article · Energy and Built Environment
Earthen dwellings have a long history in Morocco, yet empirical assessments of their thermal performance in semi-arid Mediterranean climates remain limited. Research evaluated the indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency of passive buildings constructed with compressed earth blocks across two Moroccan cities. The investigation utilised the EnergyPlus modelling tool and validated the simulation framework against ten days of monitored indoor temperatures across two thermal zones in an experimental prototype. Combining compressed earth blocks with climate-responsive passive strategies significantly enhanced sustainability and indoor comfort. Compared to conventional building methods, this design reduced summer discomfort hours by approximately 12 percent in both locations. Additionally, the approach achieved a reduction in annual thermal energy intensity ranging from 20 to 65 kilowatt-hours per square metre.
Modern housing in hot, dry environments often depends heavily on energy-intensive cooling systems. Demonstrating that compressed earth blocks paired with passive design reliably improve indoor comfort provides an evidence-based alternative to conventional construction. This approach lowers cooling requirements, cuts domestic energy consumption, and supports environmentally sustainable building practices tailored to semi-arid regions.
This research provides performance benchmarks relevant to architects, property developers, and construction firms seeking low-energy building solutions for semi-arid environments. The work sits at an applied and tested stage, having combined simulated building models with real-world prototype monitoring. It can inform the specification of compressed earth blocks and passive architectural strategies in commercial and residential developments to lower long-term heating and cooling costs.
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The assessment of the thermal energy performance of earth-based buildings with respect to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of Morocco is scarce, even if the country is historically known for its earthen dwellings. According to this need, this work aims to understand and evaluate the indoor thermal comfort and energy performances of passive building in two different locations. We have used EnergyPlus modeling tool and in addition, the monitored ten-day indoor temperatures in two different thermal zones in the test prototype to justify the empirical validation of Building Energy Model. The findings demonstrate, the use of compressed earth blocks coupled with passive design strategies provides better comfort and great sustainability. Thus, the summer discomfort hours are reduced about 12% for both cities compared to conventional building. However, the combination of semi-arid climate-responsive passive design has allowed to reach a thermal energy intensity reduction difference from 20 to 65 kWh.m−2. y−1.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.enbenv.2023.06.008
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