Impact of stay home living on energy demand of residential buildings: Saudi Arabian case study

Aldubyan, Mohammad Krarti Moncef

The analysis presented in this paper evaluates the impact of both short-term and long-term stay home living on the energy consumption of Saudi residential building stock. The analysis combines monitored data obtained for a sample of housing units as well as the results from a validated Saudi residential building stock model. In particular, a bottom-up building stock modeling analysis approach is used to estimate the energy impact of the 2020 stay home order imposed due to COVID-19 in most of Saudi Arabia's regions between March 15 and June 15, 2020. Moreover, the potential influences of long-term stay home patterns on the cost-benefits of energy retrofit programs are investigated targeting Saudi existing housing stocks. The analysis results indicate that when normalized to weather, the 2020 lockdown has resulted in a 16 % increase in electricity consumption compared to the 2019 level specific to the entire Saudi housing stock. Most of this increase is associated with the higher energy end-use of lighting, appliances, and air conditioning associated with increased occupancy levels during daytime hours. For a transition to long-term stay home living, the results of the analysis show that the energy consumption of the Saudi housing stock is estimated to increase by 13.5 % compared to the current occupancy pattern. Moreover, the analysis indicates that the cost-benefits for energy efficiency retrofits are enhanced with long-term stay home living.