Subterranean Thermal Mass in Environmental Control, A Field Study in Historic Houses, Kashan

This paper examines the environmental conditions of basements in the hot arid city of Kashan. To this end, basements of traditional houses were chosen with depths ranging from 3 to 14 meters. Environmental data measured for these houses was then compared with the baseline data measured for the roof. A comparison was then made with thermal comfort conditions using Givoni Diagram. The results indicate that while the outdoor summer temperatures vary between 27º to 43ºCelsius, the average indoor temperature of the basement is always in the comfort range of 23º to 29º. The temperature fluctuations decrease with the depth of the basement. In deeper basements with little infiltration, the fluctuations are as small as only 1º. Connecting the wind-catcher shafts to the basement is a clever solution to balance humidity and temperature for further human comfort.