The October 30 edition of the Christian Science Monitor tackles this question and comes up with a mixed answer. Benjamin Franklin first proposed daylight saving time in 1784, but it did not go into effect in this country until 1918. In 2007, the length of the daylight saving time season was extended. In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that that total electricity savings from the extended period equaled 1.3 terawatt-hours, or 0.03% of electricity consumption over the year. While this is a small number, it is the equivalent of $130 million in savings each year. On the other hand, a 2010 study by researchers from Yale and the University of California Santa Barbara found that the energy saved from reduced lighting in the summer months was offset by an increase in the use of heating and air conditioning.
On a different note, U.S. Department of Transportation studies have shown that daylight saving time also reduces accidents and saves about 25 lives a year.
