Residential Electricity Consumption Analysis: A Crossdomain Approach to Evaluate the Impact of Covid-19 in a Residential Area in Indiana
Abstract
This research aims to measure the change in the electricity consumption of a residential urban area in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic year. The research questions to be answered are: 1. What are the main changes in domestic electricity consumption during quarantine in comparison to regular activities? 2. How predictable are residential consumers based on specific appliances usage? 3. How much kWh/$-year does it cost to work remotely full time? The pandemic scenario caused by COVID-19 is an event with no precedent. Therefore, it is a phenomenon that can be studied to observe how electricity loads have changed during the stayat-home order weeks. The data collection process was done through online surveys and using publicly available data. This study is focusing on analyzing household energy units such as appliances, HVAC, lighting systems. However, collecting this data is expensive and timeconsuming since dwellings would have to be studied individually. As a solution, previous studies have shown success in characterizing residential electricity using surveys with stochastic models. This characterized electricity consumption data allows the researchers to generate a predictive model, make a regression and understand the data. In that way, the data collection process will not be as costly as installing measuring instruments or smart meters. The input data will be the behavioral characteristics of each participant; meanwhile, the output of the analysis will be the estimated electricity consumption "kWh." After generating the "kWh" target, a sensitivity analysis will be done to observe the electricity consumption through time and examine how people evolved their load during and after the stay-at-home order. This research can help understand the change in electricity consumption of people who worked at home during the pandemic and generate energy indicators and costs such as home office electricity cost kWh/year. In addition to utilities and energy, managers can benefit from having a clear understanding of domestic consumers during emergency scenarios as pandemics.
Degree
M.Sc.
Advisors
Dietz, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Behavioral psychology|Energy|Psychology
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