![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/how-the-clocks-going-back-tonight-adds-400-to-energy-bills/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/w6r1j3-black-vintage-alarm-clock-753133830.jpg&description=THE yearly routine of changing the clocks costs households up to £438 on their energy bills, according to new research. Daylight saving time ends today, October 30, meaning the clocks go back one hour at 2am. Daylight savings time is adding to household energy billsCredit: Alamy The idea is to make better use of daylight, but academics at Queen's University Belfast have found the average household could save £1.20 a day on electricity if the clocks were not put back in October. This is because it would reduce demand by up to 10 per cent during the evenings, according to professor Aoife Foley. She said: "We [would] reduce commercial and residential electrical demand as people leave work earlier, and go home earlier, meaning less lighting and heating is needed." During the winter, evening energy demand peaks between 5pm and 7pm, which can cause the National Grid to struggle. The calculations didn't factor in gas usage or electricity used by businesses. Doing so would make the potential energy savings "even more significant", according to Ms Foley. The daylight savings plan was first proposed by builder Willem Willet in 1907 and then introduced in 1916 as a wartime effort to reduce energy demand. Since 2002, most countries in the European Economic Area have adjusted their clocks on the last Sunday in March and October. Yet the European Union has considered axing daylight saving time for years as a means of saving energy. Critics of scrapping it are concerned about road traffic collisions and it would cause time zone issues between the UK and Ireland. The research comes after the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed the government's energy price guarantee will last for just six months. It effectively caps bills for the average household at £2,500 a year. The support was originally planned to be effective for two years to protect households from soaring bills. The change means households on standard variable tariffs could face annual bills of up to £5,000 from next year.){kind=link}
THE yearly routine of changing the clocks costs households up to £438 on their energy bills, according to new research.
Daylight saving time ends today, October 30, meaning the clocks go back one hour at 2am.
The idea is to make better use of daylight, but academics at Queen’s University Belfast have found the average household could save £1.20 a day on electricity if the clocks were not put back in October.
This is because it would reduce demand by up to 10 per cent during the evenings, according to professor Aoife Foley.
She said: “We [would] reduce commercial and residential electrical demand as people leave work earlier, and go home earlier, meaning less lighting and heating is needed.”