Energy‐saving technologies and energy efficiency in the post‐COVID era

The COVID‐19 pandemic made people reevaluate their energy consumption and energy efficiency. It held up a mirror to humanity's opportunistic and ruthless deployment of energy sources. As the city streets went empty and the international air traffic stopped altogether, people witnessed the significant drop in CO2 emissions, realized their dependence upon energy sources, and became aware of global climate change. In addition, with lockdowns and home offices, the demand for energy and the usual peak hours shifted offering a new perspective in energy consumption. The pandemic delivered a devastating blow to the human belief in having the constant and everlasting supply of energy that can be relied upon in everything. All these attracted the attention of researchers focusing on energy consumption and efficiency during the COVID‐19 pandemic. As a result, the vast body of academic literature on the topic burgeoned in the past four years yielding many exciting perspectives and viewpoints. Our paper conducts a comprehensive review of this body of literature employing the bibliometric network analysis of 12960 publications indexed in Web of Science database. It demonstrates the potential benefits and challenges associated with implementing energy‐saving technologies, altering energy consumption behavior, and implementing novel ICT solutions in a post‐COVID world. In addition, it highlights the importance of energy efficiency measures and examines novel technologies that can contribute to a sustainable and resilient energy future. Our findings emphasize the need for robust policies, technological advancements, and public engagement for fostering energy efficiency and mitigating environmental impacts of post‐pandemic energy consumption.