Climate-responsive strategies in sunken courtyard cave dwellings: architectural insights for modern passive design

Rooted in ancient architectural wisdom, Sunken Courtyard Cave dwellings exemplify advanced green strategies for climate-responsive design. This study aims to quantify their effectiveness through on-site measurements in summer and winter, and simulations using EnergyPlus software with parametric design scenarios. Climate-responsive strategies are categorized into two groups: architectural form designs and envelope thermal designs. In architectural form designs, the earth-sheltered roof has the greatest impact on the indoor thermal environment, followed by orientation and floor height. In envelope thermal designs, roof thermal inertia and resistance are most influential, followed by the thermal properties of interior and exterior walls. As the most critical feature, the earth-sheltered roof integrates high thermal mass and insulation, significantly stabilizing indoor temperatures. The dwellings demonstrate strong adaptability to seasonal variations: under free-running conditions, summer Discomfort Degree Hours (DDH) remain remarkably low at 1.7 °C·h, while in winter, using a conventional stove costing 6 RMB per day reduces DDH by 47.7%. These findings highlight the dual benefits of climate-responsive strategies in enhancing energy efficiency and indoor comfort. By prioritizing key climate-responsive features, architects can optimize passive design strategies for modern buildings, achieving minimal energy consumption while ensuring thermal comfort in similar climates.