Z to EST Converter - Savvy Time (2024)

FAQs

How far ahead is Zulu time to EST? ›

Zulu time (also called 'Z' time) is the meteorological equivalent of Greenwich Mean Time, the time of day in Greenwich, England (which is a 0 longitude). During Eastern Standard Time (EST), we are 5 hours behind Zulu time, and during Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), we are 4 hours behind.

Eastern Standard time is five hours behind Zulu time (-5 on the chart) so we add five hours to our local 24-hour time. So 14:00 becomes 1900Z. No “:” is used and the “PM/AM” suffix is replaced with a “Z”.

Zulu Time is 5 hours ahead of the time in New York when New York is on standard time, and 4 hours ahead of the time in New York when New York is on daylight saving time. Zulu Time does not change between summer time and winter time.

Therefore, to work out Zulu time, we add 7 hours to our local time. 13:00, plus 7 hours is 20:00. So, Zulu time is 20:00.

The U.S. military still uses Zulu time in its radio transmissions and documentation because of the confusion that can result when trying to coordinate activities with other countries that use different time standards. Zulu time eliminates this confusion by providing a single standard that can be applied universally.

Zulu time is another word for UTC. EST, America's Eastern Standard Time, is UTC-5. It's a 5 hour difference, so 10:00 Z or 10:00 UTC is 05:00 EST.

For instance, if it's 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time in Washington, D.C., it's 1500 hours in Zulu time/UTC.

The timezone Z is the code for Zulu Time or Zebra Time and is the military code name for UTC.

How to convert UTC to EST? ›

To convert Universal Time (UT or UTC) to Eastern Standard Time (EST), subtract five hours from UT. Examples: 07:49:55 UT is the same as 02:49:55 EST, or 2:49:55 a.m. EST.

For example, if it's 2 p.m. where you are, add 12 hours to the time to get a military time of 1400. Adjust for the time difference where you are, versus GMT. So, if you live in the Eastern Daylight Time zone, add four hours (because the eastern U.S. is four hours behind GMT). This makes your Zulu Time 1800Z.

The Zulu time zone (Z) is equivalent to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and is often referred to as the military time zone. The military time zone system ensures clear communication in a concise manner, and avoids confusion when coordinating across time zones.

A timestamp in Zulu format would look like TZ. That is a date “YYYY-MM-DD” with the four-digit Year, two-digit month and two-digit day, “T” for “time,” followed by a time formatted as “HH:MM:SS” with hours, minutes and seconds, all followed with a “Z” to denote that it is Zulu format.

However, the U.S. Military refers to this time zone as Zulu time. The 'zulu' comes from the fact that each time zone is given a letter designation, 'z' being the 24th.

The main thing to know about Zulu Time is that it is always the same, no matter where you are in the world. You're just at different points on it. Here's how to figure out your own personal version of Z-Time, based on where you are: Convert your time to the 24-hour version, like the U.S. military uses.