Have you ever turned off your heating or air conditioning in order to save money on utility bills? (Q33)

This chart reflects responses to Question #33 from the Spring 2020 survey, which asks respondents, “Have you ever turned off heating or cooling in order to save money on electricity?” The responses available were “no”, “yes, in the past”, “yes, because of COVID-19”, “I do not control the temperature of my home”, “no, but this is something I am considering because of COVID-19” and “other.” 

Eighty-six respondents answered this question. Respondents could choose multiple answers. 

• Forty-three respondents (50%) had turned off their heat or A/C in the past in order to save on money in the past. 

• Nine respondents (10.5%) indicated doing so during the pandemic; seven of these respondents answered “yes” for before and during COVID-19, and two respondents indicated that they had not adjusted temperatures to save money in the past, but started to do so during the pandemic. 

• Thirty-four (41%) respondents had never turned off their heating or cooling in order to save money on utility bills. 

• Two respondents (2.4%) do not control the temperature of their home, but one of them did turn off their heating and cooling in order to save money on their heating and cooling in a previous home they owned. 

• One (1.2%) person does not turn off heating and cooling in their home, but is considering taking this action due to COVID-19. 

• Two respondents (2.4%) answered yes, but did not elaborate. 

• One respondent (1.2%) turned it up or down but not off.  

The data was produced by the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 Survey - Overview, which was administered to 86 people over a six week period in May-June 2020. Visit the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 - Survey Results page to view more data from our survey. The project is approved by Drexel’s IRB.