Come early Fall, many people in the U.S. wonder when exactly
that old phrase "Fall back, Spring forward" will come in handy for
daylight savings. In 2012, Daylight Saving Time, as it is formally called, ends
on Sunday. Fall back! Daylight Saving
Time for 2012 will end on Sunday, Nov. 4, when clocks will be set back at 2
a.m. in the United States.
Daylight Saving Time for 2012 is coming to an end this weekend on Sunday,
Nov. 4, when clocks will be set back at 2a.m. giving us an extra hour of
sleep.
On Sunday at 2a.m., you'll move clocks back one hour and
gain 60 minutes of extra time, sleep or partying that morning. However, if you
go to bed early, it is recommended to set clocks back an hour before, to ensure
the proper time when you wake up. Some electronic devices, like smartphones,
automatically change to daylight saving time, so no need to set those iPhones
back.
However, many U.S. states do not observe daylight saving
time, like Arizona, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam,
and the Northern Mariana Islands.
For many years, Daylight Saving began much earlier than
November. In 2005, the Energy Policy Act altered the start and end dates of
daylight saving time. The new act went into effect in 2007 and changed the
dates in an attempt to save energy; From then on, clocks were set forward on
the second Sunday of March instead of the first Sunday of April and set back
one hour on the first Sunday in November rather than the last Sunday of
October.
Many fire departments encourage U.S. residents to use
Daylight Saving as a time to change batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide
detectors, as well, as a precaution.
