Nothing says winter like the clocks going back – and that time is almost upon us: in the small hours between Saturday October 29 and Sunday October 30.
But stop the clocks! According to one energy academic, households could save over £400 a year on energy bills if we didn’t just stayed in British Summer Time.
Evening energy demands are the highest during 5pm and 7pm during the winter season when the sun has already set after daylight savings (DST) come in.
If clocks were to stay the same, it would remain light during this time, reducing energy demands and helping people save money during the cost of living crisis, Professor Aoife Foley, a clean energy expert at Queen’s University Belfast, told the Guardian.
She has calculated that households could save around £1.20 a day and more than £400 a year on electricity bills if clock are not put back, however this is dependant on tariffs.
“By simply forgoing the winter DST in October, we save energy because it is brighter in the evening during winter, so we reduce commercial and residential electrical demand as people leave work earlier, and go home earlier, meaning less lighting and heating is needed,” Prof Foley added to the Guardian.
However, not everyone thinks this is the way to go.
Why do the clocks go back?
Daylight Saving was introduced in 1916 to do exactly that – reduce demand for energy throughout the war by extending daylight hours in the summer.
And when exactly do clocks change?
Clocks go back one hour at 2am on the last Sunday in October – that’s October 30 – and go forward by one hour at 1:00 am on the last Sunday in March – which falls on 26 March, 2022.
Who knows quite where we’ll be by then – but roll on summertime, we say!