Joe Blake
5th March 2008, 02:14
According to this article in the Wall Street Journal apparently it actually costs more to have daylight saving. ($8.6 million for the state of Indiana.)
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120406767043794825-UOLcfJA8x9Gw9ozbCz77MiLmtaE_20080327.html?mod=tff_ main_tff_top
However, on closer reading of it, I get the impression that most of the cost is in the use of airconditioning, heating and cooling.
I'd say from my experience that when daylight saving was first conceived there wasn't the same widespread use of a/c in private housing as there is today. I'd be interested to see some figures on the thermal efficiency of the housing concerned.
Further, I'd say it also reflects some poor decision making/mental laziness in householders. If, for example, as it points out in the article, heating is turned on during cold mornings, why not just put on warmer clothing? That would be quicker and cheaper, bringing almost instant relief compared to warming up an entire house, just prior to leaving for work for the day.
Cooling. Although over the last few weeks of record high temperatures I've been wishing I DID have (reverse cycle) air cooling, I've only got about 50 watts of cooling (a small fan which holds bottles of ice and blows cold air on my work station). (The ice is made mainly in my solar freezer.) However, in discussing it with my landlord, I'd say the way to use the a/c is to run it during the midnight to dawn period when (a) electricity demand is much less and (b) the air outside (which takes the heat away from the radiator) is cooler and more efficient, thus saving energy and money. This would cool the inside of the house's internal brick wall, which then acts as a "thermal bank" which prevents the inside of the house warming up so quickly.
I've got fibreglass batt insulation in my ceiling space, which really takes the sting out of the heat. When measuring the temperature under the roofing tiles a few moments ago, I've seen 45 degrees Centigrade, while the temperature of the ceiling below the insulation is 32 degrees in the living room and 30 degrees in the bedroom (with a water bed acting as another "thermal bank".)
Whilst it may be accurate in its figures, I think the article is a bit misleading in terms of what it DOESN'T tell the reader.
Joe
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120406767043794825-UOLcfJA8x9Gw9ozbCz77MiLmtaE_20080327.html?mod=tff_ main_tff_top
However, on closer reading of it, I get the impression that most of the cost is in the use of airconditioning, heating and cooling.
I'd say from my experience that when daylight saving was first conceived there wasn't the same widespread use of a/c in private housing as there is today. I'd be interested to see some figures on the thermal efficiency of the housing concerned.
Further, I'd say it also reflects some poor decision making/mental laziness in householders. If, for example, as it points out in the article, heating is turned on during cold mornings, why not just put on warmer clothing? That would be quicker and cheaper, bringing almost instant relief compared to warming up an entire house, just prior to leaving for work for the day.
Cooling. Although over the last few weeks of record high temperatures I've been wishing I DID have (reverse cycle) air cooling, I've only got about 50 watts of cooling (a small fan which holds bottles of ice and blows cold air on my work station). (The ice is made mainly in my solar freezer.) However, in discussing it with my landlord, I'd say the way to use the a/c is to run it during the midnight to dawn period when (a) electricity demand is much less and (b) the air outside (which takes the heat away from the radiator) is cooler and more efficient, thus saving energy and money. This would cool the inside of the house's internal brick wall, which then acts as a "thermal bank" which prevents the inside of the house warming up so quickly.
I've got fibreglass batt insulation in my ceiling space, which really takes the sting out of the heat. When measuring the temperature under the roofing tiles a few moments ago, I've seen 45 degrees Centigrade, while the temperature of the ceiling below the insulation is 32 degrees in the living room and 30 degrees in the bedroom (with a water bed acting as another "thermal bank".)
Whilst it may be accurate in its figures, I think the article is a bit misleading in terms of what it DOESN'T tell the reader.
Joe