Instrumentation and experimental hygrothermal investigations of a raw compressed earth brick house in Sense-City equipment: From material to building scale

Raw earth is a material of interest in the building sector. It has the advantages of being sustainable, being readily available and having a low-energy manufacturing process. Unfortunately, only a few case studies of instrumented earthen houses exist in the literature. Thus, a raw compressed earth brick (CEB) test house was specifically built and extensively instrumented for research purposes in Sense-City equipment at Champs-sur-Marne, France. A wide variety of sensors were deployed in the walls and in the indoor and outdoor environments for monitoring energy efficiency, hygrothermal behavior and thermal comfort. The CEB was studied from the material scale with chemical and hygrothermal characterization tests to the building scale during different seasons. After the instrumentation and practical techniques for the placement of temperature and humidity sensors in the walls and of heat flux sensors on wall surfaces for long-term monitoring were presented, an experimental analysis of the sensor outputs was carried out. Although the low wall thermal resistance was estimated at 0.34 m 2 .K.W -1 via the ISO 9869-1 standard method, the CEB hygroscopic wall had the abilities to regulate the indoor temperature and humidity and dampen and delay hot outdoor temperatures during summer heat waves. Especially in winter periods, concerning the humidity in walls, we observed different humidity levels depending on wall orientation and height-dependent humidity variation in walls exposed to rain. All the measurement data are provided in the associated data article. • Deployment of 39 sensors in a raw compressed earth brick (CEB) house. • Technique for the placement of temperature and humidity sensors in CEB walls. • Study of energy performance, hygrothermal behavior and thermal comfort in CEB house. • Height-dependent variation of humidity in wall exposed to rain. • Regulation of indoor temp./humidity, attenuation/delay of high outdoor temp.