5.

0 Results & Discussion

5.1 University Baseline Data

Figure 1 shows the monthly electrical energy consumption for the whole university campus in 2020,
2021 and 2022. This data is collected from the various substations present on the campus and covers
all of central campus, including energy from Argent, Westwood, and Millburn as well as energy from
the CHP generation of all three energy centres.
Looking at the 2020 data, it is clear to see a sudden drop in electrical energy consumption in April,
with the consumption levels not rising back up to expected levels until the start of the new academic
year in October of that year. The effect of the second lockdown in early 2021 is also evident, as there
is another drop in consumption in December 2020, with levels of consumption in 2021, only first
exceeding the previous year’s values in April 2021. This was expected as many students did not return
to campus following the 2020 Christmas break, only returning for the Summer Term of 2021, which
subsequently started in April. Apart from what seems to be anomalous result in April 2022, when all
social restrictions were lifted and the university functioned as normal, May to August of 2020 were
four of the five lowest energy consumption months of the three-year period.
It should also be stated that seven out of the twelve months in 2022 showed a reduced electrical
energy consumption, when compared to the same months in 2021. This suggests that electrical energy
consumption has not fully recovered, even two years after the pandemic, with consumption expected
to rise year-on-year following a strict lockdown period.

Figure 1: Monthly electrical energy consumption of the whole University of Warwick campus in
2020-2022 [DCS, 2020]
Figure 2 shows the Combined Heat & Power (CHP) generation across all three of the campus’ energy
centres, on a monthly basis, in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The CHP generation is a process that captures
and utilises the heat that is a by-product of the electricity generation process. Therefore, the greater
the CHP generated, the greater the electrical energy consumption across the whole university.
It can be seen that in March 2020 there is a dramatic drop off in CHP generation that continues to fall
until the beginning of the new academic year. Unlike 2020, the CHP generated rose or stayed
relatively constant in the following two years until June, where the Summer Term typically finishes.
CHP generation, as expected, rose again following the new academic year in all three cases, but it is
clear there is a sharp decrease in the generation in December 2020, during which time the second
major national lockdown was in place.

Figure 2: CHP generation of all three energy centres in 2020-22 [DCS, 2020]

5.2 Categorisation of Buildings

Though rough conclusions can be drawn for the figures and data provided based on the university as a
whole, it is not enough to say that COVID-19 had a significant and clear impact on the university’s
energy use. In order to obtain a better understanding of the impact of COVID-19’s strict social
restrictions, the campus must be separated into different categories of building, with each category
being inspected in greater depth.

The four main categories of building that were compared were: department buildings, accommodation
buildings, the library and laboratory buildings. This was decided as department, accommodation and
laboratory buildings are the most common building types on the university campus, with there being
several of each type. The university library was also given its own category as it one of the larger
buildings on the campus and constantly being accessed by both students and staff. These four building
types would also likely have the highest occupancy rates of any building types on the campus, relative
to the total number of people on the campus.

During the lockdown periods analysed, these categories of buildings would have been shut at different
times and with differing strictness. During the first major national lockdown between March 2020 and
August 2020, strict ‘stay at home’ orders were implemented, leading to majority of buildings on the
university campus bring shut. This included department buildings, with teaching slowly being phased
to remote learning, the university library and laboratory buildings becoming largely vacant.
Accommodation buildings had an increased activity during all lockdown periods, with occupants
forced to remain indoors, though since the first lockdown restrictions were enforced during the Easter
break, students who returned home did not return for the beginning of the 2020 Summer Term.
Restrictions were significantly relaxed throughout the summer and autumn periods, leading to another
increase in COVID-19 cases towards the end of the year. This lead to a short winter lockdown period
during November 2020. Though this was the case, the library building was now accessible and some
in-person teaching sessions were being re-introduced in both department and laboratory buildings. .
The Sports and Wellness Hub was also re-opened, with a large increase in memberships throughout
the summer of 2020.
During the second major national lockdown between January 2021 and March-May 2021, there was a
reduced number of students on campus, with many deciding to remain at home following the 2020
Christmas break. Again, many of the facilities that were starting to re-open had to be temporarily shut
due to new, tougher restrictions. This included both department and laboratory buildings becoming
vacant, whereas the library building remained open during this period.

