Daylight saving time vs. standard time: What if we never changed time?
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- It is almost our favorite time of the year again, the night where we all get an extra hour of sleep. Followed up quickly by our most unfavorite evening of the year, the one where we all realize the sun now sets around 5:30 p.m. This all happens on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 2 a.m. when we "fall back" one hour.
Usually this sparks the debate on if we should stay on daylight saving time all year, or should we continue to keep changing our clocks twice a year. Lawmakers continue to have this same debate with hopes of actually ending the debate next month with the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023. But as of the writing of this story, the bill hasn't made it far enough to impact the time on your clock, your phone, or your watch.
I am not trying to enter this debate, but I thought it would be interesting to see what it really looked like if we never changed time anymore. So I went through the data and looked at what a uniform standard time (the time we are about to enter into for the winter) vs. a uniform daylight saving time for Columbus would look like.
I thought the easiest way to do represent this, would be in a chart, with the monthly "average" sunrise and sunset times, which are listed below:
| Current | Daylight Saving Time | Standard Time | |
| with time changes | all year long | all year long | |
| Jan rise | 7:47a | 8:47a | 7:47a |
| Jan set | 5:33p | 6:33p | 5:33p |
| Feb rise | 7:23a | 8:23a | 7:23a |
| Feb set | 6:07p | 7:07p | 6:07p |
| Mar rise | 6:58a/7:33a | 7:40a | 6:40a |
| Mar set | 6:39p/7:45p | 7:40p | 6:40p |
| Apr rise | 6:54a | 6:54a | 5:54a |
| Apr set | 8:11p | 8:11p | 7:11p |
| May rise | 6:18a | 6:18a | 5:18a |
| May set | 8:41p | 8:41p | 7:41p |
| Jun rise | 6:04a | 6:04a | 5:04a |
| Jun set | 9:00p | 9:00p | 8:00p |
| Jul rise | 6:19a | 6:19a | 5:19a |
| Jul set | 8:55p | 8:55p | 7:55p |
| Aug rise | 6:45a | 6:45a | 5:45a |
| Aug set | 8:24p | 8:24p | 7:24p |
| Sep rise | 7:14a | 7:14a | 6:14a |
| Sep set | 7:38p | 7:38p | 6:38p |
| Oct rise | 7:44a | 7:44a | 6:44a |
| Oct set | 6:52p | 6:52p | 5:52p |
| Nov rise | 8:02a/7:19a | 8:17a | 7:17a |
| Nov set | 6:28p/5:16p | 6:18p | 5:18p |
| Dec rise | 7:44a | 8:44a | 7:44a |
| Dec set | 5:12p | 6:12p | 5:12p |
Notice in the chart above, I have multiple "average times" listed in March and November, that is before and after time changes for each month. This is also why only one time exists in the EDT & EST times for those months.
Looking at all the data, since we live the majority of the year (65%) in daylight saving time, we understand well the perks, like having later sunsets in the spring, summer and fall. But if you are an early bird, the later sunrises may not be your thing. By contrast, in the late fall and winter we are in standard time and deal with early sunsets -- and pretty late sunrises, too.
This is just the price we pay for living in Ohio. No matter what tricks we play with the clock, we can't add the amount of total daily daylight we get during the cold winter months. Consider this, if we were to change to daylight saving time all year, our sunsets would remain in the 6pm or later for all of winter. On the flip side, the sunrises would be in the 8 a.m. hour all winter long, with the latest sunrises in late December and early January coming closer to the 9 a.m. hour (8:53 a.m.).
OK, by contrast, what if we always stayed on standard time? Well, this would possibly be the biggest shift for many of us, since we only spend about 35% of the year on this time right now. This time would not have any impact on what we are used to from early November to early March. But come spring we would see some noticeable differences.
Right now our earliest sunrises all year long occur in June at 6:02 a.m. If we were to stay on standard time year-round, we would have pre-6 a.m. sunrises starting in April. In fact, we would have sunrises in the 5 a.m. hour from mid-April through August, with the earliest in June at 5:02 a.m. So yes, it would be light out in the 4 a.m. hour during the late spring through early summer.
On the flip side, gone would be the long evenings with sunsets after 9 p.m. and twilight pushing toward 10 p.m. In fact, on standard time year-round, our latest sunsets would barely crack the 8 p.m. hour, with the latest twilight hours getting close to 9 p.m.
Below is a listing of the current sunrise and sunset times to start and finish the months for Columbus:
| Sunrise | Sunset | |
| Jan start | 7:53a | 5:17p |
| Jan finish | 7:41a | 5:49p |
| Feb start | 7:40a | 5:50p |
| Feb finish | 7:05a | 6:23p |
| Mar start | 7:04a | 6:24p |
| EDT starts | 7:50a | 7:34p |
| Mar end | 7:16a | 7:55p |
| Apr start | 7:15a | 7:56p |
| Apr end | 6:32a | 8:26p |
| May start | 6:31a | 8:27p |
| May end | 6:05a | 8:54p |
| Jun start | 6:05a | 8:55p |
| Jun end | 6:06a | 9:04p |
| Jul start | 6:07a | 9:04p |
| Jul end | 6:30a | 8:46p |
| Aug start | 6:31a | 8:44p |
| Aug end | 6:59a | 8:04p |
| Sep start | 7:00a | 8:02p |
| Sep end | 7:27a | 7:14p |
| Oct start | 7:28a | 7:13p |
| Oct end | 8:00a | 6:30p |
| Nov start | 8:00a | 6:29p |
| EST starts | 7:05a | 5:25p |
| Nov end | 7:33a | 5:07p |
| Dec start | 7:34a | 5:07p |
| Dec end | 7:53a | 5:16p |
| Earliest | 6:02a (mid Jun) | 5:06p (early Dec) |
| Latest | 8:04a (early Nov) | 9:04p (late Jun) |
Did you notice the latest sunrise of the year now actually occurs right before we "fall back" in early November just after 8 a.m.? If we never changed the time, either EDT always or EST always, our latest sunrises would be in late December to early January.
While it might seem like it is an easy fix to just stick with one time the entire year, when you look at the data, it isn't so simple. Both EDT and EST have their pros and cons, as does our current system. Now you have the data to back up your argument, no matter which time you prefer.
Just remember, it is a good idea to check/change the batteries in your smoke detectors, test out the smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, too. Most importantly, enjoy that extra hour of sleep we get.