2027 schedule
| Change | Date | Local time | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clocks go back | Sunday, April 4, 2027 | 1:00 AM | Returns to midnight — one hour is gained |
| Clocks go forward | Sunday, September 5, 2027 | midnight | Jumps to 1:00 AM — one hour is lost |
Chile keeps CLT in winter and shifts one hour forward for the summer.
Time until the next change
Current local time:
Does DST Actually Save Energy?
This was the original justification, and it is the claim that has held up worst. A US Department of Energy report to Congress in 2008 measured the four weeks added to DST in 2007 and found a saving of about 0.5% of daily national electricity use — real, but small.
Other work has found no saving at all. A well-known study of Indiana, which adopted DST statewide in 2006, found residential electricity use actually rose by 1–4%: households used less lighting but more air conditioning on hot summer evenings. Any lighting savings are also partly offset by extra petrol use as people travel more in the lighter evenings.
Agricultural Considerations
The story that DST was introduced for farmers has it exactly backwards. Farmers in Chile and elsewhere were among its most persistent opponents, and the American farm lobby successfully campaigned to have national DST repealed after the First World War.
The reason is straightforward: farm work follows the sun, not the clock. Moving the clock forward just means doing the same work an hour earlier by the clock, while deliveries, markets and hired labour all shift with it. Dairy farmers make the point most often, since cows keep to their own schedule and take several days to adjust to a changed milking time.
Getting ready
- Use the extra evening daylight in summer for outdoor activities and vitamin D.
- Set your clocks before going to bed to avoid confusion in the morning.
- Be extra cautious driving the Monday after the spring time change - accident rates increase.
- Remember that not all countries change on the same date - check international meeting times carefully.
Frequently asked questions
When do the clocks change in Chile in 2027?
Clocks go forward on Sunday, September 5, 2027 and back on Sunday, April 4, 2027.
Which way do the clocks go?
"Spring forward, fall back" is the usual mnemonic: forward one hour in spring, back one hour in autumn.
Do I have to change anything myself?
Phones, computers and anything that syncs over the internet update on their own. Car clocks, ovens, microwaves and older wall clocks generally do not.
Is Daylight Saving Time being scrapped?
It has been proposed in many places and adopted in few. The European Parliament voted in 2019 to end mandatory clock changes and the change has stalled; in the United States the Sunshine Protection Act has repeatedly passed the Senate without becoming law. Most of the world that changes its clocks is still changing them.