Abstract
• Electricity use profiles before and during the COVID-lockdown were investigated • Energy saving potentials in educational buildings during lockdown were observed • Small apartment was observed with higher electricity density and sensitivity • Three scenarios of electricity use in these buildings were developed • Area and ratio of building type, operation mode may influence local energy planning The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant impacts on energy demand in Norway and many countries. It is important to improve the existing knowledge of building operation under unforeseeable disturbances. This study aimed to identify the potential problems of electricity use patterns for four building types with electric heating: kindergartens, schools, apartments, and townhouses. By comparing the electricity profiles for the lockdown period 2020 with the normal condition in previous years, it showed that the electricity demand in the two educational institutions was almost on the same level, while there were apparent changes for the residential buildings. To estimate the energy saving potential and increase, three scenarios were developed considering different operation strategies: Scenario 1 considered operation under normal settings; Scenario 2 considered operation of educational buildings under nighttime and weekend settings; Scenario 3 considered operation of residential buildings under work-at-home conditions. Energy signature curve models were built to predict yearly demand. The results showed that the electricity demand might be reduced by one-third in educational buildings by following Scenario 2. Meanwhile, the electricity density of small apartment varied more significant than the townhouse, causing an electricity increase of 27% for the apartment and 1.3% for the townhouse under Scenario 3.
Highlights
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced COVID-19 disease as the pandemic in March 2020, many countries have under taken restrictive measures to tackle the pandemic and slow down the spread of the coronavirus [1]
According to previous research and statistics, nearly half of energy use in buildings is used for heating in the cold climate
The building area of kindergartens and schools was assigned with the Norwegian average area of 700 m2 and 4 000 m2, respectively [38]
Summary
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) announced COVID-19 disease as the pandemic in March 2020, many countries have under taken restrictive measures to tackle the pandemic and slow down the spread of the coronavirus [1]. Due to the partial or full lockdown imposed on public places, commercial, and industrial schemes, building occupancy schedules have been adapted into remote work. The drastic changes have led to significant impacts on energy demand and put pressure on energy sector management and energy market. Energy profiles are powerful tools in energy system planning and management. They reflect the requirements of total demand and energy use patterns of the customers. The COVID-19 related demand variation and corresponding energy load profiles have been analyzed on different grid levels and scales in several publications
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