Look at this image.  It shows the change in frequency of certain familiar formerly everyday activities under lockdown, and also captures the shift in our enjoyment of each activity:

It’s the work of LCWO friend Dr Philipp Grunewald, who has been continuing his research into time and energy use in the home, but with a new twist – looking at what has happened to our activities, energy use and enjoyment under lockdown.

Activity patterns have changed drastically, which is not surprising, but some of the detail might be. Our days generally start one hour later than in ‘normal times’, and the bump that was evening peak demand for energy has lessened. We’re doing a lot more gardening and screen time, and consuming more hot drinks – but strangely enough, reading less. As Phil points out, this is interesting, as when we do read, it gets a much higher enjoyment rating than screentime…

Phil recently did an online Q&A with Oxford Sparks, which you can watch here.  It gives a great introduction to his overall work, and specifically his findings on lockdown life, and is very accessible:

For more on his research findings, and importantly, what this means for electricity demand and renewables, plus the chance to participate in this ongoing research, head to he project website: www.joymeter.uk