If you spent last weekend bingeing on Netflix instead of running errands, congratulations: Your laziness is lowering energy use. Collectively, Americans are spending more time at home and less time driving or in other buildings, and national energy demand is falling as a result.
In a new study, when researchers analyzed the American Time Use Survey–an annual survey that looks at the daily, hour-by-hour schedule of thousands of Americans–they found that the average person spent nearly eight more days at home in 2012 than in 2003.
Some of that shift was likely driven by technology. People spent more time on computers, and less time shopping in retail stores. They also spent about seven more days working at home rather than in an office, about a day less of using any kind of transportation, and a week less time in non-residential buildings. The change was even greater for people age 18 to 24, who spent 14 more days at home in 2012, and four fewer days on the road.