Optimal Use of Utility Infrastructure for Residential Communities: Lessons Learned from COVID-19

COVID-19大流行不仅对卫生部门，而且对社会和经济部门都是一个紧迫和日益严重的关切。作为应对这一流行病的干预措施，人们认为有必要关闭各种公共建筑。关闭的持续时间和类型因这些行业的类型和工作行为而异。此外，干预时间的长短受到不确定性的影响，许多专家提出了干预模型，其中当前的社会距离策略在多个时间间隔内持续进行。由于这次大流行，住宅已转变为混合用途空间，家庭教育、办公室工作、娱乐活动和社会互动已成为一种常态。虽然商业建筑和交通运输等其他部门的运营能源使用量有所下降，但由于住户大部分时间呆在家里，住宅部门的能源使用量一直在上升。本研究的目的是评估新冠肺炎封锁干预对住宅部门能源和碳排放的影响。为了实现这一目标，Wilden Living Lab （WLL）项目的监测能源数据将用于分析居住者每天、每周和每月的能源模式变化。封锁年（2020年）的3个月（3月、4月和5月）的相关数据将与大流行前的2年（2018年和2019年）进行比较。该研究将用于评估不同在家情景下的住宅能源、温室气体排放和经济影响。此外，还将研究整合可再生能源作为大流行等情况下能源需求超出供应能力或停电的备用能源。从这项研究中获得的经验教训将为住宅行业的利益相关者提供宝贵的信息。研究结果对于改进现有公用事业基础设施应急规划战略，以应对可能出现的大流行病或自然灾害具有特别重要的意义。

The COVID-19 pandemic is an urgent and growing concern for not only health but also for social and economic sectors. As an intervention response to this pandemic, closure of various public buildings, has been deemed necessary. The duration and type of closure vary with the type and work-behaviors of these industries. Besides, the length of intervention time is subject to uncertainty, with many experts proposing intervention models where the current social distancing strategies are continued over multiple time intervals. As a result of this pandemic, homes have been transformed into mixed-use spaces where home-schooling, office work, recreational activities, and social interaction have become a norm. While operational energy uses in other sectors such as commercial buildings and transportation has decreased, the energy use in the residential sector has been on the rise as occupants spend the majority of their time at home. The goal of this research is to assess the impacts of COVID-19 lockdown intervention on the residential sector energy and carbon emissions. To achieve this goal, monitored energy data of the Wilden Living Lab (WLL) project will be used to analyze the change in occupants' energy patterns on daily, weekly, and monthly scales. Data related to 3 months (March, April, and May) for lockdown year (2020) will be compared with the previous 2 (2018 and 2019) pre-pandemic years. The research will be used to assess residential energy, GHG emissions, and economic impacts under different stay-at-home scenarios. Besides, the integration of renewable energy resources as a backup source for pandemic-like situations, where energy demand is beyond supply capacity or power outage, will be investigated. The lessons learned from this study will provide valuable information for residential sector stakeholders. The results will be of particular importance in improving existing utility infrastructure emergency planning strategies in light of possible pandemic or natural disaster.