Synchronization of water-energy consumption in residential and non-residential buildings during COVID-19

COVID-19 has made working from home (WFH) a widely prevalent mode of work, resulting in highly complex changes of energy and water consumption in buildings. To understand these changes, this study applies the concept of water-energy nexus (WEN) in the analysis of energy and water data in residential and non-residential buildings in Ontario, Canada, before and during the pandemic. The study found the overall energy and water consumption of buildings exhibited a decreasing trend, with the most significant change found in water consumption. Energy and water consumption increased in residential buildings but decreased in non-residential buildings; the changes in energy and water consumption were synchronized over the WFH period. This study also elucidated that changes were related to the demographic and job attributes. When dealing with the peak load of residential consumption with a high consumption benchmark, due consideration should be given to the stronger synchronization of the two types of resources to improve the resilience of residences to cope with the uncertainty of unexpected large-scale public health crisis. Applying WEN to building resource consumption during WFH for the first time, the findings shed light on the need to enhance integrated water and energy management.