Evaluating the Impact of Hybrid Working Strategies on Energy Systems : An Agent-Based Modeling Approach to Understand Residential Energy Consumption Patterns

Abstract

My PhD research is part of the interdisciplinary project SWICE (Sustainable Well-being for the Individual and the Collectivity in the Energy Transition), funded under the SWEET program of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. It examines energy savings and quality-of-life improvements from future urban scenarios. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the global adoption of hybrid working strategies (Figure 1), with work-from-home (WFH) becoming a prevalent practice post-pandemic (PayScale, 2024). While these shifts significantly affect energy systems, existing research largely focuses on commuting and office energy use, with limited attention to residential energy consumption (Hook et al., 2020). Many countries aim to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with energy reduction and efficiency improvement as key goals by 2050 of their Energy Strategies. From 2000 to 2022, the residential sector accounted for over 30% of Switzerland’s total energy demand, making it the second-largest energy consumer after transportation (The ODYSSEE-MURE project, 2025). Since March 2020, Switzerland has experienced an unprecedented surge in WFH adoption, placing considerable shifts of energy patterns of both residential and office energy systems. The WFH behavior is strongly dependent on employment sector and type of household (Figure 2). Studies, such as Anand (2023), have shown that WFH can significantly increase residential energy consumption, particularly during extreme summer heat. However, there is currently limited research exploring the relationship between WFH and residential building energy consumption in the Swiss context. This study will use Switzerland as a case to evaluate how WFH behaviors affect residential energy systems, proposing practical policy recommendations focused on energy reduction and efficiency improvements.