South Africa may turn to daylight saving to save on electricity

Daylight saving is one of the options being considered for South Africa in view of the energy crisis.

Sputnik Ratau, spokesman for the Minister of Mineral Affairs and Energy, Buyelwa Sonjica, said that switching the clocks for daylight saving had not been ruled out and would be among options discussed by the department, and possibly proposed to the cabinet tomorrow.

"At the moment, everything is being considered. The cabinet is going to discuss the whole issue . . . daylight saving time is one of those measures that could assist," he said.

Since the start of load-shedding last week, the issue of daylight saving has been widely proposed by Mercury readers, many of whom say it would help to ease the electricity burden. David Morris, founder of the website www.daylightsaving.co.za said there was no doubt that the implementation of daylight saving would help save electricity.

He explained that the energy use and demand of electricity for lighting homes was directly related to the times when people went to bed and got up. A poll conducted by the United States Department of Transportation showed that in the average home, 25% of electricity was used for lighting and small appliances such as TVs, VCRs and hi-fis.

"A good percentage of energy consumed by lighting and appliances occurs in the evening when families are home. By moving the clock ahead one hour, the amount of electricity consumed each day decreases," he said.

Studies also found that daylight saving trimmed the entire country's usage by a small but significant amount. This was about 1% each day as less electricity was used for lighting and appliances.

The study also found that, similarly, in New Zealand, power companies found that power usage decreased by 3.5% when daylight saving time started. Namibia uses daylight saving time in summer.

Original Source: http://www.themercury.co.za