Sunday, March 9, 2008

More irony

Daylight savings time has always been promoted as a way to save electricity, but from comparing Indiana Counties that use it to those that don't, economists conclude

Instead of saving electricity and money by adding an extra hour of sunlight to evenings most of the year, it cost Indiana homes an extra $8.6 million in electricity bills – mostly from chugging air conditioners – each year. And since 95 per cent of that extra energy was generated by coal-fired power plants, that meant much more atmosphere-warming carbon dioxide was spewed into the air.

1 comment:

  1. Actually, I think the study compared pre- and post-DST energy usage in Indiana counties that had not been DST counties before, but are now. It's the change that actually permits the most interesting analysis.

    (Having lived for the past 20 years in one part of the state--the northwest corner, which has followed Chicago time--i have been an amused bystander on the whole DST thing.)

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