Case Study

The Caribbean countries could face a dangerous thermal paradox: governments are rapidly adopting energy-efficiency standards to adapt to a warming climate; however according to the Barbados Statistical Service (BSS, 2021), for the first income quintile, which exceeds 60 percent of the Barbados population, compliance is hindered by the current condition of the housing stock and buildings in general. This vulnerability could be linked to concrete-heavy housing stock—over 70 percent of dwellings, and 91 percent of air-conditioned homes, have concrete walls, which create significant thermal retention. Furthermore, with over 30 percent of homes built before 1990 and many metal roofs uninsulated, a sizable volume of structures may be ill-equipped for warmer, humid weather. Failure to evaluate "green" benchmarks against household realities could risks reinforcing territorial marginalization and undermining the PDP's goal of equitable resource efficiency.

The Problem

Most energy-performance systems used in the Caribbean are 'borrowed' from temperate countries designed to keep heat in; there is limited scholarship on keeping heat and humidity out. This reliance on temperate metrics could create an indirect reliance on artificial cooling, potentially leading to a policy vacuum by ignoring Barbados’ fuel-dependency, peripherality, and the socio-technical lock-in of its aging, uninsulated building stock. More specifically, consistently high relative humidity acts as a conversion factor, potentially imposing a costly “humidity-penalty” that could make indoor comfort impossible in hot weather without sacrificing essentials—like education, food, or debt. I argue that this penalty could be structural: a symptom of borrowed energy-efficiency standards (an actant) within energy-vulnerability assemblages that emerge as an invisible mechanism of exclusion.

The Work

This thesis on the effect of energy-efficiency building standards in vulnerable Caribbean communities, aims to investigate how building standards shape the capabilities of households living with heat, humidity, and financial constraints. Using a mixed-methods case study of the two neighbourhoods in Christ Church and St. Peter, I combine documentary analysis, architectural audits, and a household survey to capture the measurable conditions of dwellings and the lived experience of thermal stress. Guided by the Physical Development Plan's (Amended 2023) (PDP) resource efficiency mandate, the study directly tests how local and regional standards shape freedom from thermal discomfort, why achieving those standards could be difficult and for whom.

It will look at how building standards actually affect everyday people in Barbados; because so many homes are built with concrete walls (or uninsulated roofs) that were built before 1990, meeting these new standards could be incredibly difficult. We want to measure the actual conditions of homes and listen to your lived experiences dealing with heat and humidity to show what it takes, socio-technically, to keep a Caribbean home comfortable.

The Significance

This thesis is not just about efficient homes or reducing energy costs; it has potential to generate locally grounded 'Thermal Capability' perspectives for Caribbean housing to help policymakers distinguish between efficient and genuinely equitable standards, in support of the PDP's inclusive green growth vision, preventing 'green' policies from deepening territorial marginalization.

When building rules don't match the reality of local homes, it is lower-income families who could pay the price. High humidity and trapped heat mean families might be forced to rely on artificial cooling just to cope. This could create a hidden "humidity penalty"—where the cost of keeping your home cool forces you to make impossible choices between paying your electricity bill or paying for essentials like food, education, and medicine.

By participating, you help us gather the hard evidence needed to show policymakers that "green" policies cannot just look good on paper; they must also be fair. Your input will help us push for housing standards that actually protect vulnerable individuals from being priced out of comfort, ensuring that local development plans lift everyone up instead of leaving people behind.

Are you interested in participating in this research? Please fill out this short consent form (Click Here) on how your household relates to building codes / standards, energy and thermal comfort in the Caribbean. 

Who Can Participate?

Phase 1: Almost anyone can participate in the pilot phase: it will include a small sample (10-20 participants) from neighborhoods outside of the core study areas, to test the survey questions and refine the sub-optimal list of essential capabilities. You must be over eighteen years old to participate. If you are interested, please click the following link: Pilot Survey. 

Phase 2: The main phase, which commences on June 20, 2026, will focus on neighbourhoods in the Christ Church and St. Peter. Participants in Phase 2 must not earn more than BBD $50,000/annum before taxes and must occupy a home built prior to 2019. Interviews with construction practitioners and policy makers (Phase 3) will follow. 

What does Participation in the Pilot Involve?

1. What you will do: You will be asked to complete a questionnaire concerning your energy and thermal comfort needs.

2. How long it will take: The pilot survey (Phase 1) will take less than eight (8) minutes to complete. The results will inform Phase 2's survey.

3. Where it happens / Format: This survey takes place online and in-person, allowing you to complete the questionnaire from any location with internet access using your personal device.

Confidentiality: your privacy is important. The anonymised results of this study may be published. Data obtained from you may be anonymised, combined with that of others and possibly used in future research. Your individual privacy will be maintained in all published and written data from the study. All information collected will be treated confidentially and will encrypted and stored on the researcher’s personal, University of Cambridge account which is a secure (password protected) cloud or server accessed only by the Lead Researcher Philip O'Neal ( pao36@cam.ac.uk ) and/or the supervising Professor Shailaja Fennell ss141@cam.ac.uk.

Benefits and risks: There are no direct benefits to you by participating in this study. However, your responses will aid in the understanding of the needs of Barbadian citizens. The researcher does not anticipate any risks greater than what you might experience in everyday life. Your participation is voluntary and you can withdraw from the project at any time without prejudice, now or in future. Should you want to withdraw or ask any questions about this research, please email the Lead Researcher Philip O'Neal ( pao36@cam.ac.uk ) and your data will be deleted from the computer and cloud systems kept for that purpose. Your information will ultimately be anonymised. If you would like to withdraw your information after the research is anonymised and published, it will not be possible to remove your information because the researcher will not be able do differentiate your inputs from those from other participants.