5.3 Electrical Energy Consumption

5.3.1 Main Results

Figure 3 illustrates the evolution in average monthly electrical energy consumption over the course of
a six-month period (March – August) in three consecutive years, starting in 2020, when the pandemic
first began. These six months were selected as they are the months of 2020 when the first national
lockdown occurred. Looking at the results from months in 2020 where there was no social restriction
in place will skew results, as an average is being calculated and used to display results.
For the laboratory category, the chemistry labs were analysed; for accommodation, Rootes A-C was
analysed, and the Ramphal Building was looked at for the department building. The chemistry labs
were selected as the cover two floors, have a large computer room, multiple fume cupboards and a
continuously active ventilation system; all of the mentioned factors would lead to high electrical
energy demand and any significant changes can be identified. The Rootes A-C building can house up
to 200 students and is one of the older accommodation buildings, meaning that there are numerous
meters available, containing sufficient data to compare energy consumption. The Ramphal building
contains 3 seminar/ meeting rooms which can hold a maximum capacity of 60 people and a large
lecture theatre, capable of accommodating up to 400 occupants. This department is heavily used by
varying faculties for lectures and seminars, with plentiful working spaces meaning that the building is
always in use.
The electrical energy use increased in all four categories in the months from March to August,
between 2020 and 2021, with the greatest increase coming in the library, with a 43% increase in
electrical energy consumption, following the pandemic year of 2020. This would be expected as the
library is the most accessed building across the campus, supporting the idea that the presence of
students and staff play a significant role in energy consumption of the university. Due to the lockdown
restrictions, students were forced to study from their accommodation buildings, which may be a
reason as to why there is not as significant an increase in energy usage in the following year. It is also
important to remember, many students would have departed from campus during the Easter break and
not returned in the Summer Term, leading to a reduced capacity in accommodation buildings in the
Summer Term of 2020. The increase in electrical energy consumption is, however, not as significant
in the department and laboratory buildings, with there only being an increase in 20% in both
categories. This does not reflect the occupancy levels and how they were drastically lower in 2020.
This would mean that there are certain processes taking place in these buildings, regardless of there
being any occupants, which would have led to a high base energy load.
Though it is clear to see, from the data comparing 2020 and 2021, that electrical energy was lower in
2020, during the lockdown, it is also important to look at a further year of data as energy consumption
is unlikely to have recovered within a year. Between 2021 and 2022, the electrical energy
consumption rose again in all categories apart from the accommodation building. The library’s
consumption rose by 35%, a similar value to that of the previous two years, while the department
building saw an increase of 58%. This is a large step-up from the percentage increase between 2020
and 2021 for this category, showing that this building was still recovering, in terms of energy
consumption, two years after the first lockdown. The laboratory building, however, only saw an
increase of 8% between 2021 and 2022. This would indicate that this building category had fully
recovered within a year of the pandemic, as a yearly energy consumption increase of this size is to be
expected between two consecutive years, unrelated to COVID-19. This furthers supports the idea that
the COVID-19 lockdown had a very small impact on the electrical energy consumption of research
and laboratory buildings. Conversely, the accommodation building’s consumption fell by 16%, back
to the energy consumption value seen in 2020, during the pandemic lockdown. This suggests that the
lockdown, had little effect on electrical energy consumption of accommodation building. This may be
due to the fact that students were informed to stay inside and not leave their housing. This would lead
to a significant increase in electricity demand, and even accounting the students that were able to
leave university to return home during this period, electrical energy consumption during the lockdown
is unlikely to be any different than other years.
The disparity in the change of electrical energy consumption between the different categories of
building shows that it is important to look at each category in more depth and understand why the
changes have occurred as they have.

