Yesterday the US put its clocks forward for Daylight Saving Time, equivalent to our British Summer Time.

This was three weeks earlier than in previous years, and in autumn the clocks will go back a week later, on the first Sunday of November.

This change will add an extra four weeks of summer time and is expected to save energy. This is mainly by cutting down on the use of lights in homes during the dark evenings. By moving the clocks forward one hour, the evenings will be lighter and so the amount of electricity used can be reduced.

Extended daylight time in the spring was last used in America during the oil crisis of the 1970s. Studies revealed that it saved about 1 per cent of the electricity used across the US in March and April, equivalent to roughly 100,000 barrels of oil used every day over the two months.

The studies also found reductions in crime and traffic accidents, attributed to the extended daylight hours.

However, the US has changed considerably since those days, and there will be considerable interest in seeing whether the new clock changes can deliver similar energy savings. If so, it might lead the way for a change in summer time for the UK.

Britain’s clocks go forward this year on March 25 and back on October 28, in line with the rest of the European Union.