Does changing the time really still save us energy? Many doubt it and some even believe that it makes us lose money.
The aim of the time change is to save energy and therefore money by making better use of natural light. But for years, these gains have increasingly been called into question. 20 years ago, experts assured that the savings were substantial, of the order of 1200 GWh saved per year in France. A few years ago, the European Commission assessed that the gains were ultimately “marginal”, representing a saving of between 0.5 and 2.5% depending on the countries concerned.
The latest studies from Ademe, the Ecological Transition Agency, instead count on an electricity saving of 350 GWh of electricity, or only 0.07% of our total electricity consumption today. All this thanks, in particular, to the generalization of more efficient and economical lighting systems and bulbs.
Now, some are wondering if this gain is not turning into a loss of money for your wallet. A recent British study seriously claims that removing the time change in October would save 400 pounds sterling (460 euros) per household per year.
The work was carried out last year and published by Queen’s University Belfast. Their results show that demand on the UK energy network would fall by up to 10% if the switch to standard time did not take place.
Professor Aoife Foley, from the university’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, explained: “This would reduce commercial and residential electricity demand as people leave work earlier and return home earlier, which would mean less lighting and heating. Nowadays, according to him, electricity demand is at its peak between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. in Western Europe, which can cause difficulties for the grid.
He adds, referring to the conflict in Ukraine: “There is no doubt that by giving up on winter time, we would save a lot of energy, reduce our bills and our carbon emissions during this energy war, and above all during this inflationary crisis.
The academics’ calculations do not take into account gas or electricity consumption used by businesses. According to Professor Foley, this means that energy savings can potentially be “even greater”.
Another in-depth but little-known study already went in this direction in 2008: researchers from the state of Indiana had assessed the economic impact of the time change. They had identified a significant increase in electricity demand during the weeks following the change to daylight saving time. More precisely, electricity demand increased by 1% during the weeks following this time change.
For what ? According to their study, the suddenly longer and warmer days that accompanied the start of daylight saving time created a psychological effect, causing Indiana residents to use more air conditioning to counter the heat!
