Behavioural changes in air-conditioner use owing to the COVID-19 movement control order in Malaysia

Abstract

Remote work (working from home) became a norm rather than an exception for the global workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic, influencing every facet of life in both positive and negative ways. The stringent action of the Malaysian government in enacting the Movement Control Order (MCO) motivated the investigation of its impact on the energy consumption behaviour of working people regarding air-conditioner (AC) use. To this end, this study conducted a cross-sectional survey through an online platform. An ordinal logistic regression model (ORL) was used to analyse the collected data of 1873 respondents to determine the factors influencing the ordinal variable of interest, AC-usage behaviour during remote work. Next, the variable with unordered categories, the MCO-induced change in AC-usage behaviour, was analysed using a multinomial regression model (MLT) to identify the potential determinants. Finally, a reason analysis unveiled aspects behind the transition in AC use during remote work. This study identified stopping AC use during remote work despite using it at the office before the MCO period as the most significant change in AC-usage behaviour due to MCO. This change was frequently adopted by people with medium-level incomes and high electricity bills. By contrast, participants unfamiliar with their electricity bill were most likely to start AC use during remote work, although they did not use it before the MCO. Participants working remotely in the communal spaces of their houses preferred to stop using ACs during MCO compared to private room users. Furthermore, age group and ethnicity significantly influenced AC-usage behaviour in remote work and changes in such demeanours. These findings recommend policy interventions to expedite limited AC use for a sustainable energy sector, even during future climatic emergencies.

Eating behavior among remote working adults during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…This is because the airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus can be easily transmitted between people through direct, indirect or close contact with COVID-19 positive people (Tan et al, 2021(Tan et al, , 2022World Health Organization (WHO), 2020). According to Toosty et al (2022), 67% of Malaysian companies adopted remote working during the MCO. It is postulated that working remotely will be a new normal even after the COVID-19 pandemic (Vyas, 2022).…”

Economic modelling of electricity generation: long short-term memory and Q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets

“…The models ( Askitas et al., 2021 ; Liu et al., 2022 ; Sánchez-López et al., 2022 ) based on the factors determining the diffusion of COVID-19 and suggested strategy to prevent future accelerated viral infectivity. But this model can be used for created energy consumption scenarios in Europe, Malaysia, China, England, Germany and Japan like in previous papers ( Flaxman et al., 2020 ; Diao et al., 2021 ; Toosty et al., 2022 ; Wen et al., 2022 ; Ueno, 2022 ).…”

“…Influence of population density, temperature, and absolute humidity on the spread and decay durations of COVID-19 are discussed in comparative studies of scenarios in Europe, Malaysia, China, England, Germany and Japan ( Flaxman et al., 2020 ; Diao et al., 2021 ; Toosty et al., 2022 ; Wen et al., 2022 ; Ueno, 2022 ).…”

The Implications of Remote Work: An Analysis of Nigeria and the Usa

“…With employees working from home, there is a reduced need for extensive office spaces and their associated energy consumption, including lighting, heating, and cooling. This can result in lower energy consumption and a decreased carbon footprint for organizations (Toosty et al, 2022).…”