History of Daylight Saving Time

Jayven Frye
3 days ago
2 min read

This year, daylight saving time will start on March 8th, 2026, and end on November 1st, 2026.

Daylight saving time was believed to have been established in Germany in 1916 and was used in later years during World War I to save energy. The United States later embraced the idea in 1918. Working while the sun was out meant burning less fuel and being able to work more during the day. With the Standard Time Act of 1918, the time change was made official, along with the nation's official time zones.

After the war ended, Congress revoked daylight saving time, before introducing it again in 1942 during World War II. For the next few decades after it was reintroduced, the states had the ability to choose between standard time and daylight savings time at will. In an attempt to end the chaos of switching between the two times, Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966. This act made daylight saving time the standard, with the same start and end dates, with the exception of a few states.

After daylight saving time was reintroduced and made official, there were no other major efforts made to conserve energy until 2005, when the Energy Policy Act was introduced. This act helped with extending daylight saving time by a few weeks.

In 2026, 48 states participate in daylight saving time. The two states that choose not to partake are Arizona and Hawaii, since if states would like to remain on standard time permanently, they are given the option to.

Controversy with Daylight Saving Time

In 2020, Congress released a report about daylight saving time and its effects. One of these reports included a study from the Department of Transportation that showed during daylight savings time, there was little difference in energy use, crime rates, or travel times. Shortly after the Energy Policy Act took place, a report in 2008 was also released from the Department of Energy that showed energy usage only dropped 0.02%. A more recent study in 2020, however, found that there is an increased risk of heart attacks during this transition. Keeping daylight saving time around is still debated heavily today.