Evaluating the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Residential Energy Use in Los Angeles

Abstract

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to assess energy use during times of emergency that disrupt daily and seasonal patterns. The authors present findings from a regional evaluation in the city of Los Angeles (California, USA) with broad application to other areas and demonstrate an approach for isolating and analyzing residential loads from community-level electric utility feeder data. The study addresses effects on residential energy use and the implications for future energy use models, energy planning, and device energy standards and utility program development. In this study we review changes in residential energy use during the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic from four residential communities across Los Angeles covering approximately 6603 households within two microclimate sub regional areas (Los Angeles Basin and San Fernando Valley). Analyses address both absolute and seasonal temperature-corrected energy use changes while assessing estimated changes on energy usage from both temperature-sensitive loads (e.g., air conditioning and electric heating) and non-temperature-sensitive loads (e.g., consumer electronics and major appliance use). An average 5.1% increase in total residential energy use was observed for non-temperature sensitive loads during the pandemic period compared to a 2018–2019 baseline. During mid-spring when shelter in place activity was highest a peak monthly energy use of 20.9% increase was seen compared to a 2018–2019 composite baseline. Considering an average of the top five warmest summer days, a 9.5% increase in energy use was observed for events during summer 2020 compared to summer 2018 (a year with similar magnitude summer high heat events). Based on these results, a potential trend is identified for increased residential load during pandemics and other shelter-in-place disruptions, net of any temperature-sensitive load shifts with greater impacts expected for lower-income communities.

Effects of COVID-19 on Residential Planning and Design: A Scientometric Analysis

“…Those who are vulnerable, such as the elderly, must spend more time on health protection, thereby increasing the amount of energy consumed [38,39]. (b) Overall, the impact of COVID-19 on different energy sectors has been dramatic, such as reduced energy demand in transportation, as well as industrial and commercial buildings, and a large increase in energy demand in residential buildings [40,41]. For the three weeks prior to the lockdown (business as usual), partial lockdown, and complete lockdown, Figure 5 shows the average hourly instantaneous electricity demand in Lagos, Nigeria.…”

COVID-19 Impact on the Energy Sector in the United States (2020)

“…Further, Japan did not have any severe lockdown measures, with only about 27% of surveyed employers asking employees to work from home. Focusing a bit more on the US [21] looked at the energy trends in Los Angeles, California, the second-largest city and combined statistical area after New York City. Los Angeles, like the majority of the US, receives its residential heating predominantly from natural gas.…”