NOVEL SCHEME OF DAYLIGHT SAVING

Chronicle (Levin), 18 March 1947, Page 2

NOVEL SCHEME OF DAYLIGHT SAVING

RISE WITH THE SUN EVERY. DAY OF YEAR By Telegrapn — Press Association WELLINGTON, Mai/ 17. ; The shortage of eleetrie power in the North Island and warnings that there may be a deterioration in the position, have prompted the suggestion that power niight be saved through extending the existing daylight saving. A coxuprehensive scheme of this . nature has been evolved by Mr. A. H. Larkinan, M.I. Mech. E., M.l. Mar. E., F.R.G.S., head ' of the engineering departinent of the Wanganui Technicai Coilege Mr. Larkman's suggestion, iu essence, visualises the adjustment oi docks so that the normal rising time of the inajority of people coincides with sunrise each day t'uroughout the yeaj-. Mr. Larkman refers to his scheme as "7 O'clock Sunlight Daylight Savings". He estimates that it would I bring about a saving in electric power j of 45,000,000 units a year for the whole ! of New Zealand, including 30,000,000 I units saved in the North Island aloue. Such saving, he claims, could be obI tained without cost to the Government ; and with eonsiderable fmancial saving to eonsumers. A number of authorities to whom the draft of liis scheme has been submitted, he states, are of opiuion that his estimate of saving is conservative. Explaining his scheme today Mr. Larkman said: "My proposal is to arivance docks one minute each dav for 380 days from the end of Junc to tho end of Deeember, and to retard theni ,one minute daily for 380 days from the | end of Deeember to the end of June. | and so take full advantage of the faet I that the sun rises auninute earlier eacn day from mid-winter to mid-sunimer and a minute later each day from midsummer to mid-winter. Sunrise is aliout 7 a.m. in mid-winter and about 4 a.111. in mid-summer — three hours' differenee — and it is apparent that the 180 minutes' gradual advance and retard ment would have the effect of giving us sunrise at the same time of dav throughout the year. The whole of tlio daylight which is normal ly unused is made available — three times as much a?. jwe now save by our half-hour through ; out the year daylight-saving metliod I There would be a substantial decrease J in thc geueral Jighting load during the I spring and autumn and aliuost a total elimination of both Jighting and lieating loads during summer. This pro I posal overcomes the grave objection that our present daylight savings moa sure helps itself to half an hour of day light which is not really available in mid-winter. This makes winti;y,.conditions worse than need be as regard.-, temperaturc and gloom for early risers and thereby causes an avoidablc early morning demand for heat and light." Regarding his estiniated saving of : 45,00(3,000 units a year, Mr. Larkman i stated: "This estimate is based 011 tlie j use of - available mid-winter and, midsummer demand data for work days, iSaturdays and Sun davs, and is in fact equivalent to 50,000,000 units generated because it docs not involve the us'ual 30 per cent. loss incidental to transmission. The domestic, street and shop-window Jighting load would be shiftcd away from the 4.30 to 6 p.m. tram and electric tram loads, and so reduce the vvorst overall load peak during all but tlie mid-winter months. (People generally would cnjoy a groatef | measure of health' because of increascl liours of sunshine and the use of more j daylight would reduce eve strain. " ; When the scheme was submitted to the Department of Seientific and In dustrial Research, Mr. Larkman saiil officers reported that "tiie proposal is a sound one theoretically " but that some difficulties might be occasioned 111 implementing it. Among these difficulties were (3) the trouble attaclied to arivancing and retarding tiiuepieces, (2) tlie necessitv of- maintaining slantlard time for interuational communication (3) the unnatural conditions arising from the sun's being overhead at 3 'p.m. and daylight at 1 1 p.m. Mr. Larkman answered these oli- j .iections as follows: — "We all make use of radio time announeements and s-et our timepieees by them with no feelings of irksomencss. Scarccly any of us ex pect our watches to beliave so >vell as not to lose or gain a minute or so daily Many would adjust the regulator a notch or so twice a year and so pick up or drop a minute a day. One lia> only to experience the discoinforts ro resulting from power eut-outs to assess the trouble of adjusting timepieees at its very slight worth. (2) Greenwich linean time, really al ready in use for th-1 ' purpose, could have its use extended tc jmeet this objection. (3) T11 realitv :» j would bef a return to nature. It is tho. present conditions which are really un natural. Surelv most people happenini.' to rise in mid-summer at 4 a.m. instead of their usual 7 a.m., have boer. 1 . conscious-strickcn to realise tliat thi-'w hours of gorgeous sunshine are ordinar ily being wastcd. "