Thermal performance assessment of passive techniques integrated into a residential building in semi-arid climate

This paper aims at investigating the effect of combining thermal insulation with high thermal inertia on building's thermal performance in a hot semi-arid climate. The impacts of these passive techniques on the cooling/heating loads and the indoor comfort are analyzed by means of dynamic simulation as well as on-site monitoring of a two floor detached house located in the Green City of Benguerir in Marrakech region (Morocco). This house, mostly built using local materials, integrates many other passive and hybrid systems. The present study focuses on the hemp-gypsum, the double slab technique for thermal insulation, the double glazing and the high thermal inertia of the walls. Thermal performance of these techniques are assessed by comparison to a hypothetical reference case of the house lacking the considered techniques and built with regular classic construction materials. The results show that the investigated passive systems have a remarkable effect on the indoor air temperature, the thermal comfort and the cooling/heating loads of the building. When the three systems are integrated into the studied house, better comfort conditions are achieved compared to the reference case as its indoor air temperature minimum is up to 5 °C higher in winter while the indoor air temperature maximum is reduced by up to 9 °C in summer. In addition, the daily air temperature amplitude (peak-to-peak difference) is drastically reduced compared to the reference case. Moreover, the discomfort hours based on an acceptable thermal comfort zone of 16 °C-28 °C are reduced by 62% compared to the reference case. Furthermore, the house performs up to 81% of reduction in the annual cooling and heating load compared to the reference case.