November 9, 2022Pandemic led to 7.5% decrease in 2020 US energy consumptionTotal energy consumption in the U.S. decreased 7.5% nationwide in 2020 compared with 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic led to lockdowns, business closures and employees working from home, according to a new University of Wisconsin Oshkosh study.The research conducted by Warren Vaz, an associate engineering professor on UWO's Fox Cities campus, is the first to quantify the effects of pandemic disruptions on energy consumption trends across all 50 states and the District of Columbia."Lockdowns had a significant impact on energy consumption, about 30% in some cases," Vaz said.Vaz attributed Hawaii's large decrease in consumption to its isolation from other states and its dependence on the tourism industry, which was virtually shut down by the pandemic.In addition, Vaz compared the U.S. energy consumption in 2020 to that of other populous countries around the globe, which all showed decreases except for China and Iran, which each experienced slight increases."