On Sunday, October 29 at 2am the clocks go back, making mornings slightly lighter and evenings darker.
Some people will spend an extra hour in bed and others will get out and embrace the day, but an interesting fact is that the whole concept of daylight saving was actually introduced in 1907 by the great-great-grandfather of Coldplay singer Chris Martin.
William Lillet published a pamphlet called ‘The Waste of Daylight’ in a bid to get people out of bed earlier by changing the nation’s clocks. Willett then spent the rest of his life trying to convince people his scheme was a good one. Sadly, he died of influenza in 1915 at the age of 58, a year before his clock-changing plan was adopted by the Germans and the UK in 1916. His great-great grandson, Chris Martin, however, has had huge success with smash hits “Clocks” and “Daylight”, perhaps inspired by his forefather.
As the clocks go back on October 29 and the evenings get darker, we have some top energy saving tips from Solus :
There are still many homes in Ireland that have old incandescent light bulbs hiking up their energy costs. The old bulbs are very wasteful as 90 per cent of the electricity they use produces heat rather than light. Energy efficient alternatives not only save money on electricity bills but also help to protect the environment. Check all bulbs in use and start changing now as the savings will more than pay for the replacements.
Turn the lights off when leaving a room and use “task” lighting rather than whole room lighting when only a small amount of light is required. Regularly clean light fittings, reflectors and lampshades.
Most energy efficient light bulbs, such as Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs ) and halogen light bulbs, are available in various configurations. Although they cost more to purchase, they are far more energy efficient thus reducing electricity costs. For example, a CFL light bulb uses 80 per cent less electricity than an equivalent incandescent light bulb and typically lasts eight to 12 times longer.
Replacing 3 x 100W incandescent light bulbs with CFLs using three hours of electricity per day can save an average household up to €43 per annum.
Outdoor decorative lights look great when lighting up trees or garden features. However, it might be worth considering only switching them on occasionally to help reduce your energy bill.
