Do in-home and virtual activities impact out-of-home activity participation? Investigating end-user activity behaviour and time use for residential energy applications
File(s)Yagoetal_MDCEV_TimeUse_R2_Final.pdf (637.21 KB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Losa Rovira, Yago
Faghih Imani, Ahmadreza
Sivakumar, Aruna
Pawlak, Jacek
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The ability to accurately model and predict timing and duration of activities for different individuals is essential for successful and widespread Demand Side Response (DSR) policies, especially in the residential sector. Understanding what people do during the day and what factors influence their activity participation decisions is important for planning an effective DSR strategy to harness the end-user flexibility. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has shown how much activities can be shifted to a virtual mode in the presence of mobility restrictions. Further, participation in activities via digital devices (virtual activity participation) has spread across society. Such virtual activities, including teleworking, online shopping, and virtual social interactions, are observed to explicitly impact travel behaviour and activity scheduling. And yet, activity-based models of mobility and energy demand do not accommodate the trade-offs between activity types, location and virtual activity participation. This paper presents a model of activity participation that captures the relationship between the three dimensions of: activity type (such as work, study, shopping), activity location (in-home, out-of-home), and activity modality (in-person, virtual). A Multiple-Discrete Continuous Extreme Value (MDCEV) model structure is applied, and the empirical analysis is undertaken using the 2015 United Kingdom Time Use Survey (UKTUS). The model results provide insights for better understanding of the trade-offs made by individuals as they participate in and allocate time across a set of activity type-location-modality alternatives, and the heterogeneity in these trade-offs. Further, holdout sample validation and policy scenario analysis exercises are presented to demonstrate the reliability and suitability of the model for policy implications. The empirical results presented in our paper suggest that this framework embedded in an activity and agent-based simulator of energy demand will enable us to test a variety of scenarios related to end-user flexibility and activity behaviour change, including consideration of virtual activity participation trends.
Date Issued
2022-02
Date Acceptance
2021-12-04
Citation
Energy and Buildings, 2022, 257, pp.1-11
ISSN
0378-7788
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Start Page
1
End Page
11
Journal / Book Title
Energy and Buildings
Volume
257
Copyright Statement
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378778821010483?via%3Dihub
Grant Number
EP/R045518/1
Subjects
Building & Construction
09 Engineering
12 Built Environment and Design
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
111764
Date Publish Online
2021-12-17