Figure 3: Electrical energy consumption evolution in each category of building in

2020-2022 [DCS, 2020]

The figures 4-7, below, supports the previous figure and helps to further highlight the differences in
electrical energy consumption between the different categories of building present on the university’s
campus.
The figures showcase that in the year 2020, there is an evident drop in electrical energy usage in
March, when the first national lockdown came into force. This graph outlines clearer the fact that
lockdown had the greatest effect on electrical energy usage in the Warwick library, which sees the
steepest drop from March to April. It also shows again how the library is the most accessed building
on campus and consumes a large amount of electrical energy compared to other building types. In
2020, the library saw a more than 60% decrease in electrical energy usage from January to June with
the department, accommodation and laboratory building falling by 50%, 60% and 55.5% respectively.
Although this is all evident, one would expect a greater energy decrease due to the drop in the
building occupancy rates during this period of time. The lack of correlation between these two factors
is clear in all the building types across the university. During the first lockdown between March 2020
and August 2020, all buildings on campus were shut down and activity on campus was completely
halted as both students and staff had to shift to remote learning for their homes and accommodation
buildings. Despite all of this occurring, energy consumption only fell by a fraction of what was
expected.
The data for the buildings in 2021 also reflect the idea that the strict lockdowns played a role in
energy consumption. In the department, library, and laboratory buildings there are declines in
consumption in late 2020, when the second national lockdown was enforced, with levels only
recovering in the spring of 2021. The consumption also continues to increase in late 2021, when the
new academic year begins, suggesting the buildings are slowly recovering from the past lockdown
periods. This point is supported by looking at the 2022 data for these three building categories, which
show that consumption remained relatively stable throughout all twelve months, compared to the data
for the twelve-month periods in the previous two years.
The accommodation data throughout this three-year period, however, is not as convincing in showing
any significant change in energy consumption during the lockdown periods. Though there is an
evident drop for the accommodation building in the 2020 data during the first lockdown period, there
is not a drop in consumption big enough, during the second lockdown, to attribute it to the strict social
restrictions. Between November and December of 2020, there is 30% decrease in consumption during
the short lockdown before Christmas. However, this drop can be credited to the fact that many
students would have left their accommodation building to return home for the Christmas break. The
second major national lockdown had strict restriction lasting from January to March of 2021, though
data shows a 10% increase in electrical energy consumption during this period. This type of increase
is to be expected as restrictions would have meant increased activity from accommodation buildings,
with there only being remote learning at this point. Though the increase is far too small to say for
certain it was caused by COVID-19 restrictions. Accommodation energy consumption is likely to
fluctuate more than the other types of buildings, mainly due to the fact that there are prolonged
periods of time each year where the building will be almost or completely vacant. However, there is
no definite indication from the three years of data here that the electrical energy consumption in
lockdown periods was vastly different to the consumption during non-lockdown periods.
Figure 4-7: Monthly electrical energy consumption in a department, accommodation,
library, and laboratory building in 2020-22 [DCS, 2020]
Conversely to the four categories of buildings looked at already, there may be other buildings on the
university campus that show little to no change in electrical energy consumption during the lockdown
period. This can be attributed to the fact they were still capable of operating, regardless of any
occupants, or that the buildings had a large number of processes that were constantly running in order
to keep the buildings environment stable and safe.

Figures 8 and 9 both show electrical energy consumption from 2019 to 2021: Figure 8 showing usage
in the Bio-Medical Research Building and Figure 9 showing usage in the University House Data
Centre. As the two figures illustrate, these were two particular university buildings that showed little
to no change in electrical energy consumption during the both the first and second national
lockdowns.

