Daylight saving time is coming to an end soon. Here’s when to set back your clocks in North Carolina

Posted by Carens October 30, 2024
Daylight saving time is coming to an end soon. Here's when to set back your clocks in North Carolina

Daylight saving time will soon end in North Carolina, giving us an extra hour of sleep.

Most of the United States begins daylight saving time on the second Sunday in March, ahead of spring, and returns to standard time on the first Sunday in November.

This year, daylight saving time will finish on Sunday, November 3 at 2 a.m.

Is daylight saving ending?

Despite the fact that the times we alter our clocks have been set for nearly six decades, daylight saving time may be phased out.

Last year, federal senators sponsored the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make “daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time” and eliminate the need for Americans to adjust their clocks twice a year. However, the bill has lingered in the House since March of last year.

According to The News & Observer, North Carolina proposals submitted in the Senate and House last year would have allowed the state to use daylight saving time year-round if approved by Congress. Both, like earlier laws presented in the state, withered away.

What is the purpose of daylight saving time?

As the name implies, daylight saving time is a means to conserve energy and light during the spring and summer.

According to a research conducted by the United States Department of Energy, the four-week extension of daylight saving time in 2008 saved around 0.5% of the nation’s electricity per day, or 1.3 trillion watt-hours, enough to power 100,000 families for a year.

Studies have also found that an extra hour of daylight has resulted in safer roadways, decreased crime rates, and economic benefits.

Critics, however, argue that more dark mornings could cause grogginess for commuters and parents who take their children to school, particularly in the winter.

Other concerns regarding daylight saving time were problems to farmers’ harvesting plans, conflict with religious observances based on solar and lunar time, and probable delays in rebuilding computer systems set to switch twice a year.

Is daylight saving always the same time of year?

According to the United States Department of Transportation, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 specified national start and finish dates for daylight saving time.

However, the statute allows states to opt out of observing daylight saving time under state law.

Arizona and Hawaii, as well as the US territory of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, use permanent standard time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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