Beginning this year, Daylight Savings Time -- where clocks are pushed ahead to extend afternoon daylight hours -- started a month earlier than normal and ran a week later in the fall in the United States, as part of an effort to decrease electricity consumption. But a University of California Energy Institute empirical study found that when parts of Australia extended daylight savings time by two months for the 2000 Sydney Olympics, energy consumption actually increased slightly. While more daylight means less lit bulbs, it can also translate to increased air conditioning usage.