This weekend many people around the country set their clocks back to adhere to daylight savings time (DST).     How did this tradition start, and why do we follow daylight savings time?

Although daylight savings has only been used for about 100 years, ancient civilizations had been known to use a similar system.  Ancient people would adjust their daily schedules to the sun’s schedule.  Benjamin Franklin is often credited with bringing daylight savings time into the modern limelight.  He suggested, in a essay, although jokingly, that Parisians could economize candle usage by getting people out of bed earlier in the morning, making use of the natural morning light instead.

Both George Vernon Hudson and William Willett had also suggested a system similar to daylight savings.  Both men suggested setting clocks either forward or back to coincide with daylight hours.  Willet actually suggested eight time changes a year moving clocks in 20 minute increments.  This plan was introduced to the British House of Commons in February 1908, with the first bill drafted in 1909, however, the idea was never made into a law.

Daylight Savings in Europe

Germany was the first country to implement DST in 1916 in an effort to save fuel for the war.  The innovative idea caught on and countries around the world used DST during the war, but many reverted back to standard time after WWI.  U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST in the United States, called “War Time” during World War II from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945.

Modern DST in the U.S.

In the United States, DST caused widespread confusion from 1945 to because states and localities were free to choose when and if they would observe DST.  In 1966 Congress passed into law the Uniform Time Act which stated DST would begin on the last Sunday of April and end on the last Sunday of October. However, states still had the ability to be exempt from DST by passing a local ordinance.

Daylight Saving today

A home power outage can happen without warning and at the most inconvenient time. Really, there isn’t a convenient time to lose electricity. We often forget just how much we rely on power throughout the day until we lose it.

The loss of lights, refrigerators, washers and dryers, computers and electronic devices, and more make residential power outages both irritating and disruptive– there are a number of steps you can take to fix the situation.

Diagnose the Problem

There are many reasons you may have lost power.

First, something may have caused an interruption of power from your provider.  In addition, Colorado thunderstorms can cause a disruption , or it could be a problem with a circuit or other electrical system in your home. Loose connectors, device failures, ground movement, underground root growth, or improper wire installation can all cause shorts or overloads as well.

If you have lost power, check with your neighbors to see if the power outage is widespread. If they don’t have power either, the problem is with your power provider, not the electrical systems in your home. Your power company should be informed, and you will have to wait for them to address the issue.

If the power outage is limited to your home, check your main breaker to see if it’s tripped. Flip the switch back on if it is tripped, which may restore your power. If you are only experiencing a partial power outage, you can try to turn on your electric dryer or range as a test. If it doesn’t turn on, or if the main switch trips again at any point, you will need a professional electrician to come and diagnose the specific problem you are having.

A Trusted Emergency Electrician in Arvada

Some electrical problems are harder to detect than others. That’s why, when trying to diagnose home problems, one of the best ways to quickly get to the bottom of the situation is with an infrared thermographic inspection. But what are the benefits of this inspection? Let the experts at Kolb Electric help!

When combined with traditional home inspection techniques, the infrared thermography inspection method reveals considerably more about your house than can be seen with conventional inspection tools. Some things our infrared thermography inspections have detected include: