Conservation Chronometrics Controversy

More daylight hours should mean less energy used for lighting, and this is the conservation pretext underlying Daylight Savings Time (DST) as practiced in 76 nations. But a recent in-depth statistical analysis of residential electricity consumption conducted by the University of California Energy Institute shows DST caused electrical demand to rise almost 1% annually overall. The culprit is likely a trade-off between reduced demand for lighting and increased demand for heating/cooling, an effect that could translate into billions of dollars a year spent on unnecessary energy consumption worldwide. Should we fall back on natural time and seize this opportunity to conserve?

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