Coronavirus comes home? Energy use, home energy management, and the social-psychological factors of COVID-19

Chen, Chien-fei; de Rubens, Gerardo Zarazua; Xu, Xiaojing; Li, Jiayi

This study explores energy use patterns, climate change issues, and the relationship between social-psychological factors, and residents’ acceptance of and willingness to pay (WTP) for home energy management systems (HEMS) during COVID-19 pandemic in New York. The results of our survey suggest that there were no longer morning or evening usage peaks on weekdays during COVID-19. A significant portion of respondents is experiencing higher or much higher electricity use than average. Most residents perceived climate change issues during COVID-19 being about the same as before. Attitude perceived behavioral control and social norms are overall the strongest predictors of adoption intention and WTP. Regarding WTP for specific well-being features, attitude was the strongest positive predictor of telemedical and home security, and social norms are the strongest positive predictor of elderly assistance and job search. Technology anxiety, surprisingly, positively influence WTP for well-being features. Trust in utilities is not related to adoption intention, but is positively associated with WTP for the well-being features. Although cybersecurity concern is positively related to HEMS adoption intention for energy and well-being features, this relationship is not significant in WTP. Residents who had a moderate level of the perceived risk of getting infected by COVID-19 are willing to pay more than the high- and low-risk groups. This paper addresses the multi-dimensionality by focusing on the interaction among technology attributes such as energy and well-being features, and users’ social-psychological and demographics factors. This study provides insights for further research in examining similar topics relating to COVID-19 energy issues.