Sam's research interests lie in understanding how people can begin to adapt to the needs of a changing climate, and the ways in which everyday practice might be reconfigured as part of a more sustainable and lower carbon future.

In particular his work focuses on issues related to the challenges of producing and sustaining comfortable and safe indoor climates in a warmer and more sustainable world. His PhD asked how and why older people living in care homes are vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves. Using an ethnographic approach their vulnerability was linked to the material infrastructure of the home itself and the way power relationships in the home shape the use of space and time.

Sam is currently working as part of the Sustainable Practices Research Group focusing on understanding the spread of air-conditioning across the UK. The research aims to understand how demand for mechanical cooling is shaped at a number of levels, from the needs of specific institutions to the work of global standards organisations.