Utilizing Hourly Smart Meter Electricity Data to Advance Equitable Climate Change Adaptation & Mitigation Priorities

This seminar presents recent work utilizing high-resolution smart meter electricity data to inform climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, with a focus on residential air-conditioning (AC) access and usage. Drawing on a novel dataset of over 8.8 billion hourly electricity consumption records from approximately 200,000 households across Southern California, my research group has developed data-driven methods to estimate AC ownership and operational patterns with unprecedented spatial and temporal granularity. I will introduce analytical frameworks that: (1) characterize the functional relationship between temperature, humidity, and residential electricity demand; (2) infer household-level AC ownership; (3) identify the socio-economic, geographic, and technical drivers of AC adoption and usage; and (4) investigate correlations between AC access and public health outcomes during extreme heat events.

Beyond cooling, we analyze how households across climate zones and socio-economic classifications use electricity at hourly, daily, and seasonal timescales, uncovering substantial variation in load profiles and peak demand behavior. This work reveals stark disparities in cooling access and energy use, with significant implications for energy justice and climate resilience. It also demonstrates how smart meter data can be leveraged to design more equitable, targeted demand-side management programs that support both public health adaptation and electricity-sector decarbonization.

Speaker: Kelly Sanders, University of Southern California

Attend in person or online (Register at weblink)

Room B67