Regularly and for quite some time now, changing the time has become one of the most frequent habits in recent decades. We turn our clocks back or forward twice a year and we still don’t know for sure why we do it. It is the great mystery that keeps thousands of Spaniards in suspense, but the truth is that everything has an explanation and, for this, we will have to go back many years. We will tell you about it below.
Now that the time change for winter time is approaching, which will take place next on the night of Saturday October 26 to Sunday October 27, 2024, where 3:00 will be 2:00, you may have questions about why this ritual is carried out. But you should know that this modification is not only carried out in Spain, but also in other places in the world. In our case, it takes place in October, as we have mentioned, and in March, which is when it tends to go forward one hour.
As a general rule, regardless of the annual calendar established by the Government for holidays and work days, schedule changes are usually made on the last Sunday of each month. Therefore, they do not always fall on the same dates. For example, in 2023, the time change in March occurred on Sunday the 26th and in October on the 29th.
a little history
Like every year, the question always arises as to why we are obliged to change the time of our clocks twice. Apparently, the origin takes place in the 18th century, when the American scientist Benjamin Franklin proposed a time change to take advantage of the hours of natural light during the day. For this reason, he proposed for the first time to advance the clocks during the summer season and thus achieve greater energy savings, since citizens had to turn on their lighting at earlier hours as the sun set. However, it was not approved.
Two centuries later, in 1905, the English architect William Willet once again exposed the extent of the time change when he saw Londoners sleeping when it had already dawned, so they were going to miss the best part of the day. After a while, in 1916, the US government examined this proposal and ended up imposing it, in order to save resources and fuel, although Willet died in 1915 without being able to glimpse his initiative.
For its part, in Spain it was not until 1918 when the first time change occurred, but in reality it was established permanently since the end of Franco’s mandate, and in 1974, due to the energy crisis that was being experienced, the The Spanish government decided to officially implement the time change.
Why does the time change occur? Is it really necessary?
Following the approval of an agreement by the member countries of the European Union, under Directive 2000/84/EC, the time change has been established as an obligation. Each of the states indicates that thanks to this advance, more energy is saved and thus reduces electricity consumption. Since the beginning of the First World War, this concept has been a priority, but experts predict that the regulations are useless.
In this way, the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) has raised the alarm, arguing that this practice has very little effect and does not provide sufficient savings, quite the opposite. You only save 5% on lighting, which turns out to be insignificant.
In Spain, the Executive will maintain the law until 2026, which is the date on which a new review of the time change will occur. It will be the right time to return to GMT time, since it is proven that it is the best condition for Spaniards in terms of work and personal life.
