There is not much of an impact from the time change on the amount of electricity used.
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| [Time change 2022 Europe] |
The transition to winter time in France will take place during the weekend of October 29-30, between Saturday night and Sunday morning. As is customary around this time of year, all of our watches will need to be adjusted backward by one hour. An duty that is coming under growing fire from residents for a variety of reasons, including those related to the environment and health.
When it was first implemented in 1916, the time change was initiated with the intention of conserving costly energy resources such as coal. However, these cost savings are now almost insignificant, particularly as a result of the widespread adoption of light bulbs with reduced energy usage. The Ecological Transition Agency (Ademe) estimates that the time change in France will only result in a savings of 351 gigawatt hours, which is equivalent to 0.07 percent of the country's total consumption.
Chronobiologists are also worried about the potentially harmful consequences that it could have on people's health. The change in time throws off our internal clock, throws off our hormonal rhythm, and throws off our sleep for a few days. According to the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance, "a review of the scientific literature shows a reduction in sleep in the week following the time change caused by an increase in sleep latency and the number of awakenings nocturnal". This phenomenon is attributed to an increase in the number of awakenings that occur during the night.
The National Interministerial Observatory for Road Safety (Onisr) conducted a study that found a 14 percent increase in the number of accidents involving a pedestrian during morning rush hour (7 a.m. to 9 a.m.) and a 42 percent increase during evening rush hour. This suggests that a lack of sleep and visibility could also contribute to an increase in the number of automobile accidents (5 p.m. to 7 p.m.).
With 410 votes in favor and 192 votes against, the seasonal time change system was abolished by the European Parliament in 2019. The vote took place in 2019. Since then, progress on this proposal for change has slowed.