The Bio-Medical Research Building showed a slight decrease in usage when the lockdown was first
introduced but recovered within 4-5 months and remained at a constant level until the end of 2021.
This would be expected due to the reduction in researchers accessing the building. However, it does
not fall dramatically low during this period and recovers quickly due to the nature of how research
and laboratory facilities operate. All laboratories across campus, including the Bio-Medical Research
Building, contain equipment that have large electrical loads. Many of these pieces of equipment are
run continuously, as part of ongoing projects, and so even with the lack of personnel in the building,
electrical energy usage was still relatively consistent. Also, a facility like the Bio-Medical Research
Building is likely to conduct a number of experiment using potentially harmful chemicals, therefore it
is important that the building has an effective ventilation system that is constantly running in order to
remove any toxic fumes or contaminants from the building. Even when there are no occupants, this is
still vital to its functioning, and this will further add to the building’s electrical energy consumption.
The University House Data Centre, on the other hand, showed no significant change in usage at all
during the lockdown period and remained constant throughout the whole time period specified here.
The data centre facility is used to house the computer servers that store, process, and distribute large
amounts of data. Energy is constantly used to power all the IT hardware, with most of the energy
demand coming from powering the servers. These, in turn, will produce large amounts of heat; this
requires supporting infrastructure such as the cooling equipment, which is important in order to
prevent any equipment overheating, but consume a large amount of electrical energy. These processes
are all automated and can still run despite there being no occupants in the building and so it is clear as
to why the electrical energy consumption remained constant during lockdown in this type of building.
Though it is evident from these graphs that energy consumption did not drop in all buildings during
the lockdown period, it is important to note that buildings such as research & laboratories and data
centre buildings do not make up a large percentage of the buildings across the whole Warwick
campus. For example, data centre buildings showed no change in electrical energy consumption
during lockdown, however, there are only two small-sized data centres on the campus (University
House & Argent Court), so these buildings have very little impact on energy consumption when
looking at the university as a whole.

Figure 8: Monthly electrical energy consumption in the Bio-Medical Research

Building from 2019-2021 [DCS, 2020]

Figure 9: Monthly electrical energy consumption in the University House Data

Centre from 2019-2021 [DCS, 2020]
5.3.2 Electrical Energy Consumption of Newer Buildings

One way of assessing the energy consumption on the university is by looking at the most recently
built facilities on the campus and seeing how they compared to other similar buildings. These newer
buildings are likely to have increased activity and should show a more significant change in times of
strict social restrictions. Not only this, but these building should also be more efficient when it comes
to energy saving methods and are expected to have a low energy load when not in use.

One of these newer buildings at the University of Warwick is the Sports and Wellness Hub opened in
2019. Figure 10 portrays the monthly electrical energy consumption of the Sports Hub, with data
only being available from May 2019. There is a dramatic drop in consumption during the first national
lockdown, with a 71% drop between January and May of 2020. This value is much larger than the
percentage decrease seen in Figures 4-7 in the four main categories of building on the campus,
showing that the Sports Hub did well compared to other building, in terms of consumption when the
occupancy rate was 0%. For example, the data shows that during the peak of the first lockdown, in
May 2020, the Sports Hub had average monthly electrical energy consumption of 39 MWh, almost 20
MWh lower than the consumption of the considerably smaller-sized University House Data Centre,
shown in Figure 9. Moreover, when comparing the Sports Hub to the Bio-Medical Research Building
in Figure 8, both buildings have a similar electrical energy load of around 120-140 MWh. The
difference is, though, that even with occupancy falling to zero and both buildings being of similar
size, the Sports Hub showed a drop in energy consumption that was twice that of the Bio-Medical
Research Building. The effects of the short lockdown before Christmas 2020 and the second major
national lockdown at the beginning of 2021 can also be seen in the data with a drop in November
followed by a sharp recovery and then another fall in the new year. The data on the Sports Hub also
proves that this building was also not affected in the long-term by the strict lockdown restriction and
returned to normal functionality whenever restrictions were lifted. Following the end of the first
lockdown in August, energy consumption levels reached levels that were just 92% of the values seen
in January 2020, within a month. The end of the second major lockdown also meant consumption
values were able to recover back to pre-lockdown levels, even before the Autumn of 2021.
 Figure 10: Monthly electrical energy consumption in the Sports and Wellness Hub in
May 2019-December 2021 [DCS, 2020]

