Researchers at the Urban Energy Systems Lab of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Dübendorf have studied the impact of switching from winter to summer time on the heating and cooling energy required by office buildings. Their findings concluded that setting the clocks forward by one hour has a positive effect on the energy balance, according to a statement.
The scientists simulated the heating and cooling energy used with and without daylight saving time for different climate regions based on data from various office buildings in 15 American cities. In order to include the influence of climate change, they took into account not only the current climate, but also future climate scenarios up to 2050.
They identified energy savings across all climate scenarios and zones, with a peak saving of around 3 percent. “Since much more cooling than heating energy is needed in summer, the time change has a positive overall effect on the energy balance of a building," commented Massimo Fiorentini, one of the four study authors. In the discussion about eliminating daylight saving time, policy makers should therefore not only consider the electricity savings, but also the overall impact on the energy balance of office buildings.
The researchers emphasized that the time change is only one of many ways to influence the energy consumption of a building. Technical improvements to buildings, behavioral changes and a general adjustment of working hours can also contribute to energy savings.
