Why Do We Have Daylight Savings Time?

Winter is approaching and our days are continuing to get "shorter," as the number of hours in a day remain the same but the number of hours of daylight decrease. Tomorrow, Nov. 3, daylight hours for most of us will end even earlier in the evening when we move our clocks back an hour to end daylight saving time. 

Many people will change their clocks, but do they know why?

Daylight saving time was primarily started in the United States for the sake of conserving energy. The Standard Time Act was passed in 1918, which officially established time zones and incorporated daylight saving months into federal law. This was during World War I, when national efforts were made to conserve materials for the war effort. 

It was believed that if daytime hours could correspond better with natural light, fewer tasks would need to be done at night. Homes would need to use less energy to stay lit.