Due to the large size of the new Sports and Wellness Hub, one of the main contributors to the high
electrical energy consumption comes from the internal lighting of the building. Figure 11 shows the
monthly electrical energy consumption, via internal lighting, at the Sports and Wellness Hub across
the same time period as Figure 10. Internal lights are constantly in use in the Sports Hub, even during
the day, and so large drops in consumption during the lockdown periods, when the building was
completely shut, are to be expected. Electrical energy consumption, in the first major national
lockdown, dropped by more than 70%, with consumption dropping by 81% in the second lockdown.
Between January and May 2020, the electrical energy consumption, via internal lighting, fell by
33,201 kWh, whilst the data from Figure 10, shows that electrical energy consumption, as a whole,
fell by 89,578 kWh. This shows that 37% of the all the electrical energy saved in this period, in the
Sports Hub, was solely due to turning off the lighting inside the building. Furthermore, much like the
total electrical energy consumption of the building, the Sports Hub managed to recover, in terms of
energy consumption via lighting, before the end of 2021.
The Sports and Wellness Hub is one of the few buildings on campus that has meters for lighting and
the data collected from these meters give us an insight into how effective newer buildings are at
introducing energy saving measures.
 Figure 11: Monthly electrical energy consumption, via internal lighting, in the Sports and
Wellness Hub in May 2019-December 2021 [DCS, 2020]

Figures 12 and 13, show data for another newer building on the University of Warwick campus under
lockdown restrictions, again looking at their electrical energy consumption. Both figures look at the
National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC), which was opened in 2020, with the second of the
two looking at the energy consumption via lighting. The NAIC includes research and development
facilities, lecture rooms, a design workspace and office space, with a floor area exceeding 30,000
square meters. The NAIC carries a heavy electrical load, consuming almost 500 MWh of electrical
energy in the month before the first national lockdown; this is 4.2 times as much electrical energy
consumed by the Sports and Wellness Hub in the same month.
During the first lockdown there is 30% drop in the electrical energy consumption. Though this is a
small percentage value compared to the buildings already discussed, this is still a value that represents
good energy saving measures by the building. This is mainly due to the fact that the NAIC consists of
multiple different facilities, which would present a mixed response in energy consumption, in a period
of time such as the lockdown. The electrical energy consumption, via lighting, fell by 50% in the first
lockdown., with the lighting alone contributing to 10% of the electrical energy saved in this time
period. Though electrical energy consumption returns to original values following each lockdown
period, it is difficult to say if the building has recovered well from the restrictions, unlike the Sports
and Wellness Hub. The NAIC was only opened at the beginning of 2020, just a few months before the
strict lockdown restrictions were implemented. Electrical energy loads may take time to build to their
full capacity, but with the NAIC, the building was shut within two months of being open. Therefore,
the drop in electrical energy consumption in the first lockdown may not be as significant as it should
be and does not correctly reflect all the energy saving measures implemented into the new building.
Since the building has not had sufficient time to establish a constant consumption value, the levels it
reaches post-lockdown period cannot be identified as a recovery as there is no data covering a
prolonged period of time pre-COVID-19 to compare it to. Regardless of this being the case, it can still
be argued, from this data, that the NAIC did well in reducing its electrical energy load during the
lockdown period and that energy via lighting is a significant contributor in this heavy load.

Figure 12: Monthly electrical energy consumption in the National Automotive Innovation
Centre in January 2020-September 2021 [DCS, 2020]

Figure 13: Monthly electrical energy consumption, via lighting, in the National Automotive
Innovation Centre in January 2020-September 2021 [DCS, 2020]
5.3.3 Effect of Temperature on Electrical Energy Consumption

Temperature is another routine factor that may have an affect on the energy consumption of buildings.
It is important to note if temperature has had an effect on energy consumption, so it becomes easier to
gauge the impact of the lockdown’s strict social restriction, regardless of other routine factors.

