It's time to "Fall Back"

You’ve likely heard the saying, “spring forward, fall behind,” as an easy way to remember how to set your clocks when daylight saving time begins and ends. In the spring, we move our clocks ahead one hour and “lose” an hour during the night. In the fall, we move our clocks back one hour to “gain” more time.

On Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010 at 2 a.m. local time, daylight saving time ends in the U.S. Remember to set your clock one hour earlier, and enjoy the extra hour in your day.

The change to daylight saving time allows us to use less energy in lighting our homes and businesses by taking advantage of the longer and later daylight hours. It began in the U.S. during World War I as a way to save energy for war production. During World War II, the government again required states to use daylight saving time. After the war, it was up to each individual community to choose whether or not it would observe daylight saving time until 1966, when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act, which standardized the length of daylight saving time.

In 2005, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act which extended daylight saving time by four weeks, with the hope of saving 10,000 barrels of oil per day by reducing the use of power during daylight hours.

It is also a good time to change the batteries in your smoke detector.  This should be done every six months, so the change in time is a good time to change your batteries.  Have a safe and happy fall.