## 2 Materials and Methods
### Indicators for Energy Consumption and Thermal Performance Evaluation  
#### 2.5.1 Estimation of the Cooling and Heating Energy Consumption  
Through the use of computer simulation, it is possible to obtain the thermal performance and the energy demand for heating and cooling when heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is utilized in the indoors environment. In energy consumption analysis, two different conditions were utilized that express the habits of local habitats: (i) from 8 a.m to 9 p.m building operating naturally ventilated, considering 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C as the indoor temperature control of the windows; and (ii) from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m with use of artificial conditioning system operating in the bedrooms, considering the split system with heating and cooling setpoint adjusted to 18 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 24 \({}^{\circ}\)C, respectively. In this case, the thermal load due to occupation, equipment, lighting, and energy performance of the air conditioning system followed the prescription of the Brazilian regulation for energy efficiency in buildings (RTQ-R) [25].  
The energy consumption was assessed only for cooling, excluding heating demand, because the local population does not use heating systems due to the hot weather conditions in the region, while attending the RTQ-R methodology for the region under evaluation [25].  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Month** & **1961–1990** & **2020s** & **2050s** \\ \hline January & 27.94 & 28.73 & 29.87 \\ \hline February & 27.76 & 28.32 & 29.71 \\ \hline March & 27.73 & 28.63 & 30.11 \\ \hline April & 26.78 & 27.65 & 29.59 \\ \hline May & 26.10 & 27.05 & 29.04 \\ \hline June & 25.67 & 26.90 & 28.32 \\ \hline July & 24.35 & 24.87 & 26.51 \\ \hline August & 26.38 & 28.95 & 30.82 \\ \hline September & 27.36 & 29.08 & 31.13 \\ \hline October & 28.36 & 30.78 & 32.62 \\ \hline November & 27.83 & 29.09 & 30.91 \\ \hline December & 28.21 & 28.87 & 30.26 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 4: Monthly soil temperature for the base scenario (1961–1990) and future estimates (2020/2050).  
The air conditioning system was considered only in the bedrooms, which is a common behavior observed in the residences of this region [37]. The coefficient of performance (COP) for cooling was assumed to be 3.00 W/W (level \"A\" in the Brazilian Energy Labelling), and continuous fan operation mode (fan efficiency 0.7 and motor efficiency 0.9), following the simulation parameters for air conditioning system modeling used in the Brazilian Energy Label for residential buildings [25]. The estimated final cooling consumption of the (LIHe and LIHb) typologies were analyzed in terms of kWh/ (m\({}^{2}\)/year) in both the base (1961-1990) and future climate change scenarios (2020 and 2050). Since the sum of energy spent by equipment and lighting remained almost constant between the present and future time-slices, not affecting building performance, it was not presented in final energy results. In this study, energy demand was only quantified for the bedroom zones where the Bermed earth-sheltered walls were deployed, focusing on capturing the influence of the thermal mass as a passive strategy for cooling.