Clocks Go Back 2026: What Darker Evenings Mean for Your Energy Bill

What Changes When the Clocks Go Back on 25 October

At 2am on Sunday 25 October the clocks go back to 1am, and the UK moves from British Summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time. Phones, smart meters and most smart devices change by themselves. Sunrise and sunset both move an hour earlier by the clock:

Times calculated for each city centre. Mornings get lighter in return: London's sunrise moves from 7:40am on Saturday to 6:41am on Sunday.

The total hours of darkness don't change overnight. What changes is when they fall. Darkness now arrives around the time people get home, start cooking and put the heating on, so more of your day's electricity is used in the late afternoon and early evening.

What Darker Evenings Actually Cost

Under the October to December 2026 price cap, electricity costs 26.32p per kWh at any time of day. Cornwall Insight forecasts 30.28p from January. Here's what common evening loads cost an hour, or per use:

Cost per hour at full power. The tumble dryer row is per load. Your own costs depend on your tariff and how long things run.

Switching the lights on an hour earlier costs pennies a week with LED bulbs. The big evening costs are heat and drying clothes: one hour of a 2kW heater costs about the same as 25 hours of lighting a whole room. That's where small changes pay off, and it's covered below.

On a Time-of-Use Tariff? Watch 4pm to 7pm

If you're on a tariff with a peak rate, darker evenings matter more, because the peak is exactly when you now switch everything on:

Not sure which tariff suits how you use energy now? See Octopus tariffs compared.

Got Solar Panels or a Battery? What to Check

Your panels won't generate any less because of the clock change. The sun doesn't follow the clock. What changes is when your generation happens by the clock, and whether your inverter and battery know what time it is.

1. Check your inverter clock on Sunday

Some inverters and battery systems change their own clocks and some don't. If yours stays on summer time, every schedule you've set will run an hour early by the real clock:

Open your inverter or battery app on Sunday, check the time it shows matches your phone, and if not, change it or turn on automatic time. Then check your charge and discharge windows still line up with your tariff. If you're not sure how, your installer or the manufacturer's app guide will show you.

2. Your solar peak moves to late morning

Solar noon, when your panels produce the most, moves an hour earlier by the clock. In the Midlands it goes from about 12:51pm on Saturday to 11:51am on Sunday. So late morning is now the best time to run the washing machine, dishwasher or a solar-diverting EV charger on your own power.

3. Winter output is low, so the battery does more of the work

Generation drops sharply through the winter whatever the clocks do. For a 4kW south-facing system in Birmingham, the EU's PVGIS tool estimates:

That's often not enough to fill a battery, so most owners charge it overnight on a cheap rate and use it through the 4pm to 7pm peak. Our battery storage calculator shows what that saves on your tariff.

4. Your export payments aren't affected

Smart Export Guarantee payments are based on how many kWh your meter records going out, not the time of day, so the clock change makes no difference. If you're on a time-of-use export tariff, check with your supplier how it handles the change.

Timers to Check This Weekend

Anything with its own clock that doesn't connect to the internet will now run an hour early. A heating timer still on summer time and set for 6am will switch on at 5am. Check these on Sunday:

Drying Clothes Indoors Now the Washing Line Is Done

By late October there isn't enough daylight or warmth to dry washing outside, so it moves indoors. Each load releases around two litres of water into your home. Here's what the main options cost per load at the current price cap:

Figures from our dehumidifier vs tumble dryer and heated airer guides, at 26.32p per kWh.

A dehumidifier is usually the cheapest option that also deals with the damp. The MeacoDry Arete One 10L costs about 4p an hour and is quiet enough for a bedroom. The Pro Breeze 20L has a laundry mode and dries a load in about 4 to 6 hours with the door closed. If you'd rather have a heated airer, the Black+Decker 3-Tier is our best value pick, but open a window or run an extractor fan, because an airer doesn't remove the moisture. Our best dehumidifiers and drying clothes indoors guides go into more detail.

Darker Evenings Mean Condensation Season

Colder nights, closed windows and washing drying indoors are what turn windows wet in the morning. Left alone, that moisture leads to black mould around frames and in corners.

Our guides to condensation on windows and black mould in the bedroom explain the fixes.

Cheaper Ways to Stay Warm in the Evening

Clocks Going Back: FAQs

Published 22 October 2026. Electricity price from Ofgem's October to December 2026 price cap. January forecast from Cornwall Insight (28 September 2026). Cosy Octopus and Octopus Flux times from Octopus Energy. Economy 7 advice from EDF. Sunset times calculated for each city centre. Appliance costs use the power ratings in our product guides. Solar output and solar noon for a 4kW south-facing system in Birmingham, from PVGIS and our own calculation.