Assessing the overheating resilience of a novel earth walled (CobBauge) building across different climate zones in Europe using a calibrated building performance simulation model

CobBauge is a dual-layer earthen construction material, optimized to meet Part-L of the Building Regulations in England and Wales. A classroom constructed with CobBauge demonstrated high resilience to overheating during two heatwaves in Plymouth, highlighting its potential as a sustainable and ultra-low-carbon material. This study assesses its overheating resilience using a simulation model, calibrated to achieve 7.30% CV(RMSE) and 1.34°C RMSE against measured indoor temperatures. Plymouth's future climate and nine European locations representing different Köppen climate classifications were incorporated into the model to analyse the building's thermal performance and its compliance with CIBSE TM52 criteria. Results showed no overheating risk under Plymouth's future climate. Similar performance was observed across all European locations except Murcia, where outdoor temperatures reached 42°C. Nevertheless, indoor temperatures remained 9°C below outdoor peaks without active cooling. This study recommends CobBauge as an ultra-low-carbon and resilient material to mitigate indoor overheating across diverse European climates.