Impact of daylight saving time on residential energy consumption and cost

This study is an evaluation of the effect of using or not using daylight saving time on a residential buildingʹs HVAC and lighting energy consumption. Daylight saving time is the practice of shifting clock time ahead by one hour. The well-verified and robust hour-by-hour simulation code DOE-2.1 E is used to predict a residenceʹs annual energy consumption at 224 locations in the US. The quantities tracked are annual electrical energy use, electrical cost, natural gas quantity, natural gas cost and total energy cost. The house used in the study is an existing structure in Lawrence, KS, and its actual characteristics, operation schedules and utility bills are used in the preparation of the energy model. The results show that for this residence, which is somewhat typical of US houses, total energy consumption is just slightly increased on average when summer daylight saving time is used instead of standard time year-round. Other combinations of standard and daylight saving time are also examined.