Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Energy Use and Performance in Commercial Buildings

A central issue that was recently discussed within the commercial real estate community is how the COVID-19 pandemic, and possible future pandemic events, will affect the operational performance in the long-term. Various additional factors such as confinement restrictions, lockdowns, and the reduced occupancy levels put operators under significant pressure, and force them to look for energy efficient solutions and find the right balance for the financial side while ensuring healthy environment for clients and tenants. In this paper, we present a preliminary analysis and evaluate the impact of the pandemic using real-life data collected from several commercial buildings in Estonia. The results indicate that after two years of the pandemic the situation stabilized, which may support the claim that the right balance was found at least in the current situation.