What would you do if there was a government-issued shelter-in-place order when you lost power during a heatwave? (Q19 S + W 2020)

The chart here shown reflects answers from Question #19 on the Spring 2020 and Winter 2020 surveys, which asked: “What would you do if there was a government-issued shelter-in-place order when you lost power during a heatwave?” The structured responses prepared by the research group were as follows: 

• I would turn on my back-up generator.

• I would go to the home of a friend or family member who did have power.

• I would wait until power was restored. 

• I would try to reduce the amount of sunlight entering my common spaces in peak hours.

• I would try to air out the house as much as possible.

• I would try to get a hold of a power generator.

• I don’t know.

• Other, please explain: 

This question was answered by 160 people. Given respondents could select multiple options, the numbers here could add-up to more than 160. The following was gathered:

• 3 respondents said they would turn their generators on

• 32 people said they would go to family, friends, or other places (despite being prompted with stay-at-home directives)

• 35 respondents would wait for power to be restored

• 13 respondents would try to reduce the amount of sunlight that enters the room 

• 39 respondents would air the house as much as possible

• 4 respondents would try to get a hold of a power generator

• 21 respondents said they don’t know what they would do

• 24 would do other things like:

• taking cold showers (7) 

• would try to get air (6) 

• stay in a car with air conditioning (1) 

• try to borrow money to pay for a hotel (1) 

• leave the house or go on vacation (5)

• use battery-powered fans or regular fans (4) 

• use flashlights for light (1)

• hang out in cool areas of the home (2) 

• call the utility company (5) 

• pray (1) 

• call the apartment manager (1)

• would have to seek shelter (1)

• follow government directives (1)

• Nap (1)

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.