylight Saving Time.

Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time. This choice does make sense for the areas closer to the equator because the days are more consistent in length throughout the year.

Daylight Saving Time Around the WorldOther parts of the world observe Daylight Saving Time as well. While European nations have been taking advantage of the time change for decades, in 1996 the European Union (EU) standardized a EU-wide European Summer Time. This EU version of Daylight Saving Time runs from the last Sunday in March through the last Sunday in October.

In the Southern Hemisphere where summer comes in December, Daylight Saving Time is observed from October to March. Equatorial and tropical countries (lower latitudes) don't observe Daylight Saving Time since the daylight hours are similar during every season, so there's no advantage to moving clocks forward during the summer.

Kyrgyzstan is the only country that observes year-round Daylight Saving Time. The country has been doing so since 2005.

U.S. Daylight Saving TimeYear Spring Forward Fall Back 2004 2 a.m. April 4 2 a.m. Oct. 31 2005 2 a.m. April 3 2 a.m. Oct. 30 2006 2 a.m. April 2 2 a.m. Oct. 29 2007 2.a.m. March 11 2 a.m. Nov. 4 2008 2 a.m. March 9 2 a.m. Nov. 2 2009 2 a.m. March 8 2 a.m. Nov. 1 2010 2 a.m. March 14 2 a.m. Nov 7 2011 2 a.m. March 13 2 a.m. Nov. 6

Time Zones Resources

• Time and Time Zones
• Time Zone Map
• Offset Time Zones

Resources About Time

• Sunrise, Sunset - The Longest Day
• Summer Solstice
• International Date Line

Related Articles

• When Does the Time Change? - Daylight Saving Time in Toronto, Ontario
• Humor Boy Blog - When Am I - Daylight Saving Time Change
• About Time! Daylight Saving, That Is
• Daylight Saving Time Adjustment
• Arizona Time Zone is Mountain Standard Time - Phoenix is on MST

Guide since 1997

Matt Rosenberg
Geography Guide

• Sign up for my Newsletter

• My Blog
• My Forum

zSbL=3;zSB(2);zSbL=0

Answer 2

For the same reason as other states: to provide more daylight hours during the summer months, when people are more likely to be outdoors.

DST is especially helpful in states that are in the far eastern portion of their time zone. On July 4 in Portland, Maine, sunset is at 8:25p with DST; without DST, the sun would set at 7:25pm.

Compare that to Indianapolis, where sunset on July 4 is at 9:16p EDT. As many Hoosiers object to sunset at such a late hour, there has always been much debate there about the desirability of DST.

(After adopting DST during WWII, Indiana abandoned it in 1954, and, with the exception of a two year trial in 1969-70, did not resume DST until 2006. Since resuming DST in 2006, some citizen groups have advocated moving the entire state from the Eastern to the Central time zone, in order to eliminate late evening sunsets in the summer.)

Answer 3

The New England states observe Daylight Saving Time along with most other states in the U.S. to make better use of daylight during the longer days of spring and summer, resulting in energy savings and promoting outdoor activities. This practice is regulated at the federal level, so all states within the country adhere to the same schedule.