Payment: You will not be paid for your participation in this study.

Results: the results of the questionnaire will form part of the researcher's Dissertation which if successful will be published at the University of Cambridge's Main Library. This questionnaire will be used for academic purposes only.

Time Period: If you decide to participate in this research study, please note that the survey will be open until 700 responses are collected or until 23:59 hours on December 31, 2026.

Grievances: Should you have any issues or concerns with the study please contact the supervising Professor Shailaja Fennell ss141@cam.ac.uk

I have dedicated my career to optimizing the built environment for both economic vitality and social equity. My professional journey bridges deep technical expertise in the private sector with governance processes in the public sector, spanning regulatory landscapes from Washington, D.C., Brooklyn, New York, United Kingdom to Barbados. In terms of academia, I recently used systems thinking and Raul Prebisch's central-periphery theory to develop a framework designed to estimate the effect of culture, climate and vulnerability on Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design scores in Barbados. The 2023 findings suggested an increase in place-based approaches to certification regimes and rejected the wholesale suitability of international rating systems. 

Academic & Professional Foundation

My approach is grounded in rigorous interdisciplinary training, combining advanced architectural knowledge with macroeconomic spatial planning. Key qualifications:

• Candidate for PhD in Land Economy (University of Cambridge, 2028): Investigating the "capability-energy-efficiency nexus," whether the Caribbean faces a "humidity-penalty" and how energy-efficiency building standards impact human capabilities and socio-economic equity in the Caribbean.

• MPhil in Planning, Growth and Regeneration (University of Cambridge, 2024): Graduated with Honours, focusing on the economic drivers of urban regeneration and structural growth.

• Certified in Urban Planning and Construction (Shanghai Business School, 2018): Rapid urban development frameworks and international construction paradigms.

• LEED® Green Associate (USGBC, 2011): Certified in sustainable building practice and green infrastructure metrics.

• Bachelor of Architecture (Howard University, 2010): Graduated magna cum laude Honours, establishing my foundational technical expertise in architectural and environmental building design.

Strategic Experience & Impact

Public Policy & Governance (8 Years): Within the public sector, I served across every core section at the Planning and Development Department (formerly Town and Country Planning Authority). My work sits at the critical juncture of legislation and spatial economics. Most recently, I acted as a strategic advisor to the Minister through the Director of Planning, and Senior Town Planners, with others, directly managing amendments to the National Physical Development Plan. I frequently leverage spatial technology, 3D modeling, and GIS analysis to translate highly complex macroeconomic and architectural data into actionable policy decisions.

Private Sector Architecture & Execution (15 Years): In the private sector, I have spent a decade leading projects in architecture, design, and intricate construction detailing. This hands-on material experience ensured that my academic and policy recommendations remained rooted in the practical & financial realities of the local construction industry.

Community Leadership: Believing that impactful research must extend beyond the academy, I co-founded and served as Lead Designer for a critical series of editorial newsletters distributed to the Planning Authority, aimed at uncovering  the human element between bureaucratic regulation and the strategic spatial policy. Driven by a belief in institutional health and community cohesion, I also co-organized, hosted and participated in regional sports tournaments (swimming, table tennis, road tennis) and invitational events to foster professional and community networks spanning the Cambridge, the DMV, NYC and Barbados.

Philip O'Neal May, 2026

Contact Philip at email: pao36@cam.ac.uk or philiponeal@gmail.com; telephone: 242-7138 (between 7am and 6pm Eastern Caribbean time)

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This research provides a critical, data-driven pathway for institutional stakeholders to close a potential policy vacuum in energy-efficiency building standards. By shifting the focus from 'borrowed' global metrics to the local realities of Barbados—specifically the 'humidity-penalty' and its disproportionate effect on vulnerable communities—this investigation delivers actionable evidence on the true cost and accessibility of compliance. 

The findings are vital to achieving Barbados' national objectives. Firstly, establishing rigorous, context-appropriate efficiency standards is a crucial step for reducing reliance on expensive, imported fossil fuels, thereby strengthening national security and economic resilience. Secondly, based on the findings from my MPhil, while scaling these standards sustainably can be a complex challenge for Caribbean countries, they can provide a direct mechanism to slash carbon emissions, supporting the nation’s ambitious goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy by 2035 (ETIP, 2025). Crucially, the study's mixed-method approach benchmarks local needs against both mandatory and voluntary codes, ensuring that any mandated energy-efficiency does not inadvertently 're-produce exclusion' by burdening the most vulnerable. The evidence generated could lead to lower utility bills and genuinely climate-resilient indoor environments for all citizens and landowners.

Furthermore, by addressing these challenges specific to hot-humid, import and tourism-dependent countries like Barbados, this work is positioned to set a vital, regional precedent or analogue for similar sized States. Should you choose to participate in this thesis, any information collected will be secured in compliance with all relevant data protection regulations, including the Data Protection Act 2019-29, the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation, and the Research Data Management Policy Framework of the University of Cambridge.

Government of Barbados (2021) 2021 Population and Housing Census Report (Published August 2023). Census. Barbados Statistical Service (BSS), Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment, Government of Barbados (GOB).

Government of Barbados (2023) ‘Physical Development Plan (PDP) Amendment, 2023: Toward a Green, Prosperous, Healthy and Resilient Nation’.

Government of Barbados and Ministry of Energy and Business (2025) ‘Barbados Energy Transition and Investment Plan (ETIP)’. Government of Barbados.