Figure 14 shows the average temperature against the electrical energy consumption of an
accommodation building, on a monthly basis, from 2020 to 2022. The accommodation building
analysed in this figure is, again, the Rootes A-C building. The data shows a slightly weak negative
correlation between the two factors, showing that electricity consumption decreased as temperature
increased.
A previous study conducted on the relationship between electrical energy consumption and
temperature reached the opposite conclusion, however. A study across all 32 states of Mexico found
that electrical energy consumption increased with temperature [Botzen, Nees and Estrada, 2022]. It
was concluded it that study that the increase in electrical energy use came about due to the increased
demand of cooling processes such as air-conditioning systems. Mexico has a considerably hotter
climate than the UK, so it is understandable that the use of air-conditioning systems in homes led to a
substantial increase in electrical energy consumption.
The University of Warwick and its accommodation buildings, however, are less likely to consists of a
large number of air-conditioning units as temperature in the UK are usually not exceeding high.
Therefore, an increase in air temperature is less likely to also lead to an increase in electrical energy
demand. Instead, the UK typically has a very high heating load, which is very likely to drop when
temperatures rise, as there is no longer a need to heat the building. With electrical energy allowing for
the accommodations heating systems to function, the negative correlation between the two factors can
be explained.
 Figure 14: Average monthly temperature against monthly electrical energy
consumption in an accommodation building in 2020-2022 [DCS,2020]

5.4 Gas & Heat Consumption

5.4.1 Main Results

Energy is also consumed via heat and gas on the University of Warwick campus and would have been
significantly affected during the COVID-19 lockdown periods. Heating in the university’s buildings is
common, especially with the constant movement of people across the campus meaning a large amount
energy is required to keep internal temperatures stable. The high number of accommodation buildings
across the campus would also lead to a high demand on gas, with it being consumed through the use
of gas central heating systems as well as gas ovens and hobs in these buildings.

Figure 15 illustrates the heat consumption in the four main building categories across the campus
from 2020 to 2022. The heat consumption is the greatest overall in the accommodation buildings,
which is to be expected, with students living in these facilities, constantly using the heating, driving
up consumption. The second highest category is usually the laboratory buildings. Laboratories may
have a high demand for heating in order to conduct certain experiments and maintain a safe
environment where potentially dangerous chemicals may be in use. For example, the Phytobiology lab
has a large number of heat lamps, constantly running, to aid in the growth of plants; would contribute
to a large heat consumption. The library also has a high heat consumption; the library is a large space,
with constant activity, so heat is constantly being lost. A heavy heating load would be required to
maintain the constantly changing internal temperature. There is a definite drop in heat consumption
when comparing the March to May period across each of the three years, as the monthly air
temperature slowly begins to increase. Though, comparing the data from this period shows that values
across all four categories were far higher in 2021 and 2022 compared with 2020, when the first
lockdown was in place. Looking at the data for the first national lockdown, it is important to note that
there was still some heat consumption across all four building categories up until June 2020, three
months into the lockdown at that point. At this time, occupancy rate across most of the campus’s
buildings would be 0%, though the university was slow to react in introducing measures to reduce the
heat consumption. The accommodation building was also the only building that had any considerable
consumption during the lockdown periods and summer months. These were the only building type
that had people occupying them and so heating would have been used. Heating in accommodation
buildings can also be turned on by each occupant, as each room has its own radiator. In this case,
heating is not well regulated, and the usage is likely to be high, even when temperatures are high, and
more importantly, when there are more people spending an increased amount of time in
accommodation buildings, like in a lockdown period. Figure 10 also shows how accommodation
buildings had the most heat consumption in the lockdown periods and the periods directly preceding
these lockdowns, but it is harder to see a distinction between the different buildings, in the long-term,
once all restrictions have been removed. From the beginning of 2020 to the end of 2021, the time
period that was most strongly affected by the lockdown restrictions, heat consumption was highest in
the accommodation buildings in every month. However, in 2022, the heat consumption in the
accommodation is not as prominent amongst the different categories, with consumption in department
buildings seeing similar values or even exceeding it. This is to be expected, with students being forced
to remain in the accommodation buildings and continue their studies remotely, during the lockdown
period.

Since students were forced to remain in their accommodation buildings throughout the lockdown
periods, there will be more activity in this building category compared to any other. Therefore, it is
important to take a closer look at accommodation buildings and the gas and heat consumption within
them.

