Impacts of COVID-19 on U.S. household energy consumption

Abstract Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in late 2019, the United States (U.S.) experienced widespread lockdowns to mitigate its spread. During this period, household lifestyles were inevitably affected, as residential buildings began to serve as offices, classrooms, dining areas, and spaces for recreation. This shift led to significant changes in household energy use patterns and overall energy consumption. To investigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on them, the study analyzed household energy consumption datasets before and during the pandemic. The 2020 and 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) datasets were selected for analysis, as they provide detailed information on household features and energy use, representing a nationally representative sample of U.S. housing units. Given the varying lengths of lockdowns across U.S. regions, the study focused on the Pacific Census Division as it experienced longer lockdowns. Spearman correlation analysis was first applied to address the high dimensionality of the RECS data, filtering household features that were significantly correlated with the EUI. The study then employed the Mann-Whitney U Test to evaluate the significant differences in household EUIs and features before and during the pandemic. The results revealed a similar distribution of household EUIs across both periods, with a right-tailed skewness. However, their mean EUI showed greater variance, increasing from 36.41 kBTU/sqft/year in 2015 to 44.34 kBTU/sqft/year in 2020, indicating a 21.78% increase. Key changes in household features included a notable rise in kitchen appliances and secondary space heating equipment usage during the lockdown. At the same time, energy-saving behaviors were observed in other home appliances, such as lower winter temperature settings, reduced use of clothes washers and dryers, and higher use of solar electricity generators. Overall, the findings of this study offer valuable insights into how lifestyle changes during the lockdown affected household energy use, which can help shape future energy policies and efficiency strategies for U.S. households facing similar epidemic situations.