Drivers behind Residential Electricity Demand Fluctuations Due to COVID-19 Restrictions

Stephen Snow, Richard Bean, Mashhuda Glencross and Neil Horrocks
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Stephen Snow: Centre for Energy Data Innovation, ITEE, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Richard Bean: Centre for Energy Data Innovation, ITEE, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Mashhuda Glencross: Centre for Energy Data Innovation, ITEE, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Neil Horrocks: Centre for Energy Data Innovation, ITEE, University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 21, 1-20

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly reoriented the lives of billions of people across the globe toward working, learning, and subsisting from home. This paper examines the consequences of this disruption of electricity use in Australian households. Using high-frequency electricity monitoring from 491 houses and per-circuit monitoring and in-depth interviews with 17 households, the paper (1) compares changes in energy use before and during COVID-19 lockdown, (2) quantifies the key drivers of changes in energy use experienced by households during lockdown, and (3) tracks households’ interactions with energy use feedback. The findings identify significant increases in certain aspects of household electricity use directly related to COVID-19, including increased cooking and digital device use. Yet despite the government mandate requiring a large proportion of the population to remain at home, overall energy use among the majority of Queensland households monitored actually decreased during lockdown versus prior, driven primarily by a reduction in air conditioner use during lockdown as the weather cooled. Further, despite significant quantified and self-reported changes in energy use, users who had energy use feedback installed accessed their dashboards less during lockdown than they did prior. The paper discusses these results in the context of statistics on COVID-19 related energy demand fluctuations elsewhere, and the implications for the provision of energy use information to residents during significant disruptions such as lockdown.

Keywords: COVID-19; energy; demand; behaviour; energy literacy; household; human-computer interaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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