Before COVID-19, did you or other members of your household use any strategies to reduce your energy use (including heat, electricity, water, etc.) (Q40 Wi2020)

This chart reflects responses to Question #40 from the Winter 2020 Survey, which asks respondents, “Before COVID-19, did you or other members of your household use any strategies to reduce your 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”, “unplugging devices that are not being used”, “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.

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

• Twenty one respondents (25.3%) reported using none of the above. 

• Twenty-three respondents (27.7%) used more natural sunlight to save money on electricity. 

• Four respondents (4.7%) tried to not use a dryer to save on electricity. 

• Ten respondents (12.1%) reported lowering their water heater to save on gas. 

• Eleven respondents (13.3%) used more blankets or wore more clothes to save money on heat. 

• Eight respondents (9.6%) reported taking shorter showers to save on water. 

• One respondent (1.2%) recycled their appliances to purchase new energy efficient appliances. 

• Nine respondents (10.4%) use LED light bulbs. 

• Twenty-seven respondents (32.5%) unplugged devices that are not being used. 

• Six respondents (8.4%) reported consulting educational materials or taking workshops. 

• Thirty-seven (44.6%) reported using other measures; common among them were five respondents turning off their lights, three respondents weathering their homes, seven respondents turned down their air conditioning, seven respondents turned down their heating, and six respondents reported going outside.

The data was produced by the Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 Survey - Overview, which was administered to 83 people over a fourteen week period between December 2020 and March 2021. Visit the Winter 2020 Shifting Energy Demands in COVID-19 - Survey Results page to view more data from our survey. The project is approved by Drexel’s IRB.