03/05/2019
The Practice of Daylight Savings originates at the beginning of civilization. People adjusted their daily schedules depending on the sun, which meant that the work day varied in length. Fast forward to 1784, Benjamin Franklin suggested that rising earlier could help save money on candles.Over one hundred years later, Astronomer, George Vernon Hudson recommended a two hour daylight saving shift. Again in 1907, British builder, William Willett proposed advancing clocks eighty minutes, in four incremental steps. A formal DST was not implemented until WWI when Germany attempted to drive down the demand for electrical lighting to divert more coal to the war. Other countries quickly adhered to that method of savings, as war is expensive. Repealed during peacetime and then brought back during WWII, the 1970’s oil embargo. Ever since then, various laws have made DST standard practice across America, with exception of a couple states that do not observe.
So, in these modern times is DST necessary? There is much debate about this, and many studies that suggest that in the 24/7 working world that we live in now, there is little to no savings in terms of energy and dollars. One study implied that DST has negative impacts on sleep patterns, and could contribute to heart attack risks.
Horizon Lighting views DST as an opportunity to reach out to our client base simply to remind you all that when you're setting your clocks Sunday March 10, 2019 2:00AM, don’t forget to adjust your landscape lighting timers as well. Perhaps check if your timer has a battery back-up that needs new batteries. If you have an older system, you may be interested in upgrading your timer system to something more sophisticated. There are options to go digital, self-adjusting, and even the ability to control your lights from a mobile device, or smarthome system. We can help you navigate that as well.