Figure 16 shows the gas consumption and the heat consumption of an accommodation building from
2020 to 2021. The accommodation building analysed here is Heronbank as it contained the relevant
meters with data going back to the beginning of the pandemic. As seen by that data, there is some heat
consumption in all 24 months, but only gas consumption in the colder months of each year. Though
the occupancy rate was likely to be lower than normal, with many students having left their
accommodations to return home, the accommodation buildings would have seen the most activity of
any building types during the lockdown period. This would suggest that energy consumption would
have remained stable throughout these periods. The data for both heat and gas consumption is very
similar in both January 2020 and January 2021, eventhough the second national lockdown was in
place during January 2021.

Figure 16: Monthly heat and gas consumption in an accommodation building in 2020-
2021 [DCS,2020]
5.4.2 Gas & Heat Consumption of Newer Buildings

Figure 17 portrays the heat consumption of the NAIC in 2020 to 2022. The data, again, shows how
heat consumption drops significantly in the summer months of each year. The data, however, shows

that the COVID-19 lockdowns had very little effect on the heat consumption of the NAIC. For the
first lockdown in 2020, there is a clear drop in heat consumption that is not as significant a drop in the
next two years. In April 2020, the heat consumption is measured at 230 MWh, but in the following
two years, the heat consumption in April is measured at 490 MWh and 380 MWh in 2021 and 2022,
respectively.

Figure 18 shows the gas consumption of an older accommodation, Rootes , compared with a newer
accommodation, Cryfield Village. There is no occupancy in this Rootes building in 2022, due to
construction work, and so there is no gas consumption in the building during this time. Before 2022,
the Rootes building shows very little or no gas consumption during both major lockdowns. During the
second lockdown, which lasted from late 2020 and early 2021, gas consumption was zero, and due to
the temperature being lower during these months, the lack of any consumption can be attributed to the
absence of occupants. However, it is hard to say for certain that the lack of consumption during the
first major lockdown was solely due to COVID-19 restrictions. Though occupancy may have dropped,
with many students returning home, the hotter temperatures during these months would have also
contributed to a drop in gas consumption. The gas consumption in Cryfield Village is also shown and
differs Figure 17: Monthly heat consumption in the National Automotive Innovation drastically
to the Centre in 2020-2022 [DCS, 2020]
consumption of the Rootes building accommodation. The newer accommodation shows a higher gas
consumption in almost all the months across the time period, with consumption as exceedingly high
levels, even in the hotter months. This shows how newer accommodation buildings on the university
campus have a far higher demand for gas.

5.4.3 Effect of Temperature on Gas

Figure 18: Monthly gas & Heat Consumption
consumption in the Rootes accommodation building
and the Cryfield accommodation building in 2020-2022 [DCS, 2020]
Figures 19 and 20
show monthly average temperature against heat and gas consumption, respectively, in 2020 to 2022.
In both cases the Rootes A-C accommodation building is analysed.
As expected, Figure 19 illustrates that heat consumption decreases as the average monthly
temperature increases, with there being a strong negative correlation between the two factors, in all
three years. This is expected as there is less demand for heating in buildings, to keep temperatures
stable, when the average temperature is higher. It is important to note that all three sets of data for the
years 2020, 2021 and 2022 are similar. With the data on heat consumption being so temperature
dependent, it is difficult to argue that the restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 lockdowns,
had as much a significant effect on heat consumption, when other factors like temperature had a clear
influence.
Figure 20 shows that there is no correlation between the monthly average temperature and gas
consumption in the accommodation building in 2020 to 2022. This would indicate that changes in gas
consumption that may occur during the lockdown period can be confidently attributed to the
lockdown restrictions put in place at the time. This would contradict the data seen in the Heronbank
accommodation building, in Figure 16, and may suggest that not all the buildings within a certain
building type were affected in identical ways.

Figure 19: Average monthly temperature against monthly heat consumption

in an accommodation building in 2020-2022 [DCS,2020]
 Figure 20: Average monthly temperature against monthly gas consumption
in an accommodation building in 2020-2022 [DCS,2020]

References
DCS, Coherent Research Data Collection Server, 2020

Botzen, W.J.W., Nees, T. and Estrada, F. (2020). Temperature Effects on Electricity and Gas
Consumption: Empirical Evidence from Mexico and Projections under Future Climate Conditions.
Sustainability, 13(1), p.305