During COVID-19, did you or other members of your household use any strategies to reduce your energy use (including heat, electricity, water, etc.) (Q41 S+W 2020)

The chart reflects responses to Question #41 from the Spring 2020 and Winter 2020 survey, which asked: “During COVID-19, did you or other members of your household use any strategies, to reduce energy use (including heat, electricity, water, etc.)?” The pre-structured options available were, “try to use as much sunlight as possible to save on electric”, “trying not to use a dryer to save on electric”, “lowering water heater to save on gas”, “wearing more clothes / using more blankets to save on heating”, “taking shorter showers to save on water”, “recycling old appliances and purchasing new energy-efficient ones”, “switching to LED light bulbs”, “consulting educational material or taking classes/workshops on conservation”, “all of the above”, and “none of the above”. There was also a space for survey administrators to enter additional responses.

There were a total of 156 responses to this question.Two respondents (1.3%) said nothing. Fifty-one respondents (32.7%) reported none of the above. Fifty-seven (36.5%) stated they used natural sunlight instead of electricity. Nine respondents (5.8%) tried to not use the dryer to save on electricity. Fourteen (9%) respondents turned down their water heater to save on gas. Thirty-six (23.1%) reported wearing more clothes or using more blankets to save on electricity. Twenty-three respondents (14.7%) reported taking shorter showers to save on electricity. Five respondents (3.2%) reported consulting educational material or attending workshops. Twenty-seven respondents (17.3%) answered “other.” Twenty-six respondents (16.7%) reported unplugging devices not in use.  

The data was produced by the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 Survey, which has been administered to 169 people over two time periods. The Spring 2020 survey was administered to 86 people between May and June, and the Winter 2020 survey was administered to 83 people between December 2020 and March 2021. Visit the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 - Spring + Winter 2020 Survey Results page to view more data from our survey. The project is approved by Drexel’s IRB.