When does the time change to daylight saving time? Here are the dates to know for 2022

Rebecca Powell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·3 min read

If you find yourself itching for spring to get here, a milestone inching us closer to it is coming up this weekend: the beginning of daylight saving time.

This marks when most people nationwide will have to reset their clocks one hour ahead. The time change will happen at 2 a.m. Sunday, March 13. That's when 2 a.m. local time becomes 3 a.m.

You'll lose an hour, but you'll get more sun into the evening.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says daylight saving time conserves energy. The idea is that when the sun sets later, people are more likely to stay out longer and spend less on electricity for lights and appliances. The department also contends it reduces crime and traffic crashes.

Most phones and computers automatically adjust for the time change, though manual clocks will need to be reset. It's also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke alarm.

History of daylight saving time

Benjamin Franklin proposed the idea in 1784 after noticing people burning candles through the night but sleeping past dawn. However, the first national daylight saving time, set forth in a measure known as Standard Time Act, occurred in 1918 as a way to save fuel.

And it was not started to help out American farmers. According to timeanddate.com, daylight saving time was first used in 1908 by a few hundred Canadians in Thunder Bay, Ontario. But Germany popularized daylight saving time after it first set the clocks forward on April 30, 1916, to save coal during World War I.

Federal law, first set by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966, now specifies that daylight saving time applies from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March until 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November in areas that do not specifically exempt themselves to stay on standard time, according to the Associated Press.

Which states don't observe daylight saving time?

Two states have opted out: Arizona and Hawaii.

In the past four years, 19 states have passed legislation or resolutions seeking to make daylight saving time the standard time in their states, if Congress takes action, according to the National Conference of State Legislators.

Those states include:

  • Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi and Montana in 2021.

  • Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming in 2020.

  • Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington in 2019.

  • Florida in 2018. California voters also authorized a change, but legislative action is pending.

Federal law does not currently allow for full-time DST, but the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 seeks to change that in Congress.

Like virtually every other state, Colorado lawmakers have debated whether to end the time change in the state, but so far it has remained in effect.

When will daylight saving time end in 2022?

Daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, when we will “fall back” and again gain an hour of sleep.

The Indianapolis Star, the Des Moines Register and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: When does daylight saving time begin? A look at why we spring forward