Standard time and energy: how cost-effective is it?
Geopolitical tensions, the climate crisis and the Super El Niño phenomenon continue to weigh on the European energy landscape and point to a difficult winter. Looking at the long-term trend, the energy benefits of the clock change are gradually diminishing.
On the night between Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October 2026, the clocks will go back by one hour. The switch to standard time marks the definitive start of the winter months: we’ll have more light in the morning, but the days will get significantly shorter in the afternoon, forcing us to switch on the lights earlier in our homes and workplaces.
This annual event comes at a time when the issue of energy is anything but straightforward. But how much of an impact does the clock change really have on our energy consumption, given the current market tensions and new technologies?
Geopolitical tensions, the climate crisis and the Super El Niño phenomenon continue to weigh on the European energy landscape and point to a difficult winter. Looking at the long-term trend, the energy benefits of the clock change are gradually diminishing.
Terna’s figures: real savings, but on the decline
During the seven months of day-light saving time that have just passed, the Italian electricity system benefited from savings estimated by Terna at around 302 million kWh. By moving the clocks forward in spring, the use of artificial lighting in the evening hours was delayed. As highlighted in Terna’s reports and trade union analyses, the blame (or credit) lies with ‘energy efficiency’. Whilst the historical average saving over the 20-year period 2004–2025 stood at around 571 million kWh per year (resulting from a cumulative total of over 12 billion), the 302 million estimated for 2026 confirms that the benefit has almost halved. We are talking about a net decrease of around 270 million kWh per year, which translates into just 1 kWh for every 1.9 kWh that could be saved in the past.
Over the last twenty years, the widespread adoption of LED bulbs and energy-efficient lighting systems has significantly reduced the proportion of the total electricity bill accounted for by lighting. Today, switching on a light bulb costs, in terms of kWh, a fraction of what it used to. Consequently, the ‘gain’ or ‘loss’ resulting from the clocks changing has a much smaller impact on overall consumption figures.
