The Environmental Performance of Earth Construction Systems in Jordan’s Mediterranean Climatic Zone

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this paper was to investigate the thermal and energy performance of different earth construction methods, particularly in Jordan’s Mediterranean climatic zone. An IES-VE simulation was conducted to compare five proposed earth construction methods against historic and conventional construction methods used in Jordan, in terms of indoor air temperature performance and operational heating and cooling demand. The findings from the simulation analysis show that a double compressed earth block (CEB) wall constructed model and a hybrid wall constructed model consume the smallest amount of operational energy and have the best thermal winter performance. Moreover, the historic earth wall construction methods perform slightly better than other options during summer. It is concluded that if the appropriate earthen construction method is adopted and combined with suitable passive strategies, earth construction can perform better than conventional building methods used in Jordan’s Mediterranean climatic zone, resulting in energy-efficient and comfortable structures.KeywordsEarth constructionThermal and energy performanceJordan