Analysis of the influence of the stay-at-home order on the electricity consumption in Chinese university dormitory buildings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT

During the COVID-19 pandemic, strict stay-at-home orders have been implemented in many Chinese universities in virus-hit regions. While changes in electricity consumption in the residential sector caused by COVID-19 have been thoroughly analysed, there is a lack of insight into the impact of the stay-at-home order on electricity consumption in university dormitory buildings. Based on questionnaire survey results, this study adopted the statistical Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to analyse the energy-use behaviours of university students in dormitories during the COVID-19 pandemic. The electricity load profiles of the dormitory buildings before and during the implementation of the stay-at-home order were generated and compared to quantitatively analyse the influence of COVID-19 pandemic on the energy-use behaviours of university students, and the proposed load forecasting method was validated by comparing the forecasting results with monitoring data on electricity consumption. The results showed that 1) during the implementation of the stay-at-home order, electricity consumption in the university dormitory buildings increased by 41.05%; 2) due to the increased use of illuminating lamps, laptops, and public direct drinking machines, the daily electricity consumption increased most significantly from 1300 to 1800, with an increase rate of 97.15%; and 3) the morning peak shifted backward and the evening peak shifted forward, demonstrating the effect of implementing the stay-at-home order on reshaping load profiles.