Since getting a bunch of people into a room to survey them is out of the question, and everyone is too busy re-watching “Tiger King” to take one online, some researchers are skipping the human input portion completely. One recent study wanted to know how our lifestyles have changed since the coronavirus hit, so naturally, they looked at electricity data. Here’s what they found:
- People are sleeping later.Unless they’re working out in the dark, people haven’t replaced their morning commute with a home workout. Instead, it seems like most people are sleeping in. For example, in Germany electricity demand usually began to pick up between six and eight a.m. but now it’s more like 8 and 9 a.m.
- Less productive afternoons. Lecturer Lain Staffell says it’s “as though we are living through a month of Sundays” electricity-wise. Pre-corona, power use rose between 2 and 5 p.m. but now it dips. Maybe people are out walking or maybe they just fell asleep and the TV automatically turned off.
- Staying up late.Power demands are now dropping an hour later than before which means people are staying up later.Which also kind of explains the sleeping in and less productive afternoons as well if you think about it.
Not shocking enough for you? See more ways COVID-19 has affected electricity demandsHERE.
Source:Bloomberg Quint