A new analysis of federal time-use data suggests that the rise of remote work and online shopping is reshaping American energy consumption in measurable ways. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the Rochester Institute of Technology found that between 2003 and 2012, Americans spent an average of eight additional days per year at home, a shift that corresponded with a 1.8 percent reduction in national energy demand.
The study, published in the journal Joule, examined data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics survey that tracks the daily schedules of roughly 11,000 Americans. The researchers compared responses from 2003 and 2012, focusing on where people spent their time and how that affected energy use.
According to the analysis, the extra time at home was offset by a 1.2-day decline in time spent traveling and a 6.7-day reduction in time spent in non-residential buildings or outdoor areas. The most significant change was observed among younger adults: those aged 18 to 24 spent two more weeks at home in 2012 compared to 2002, a shift 70 percent greater than the rest of the population.
While at home, Americans devoted more time to work, watching videos, and using computers, as well as to essential activities like sleeping, meal preparation, and eating. The researchers then calculated the energy implications of this behavioral change, estimating that the net effect was a reduction of 1,700 trillion British thermal units (BTU) in 2012 — roughly 1.8 percent of the total national energy demand for that year.
Lead researcher Ashok Sekar, then at the University of Texas at Austin, said in a news release, “We did expect to see net energy decrease, but we had no idea of the magnitude.” To put the figure in context, Sekar told Futurism that 1,700 trillion BTU is approximately equivalent to the energy consumed by the state of Kentucky in 2015, and more than the combined consumption of Connecticut, Hawaii, and Nevada that same year. Co-author Eric Williams added that it is comparable to the annual gasoline use of 30 million cars.
The environmental implications are significant. Transportation remains a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for about 27 percent of U.S. carbon emissions in 2015, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The researchers suggest that without the ability to work or shop remotely, emissions from transportation could have been even higher.
Regional Variations and Limitations
The study’s authors caution that their findings represent national averages and do not account for differences in location, labor markets, or demographics. “The results can vary very much between people living in urban versus rural areas,” Sekar told Futurism. “People living in the city may use public transportation which has relatively much less energy consumption than people driving their cars.”
Despite these limitations, the study underscores a broader point: technology is altering daily routines, and those changes are influencing energy use. If current trends continue, the shift toward home-based activities could play a role in reducing overall energy demand, complementing efforts to cut fossil fuel consumption and expand clean energy sources.