Development of Energy Efficiency Guidelines for Residential Homes

The Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) Resilience, Sustainable Energy, and Marine Biodiversity (RESEMBID) program commenced operations on January 1, 2019 and was closed in December 2024. The overarching objective of the RESEMBID program was to strengthen sustainable human development across Caribbean OCTs through resilience, sustainable energy, and marine biodiversity.

The RESEMBID program provided technical assistance through a myriad of channels, including the provision of technical training in energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as the commissioning of feasibility studies and subsequent in-country pilot and proof-of-concept projects and policies.

Econoler was hired by the Ministry of Sustainability & Climate Resiliency and Wellness (MSCRW) of the Cayman Islands to support government objectives for the residential housing sector, which included the development of comprehensive frameworks, policies, and strategies to enhance efficiency in both new and existing residential buildings with a primary focus on homes constructed by the National Housing Development Trust.

Under this assignment, Econoler carried out the following tasks: 

• Conducted a program and policy review and analysis of existing policies and regulations as well as relevant documents, including the National Energy Policy (NEP) 2017-2037 and documents such as planning policies. Also included in the analysis and document review were the outputs of the Cayman Islands Residential Energy Efficiency Programmes and reports from current activities, including those from a recent residential energy audit campaign;

• Developed proposed national guidelines for the residential sector based on an analysis of available local data, international best practices, and regional developments in the area of home energy efficiency. The guidelines were drawn from a situation and regional analysis to ensure they addressed any policy gaps and bridge barriers to their adoption. Furthermore, educational outreach materials were developed, designed for ease of understanding and containing clear information on effective measures that can be adopted cost-effectively by homeowners;

• Facilitated the adoption of national guidelines through the development of a proposed implementation plan based on the results of the policy, data, gap, and barrier analysis to ensure realistic implementation components and timelines leading to the development and implementation of policies;

• Delivered a six-hour online training session for more than 50 relevant stakeholders, including project developers, builders, material and technology suppliers, policy makers, engineers, architects and designers, on the application of EE guidelines, EE building codes, as well as EE standards and labels. 

Through this initiative, the MSCRW is now able to reach its objectives of supporting the sustainable development of the residential housing sector.