Households could save hundreds of pounds every year on their electricity bills if the UK stopped putting its clocks back at the end of October, according to an expert. The nation traditionally switches from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time in autumn to allow more daylight in the mornings - but scrapping this measure could lead to energy savings, it is claimed.
Professor Aoife Foley, from the school of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Queen’s University Belfast, said abandoning the October change would reduce demand on the National Grid at peak times. “By simply foregoing the winter Daylight Savings Time (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,” she said.
“We are no longer in an energy crisis in Europe but an energy war and dependent on weather conditions this winter it is very likely we may need to start rationing energy very seriously to avoid bigger energy issues in December and January when gas reserves start to run low. There is no doubt that by foregoing the daylight savings in winter we would save a lot of energy, reduce our bills and carbon emissions during this energy war, and especially during a cost of living crisis.”
Prof Foley has calculated this would flatten the evening peak curves on energy demand by up to 10 per cent if commercial demand is included. She said households could save £1.20 a day and more than £400 a year on electricity bills.
Her calculations do not include gas savings, or electricity and gas in the commercial or industrial sectors. But she says if they were included “there would be even more significant energy, cost and emissions reductions for hard strapped businesses and the public.”
The shift to British Summer Time began in 1916 as a wartime effort to reduce energy demand and create earlier daylight hours. Addressing fears that any changes could lead to more crashes on the roads, or a time zone difference between the UK and Ireland, Prof Foley said: “Most road collisions occur in good visibility during the day and outside of built-up areas.
“It would be great if the UK Government consulted with the Irish Government on an emergency proposal to abolish daylight savings this year. Obviously in Ireland two different time zones would be impossible but Ireland would also make energy and emissions savings and enhance security of supply.”
