Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the energy consumption of university buildings

Abstract

Graphical abstract

Framework for the analysis of renewable energy grid policies in the context of COVID-19

“…According to UNESCO, 1.5 billion students have been affected by this pandemic. This has lessened the energy load stress for institutes up to 40% a similar scenario has also been observed world wide in various other educational institutes also [32] [33] . Simultaneously, the residential load of domestic users has been increased, on average, by 25%.…”

Lockdown impact on energy consumption in university building

“…This outcome was supported by Alajmi (2012) that lighting systems and plug-in equipment consumed energy as they were left on after work hours and during weekends. Additionally, during lockdown, other researchers also identified the standby loads and vital loads as the main contributors of energy usage in the building (Chihib et al, 2021;Gaspar et al, 2022;Geraldi et al, 2021).…”

“…Nevertheless, the climate conditions and the location of the lockdown are factors in which the magnitude of the energy usage will be increased. Gaspar et al (2022) reported that the energy consumption in academic buildings was found to be clearly influenced by climatic conditions, particularly in winter. Meanwhile, a study by Gui et al (2021) found that there is a high demand for cooling in the summer but little demand for heating in the winter in the energy consumption of academic buildings at Griffith University, Australia.…”

Impact of the COVID-19 on electricity consumption of open university campus buildings – The case of Twente University in the Netherlands

“…The restrictions during the epidemic have also had a knock-on effect on university campuses, such as a drop in the mobility of international students [26] , Some teachers are unable to teach normally due to city restrictions, and the teaching mode is changed to online teaching mode with the help of modern communication tools such as computers and cell phones [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , A safe distance needs to be maintained even when attending classes on campus during the restriction period [31] , and the academic and psychological stress that COVID-19 causes to students, etc [32] , [33] , [34] . The changes brought about by these shocks also have a direct impact on the energy consumption and carbon emissions of university campus buildings [35] , [36] , [37] . The energy consumption of university campus buildings occupies an important position in the energy consumption of urban buildings, so it is necessary to conduct a detailed study of the changes in energy consumption of university campus buildings during the epidemic.…”