Residential Energy Demand Shifts in Response to COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 crisis introduced telecommuting and distance schooling into households all around the world. When national authorities enforced mitigation measures, they not only limited the spread of the disease, but also altered the lifestyle of many people. The joint effect of millions of people adapting to the new reality gave rise to an altered residential energy consumption pattern. Knowledge about how rapid societal transitions affect the energy system can be useful for power producers when trying to match the energy production to the energy demand.

This paper analyzes the impact of changed habits due to COVID-19 on residential energy demand. Furthermore, the study employs a quantitative approach, examining both electricity and district heating consumption, with a specific focus on changes in domestic hot water usage. The paper examines two case studies: one on apartment buildings connected to Kraftringen’s electricity network and another on both single- and multi dwelling buildings in different neighborhoods connected to E:ON’s district heating system in Malmö. The purpose of the study is to determine how the monthly electricity and district heating consumption changed between the pandemic and the pre pandemic era as well as comparing the load curves of the different periods.

The findings reveal a 4% increase in overall electricity usage in apartments in Lund during the first year of COVID-19, spanning from March 2020 to February 2021, compared to the corresponding period the year before. Additionally, the residential district heating consumption exhibited a slight decrease or was unchanged in the city of Malmö during working months but increased significantly during the summer holiday months. The analysis of electricity load curves also identified an increase in evening peak loads during the pandemic and the emergence of a new midday peak. Interestingly, no clear changes in the patterns of the demand of district heating were observed. The most significant deviations in energy consumption during COVID-19 in relation to pre-pandemic levels occurred during peak infection rate periods, highlighting the direct correlation between energy usage and the prevalence of remote working. Furthermore, comparison of district heating demand change between five different neighborhoods in Malmö suggested that location, economic standard, and dwelling types may influence the extent of energy consumption alterations.

Popular Abstract

During the pandemic, daily habits underwent major changes, significantly impacting how household energy was consumed. The COVID restrictions seem to have increased electricity use, but decreased district heating consumption, offering valuable insights to how energy production can be planned for future crises. The COVID-19 pandemic changed our lives in ways we could not have imagined before. Restrictions implemented to mitigate the spread of the virus altered our daily habits. We went from bustling social lives and daily commute to home isolation and social distancing. These new habits seem to have affected the energy consumption in homes. Household electricity in apartments in Lund increased on average by 4% during the first year of COVID in comparison to corresponding year before COVID. The monthly change in electricity across the COVID year did, however, vary between -1 and 11%. Interestingly, but maybe not so surprisingly, the largest increase of electricity usage was seen during the months when the COVID transmission rate was the highest.

So, what gave rise to the increased residential electricity use during COVID? Although this is hard to answer, looking at the electricity consumption pattern can provide us with hints into why the residential electricity increased. During COVID there was an increase in the lunchtime electricity demand in comparison to the year before, suggesting that one of the reasons to why the electricity consumption increased was that people cooked food at home instead of at work. In addition, the electricity use during evenings also increased. This is likely because people spent more time at home during the evenings since they were not able to attend their after-work activities as much as before the pandemic.

Even though there was an average increased electricity use during COVID, there were several households that actually decreased their electricity demand. Strikingly, 38% of the apartments studied had a decreased electricity consumption. This demonstrates the varied responses of the households to the pandemic and the restrictions. Since Sweden’s COVID-strategy was focused on voluntary recommendations, it is reasonable that the attitude towards adhering to them would vary. Additionally, individuals might have had different possibilities to perform their duties from home. If you for example were working as a doctor or a chef, working remotely would not have been reasonable.

The residential electricity use does not seem to have been the only thing that changed during the pandemic. Residential district heating consumption in Malmö also indicate a shift. Notably, it seems like there was a slight decrease in district heating consumption during spring and winter. This contradicts what was seen for the electricity consumption, which had the largest increase in the spring and winter during the first year of the pandemic. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that showering, which normally take up a large share of the total district heating demand, might not have been as important if you were not planning to leave the house to meet your coworkers, classmates or friends.

Knowledge about how crises like the COVID-19 pandemic affect the residential energy consumption is important because it can help us understand how to plan energy production during major societal events. In the long term, understanding how people ́s behavior affect the energy demand can assist when dimensioning energy supply systems such as the electricity grid or the district heating network.

• author: Andreasson, Emil
• supervisor: Kerstin Sernhed
• organization: Department of Energy Sciences
• alternative title: A Case Study on the Pandemic ́s Effect on Electricity and Heat Demand Patterns in Multi-family Buildings
• course: MVKM01 20241
• year: 2024
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• keywords: Residential energy consumption, electricity, load patterns, peak load, district heating, domestic hot water usage, COVID-19, pandemic.
• report number: LUTMDN/TMHP-24/5591-SE
• ISSN: 0282-1990
• language: English
• id: 9171884
• date added to LUP: 2024-11-26 13:34:03
• date last changed: 2024-11-26 13:34:03