An Investigation on the Thermal Environment of Residential Courtyards in the Cold Area of Western Sichuan Plateau
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors researched the investigation and statistical analysis of thermal environment variables: PET, air temperature, solar radiation, radiation temperature, and wind speed in a plateau village, China. However, this paper has major issues to correct before it can be published.
Lack of discussion for the research results: The authors conducted a correlation analysis using one of the statistical methods among temperature variables. The significance of the research results needs to be interpreted through comparison with previous studies. The authors should consider the characteristics of the thermal environment in the plateau region with previous studies.
Lack of logical connection: For example, 'Most of the above researches on the courtyard thermal environment come from arid or hot summer and cold winter areas, and some of the research conclusions on cold areas focus on public outdoor space or indoor research.' The paragraph with the former sentence is a little bit awkward because the authors should explain that the other studies have conducted what studies are in the plateau region although those researches analyzed characteristics of study environments.
Reason for R-square value: The authors analyzed thermal environmental variables but R-square values in regression analysis of certain variables were low. The authors should explain in detail why R-square values were low.
Another check:
1) Keywords: Plateau cold area Traditional house courtyard, Courtyard thermal environment, Influencing factors, related analysis double check
2) 14(?) double-check
3) Partially grammar mistakes and awkward sentences: Please make sure grammar mistakes and unclear sentences before being published. I think that this paper should be required from a special editor.
Consequently, I recommend this paper should be necessary to improve, revise and reorganize what I mentioned through the systematic approach.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
The authors researched the investigation and statistical analysis of thermal environment variables: PET, air temperature, solar radiation, radiation temperature, and wind speed in a plateau village, China. However, this paper has major issues to correct before it can be published.
Response：The authors are grateful for the valuable and helpful comments of the reviewers. According to the comments, we have made significant improvements of the manuscript as follows and with red mark in the manuscript. Thank you again for your recognition of our work.
- Lack of discussion for the research results: The authors conducted a correlation analysis using one of statistical methods among temperature variables. The significance of the research results needs to be interpreted through comparison with previous studies. The authors should consider the characteristics of the thermal environment in the plateau region with previous studies.
Response 1:
We accept your question and adjust the structure of the article. In the new section 4, various influencing factors are discussed and compared with other people's research results. The main content includes the discussion of 4.1 temperature, 4.2 solar radiation, and 4.3 wind speed.
In addition, some case studies of plateau thermal environment surveys were added, emphasizing the influence of plateau climate characteristics on courtyard thermal environment. The content of the added case is in the sixth paragraph of the first section，the content is mainly as follows:
Findings from this thermal environment survey showed that the temperature data in the courtyard is better than that of the data outside the courtyard. For example, the average temperature of courtyards A and B is higher than the outdoor comparison point O by 3~4℃, which shows the positive impact of constructing stone courtyards. However, the overall temperature in the courtyard is still low, which is consistent with the conclusion drawn by Wei Yu and others on the thermal environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: The outdoor climatic conditions in the plateau area are relatively harsh, although the de-sign of the stone building was adapted to the climate to a certain extent, Nevertheless, there is still a need for improvement.[16] In Lili Zhang’s investigation of the thermal en-vironment of plateau buildings in north-western Sichuan, stone buildings can account for about 24℃ difference between the indoor and outdoor environment, because the court-yard is a semi-outdoor open space, the open courtyard space is farther from achieving the same heating effect.[17]
- Lack of logical connection: For example, 'Most of the above researches on the courtyard thermal environment come from arid or hot summer and cold winter areas, and some of the research conclusions on cold areas focus on public outdoor space or indoor research.' → The paragraph with the former sentence is a little bit awkward because the authors should explain that the other researches has conducted what studies are in the plateau region although those researches conducted the analsys of characteristics of study environments.
Response 2: We accept your opinion and delete this sentence. This sentence was modified to:
Besides the three aspects above, the unique climatic characteristics of the cold plateau ar-eas are also pertinent factors affecting the thermal environment of the courtyard. For example, according to the thermal comfort survey conducted by Wei Yu et al on the Qing-hai-Tibet Plateau, the local residents built stone houses to withstand the extreme climate and adapted to the local climate by drinking butter-sweet tea and wearing thicker traditional Tibetan costumes. [16] Lili Zhang and others found that the locally-built stone houses can account for temperature differences of about 24°C between indoor and outdoor during the day based on the summer thermal environment survey on the Northwest Si-chuan plateau.[17] This shows that the locally built stone buildings can adapt effectively to the climate of the area.
- Reason of R-square value: The authors analyzed thermal environmental variables but R-square values in regression analysis of certain variables were low. The authors should explain detaily why R-square values were low.
Response 3: Thanks for your correction. In the analysis process, we did pay too much attention to the courtyard with high R², but ignored the reasons for the low R² in other courtyards. Therefore, after the revision, we explained the low values of R², which are located in chapters 3.2.1, 3.2.2, and 3.2.4 respectively. （In chapter 3.2.3, the R² value between the average radiant temperature of all courtyards and PET is high, so it is not explained.）The main contents after modification are as follows:
3.2.1. PET and Air Temperature
The more compact layout of courtyard B makes it easier for the building to obstruct court-yard, thus complicating the internal thermal environment of courtyard B (the meas-urement point is in the shade during part of the duration, and also in the sun during some time). Therefore, under similar air temperature conditions, the solar radiation received by each measuring point is quite different, which affects the variation in the PET value at dif-ferent measuring points under similar air temperature conditions. Hence, a weak cor-rela-tion exists between the air temperature of courtyard B and the PET.
3.2.2. PET and Solar Radiation
Courtyards B and D are partly in the shadow of the buildings and mountains, which re-sults in the lower solar radiation of these two courtyards when compared to points A and C. Consequently, the correlation between their solar radiation and the PET are not signifi-cant, with a very low R² value.
3.2.4. PET and Wind Speed
Given the high complexity and uncertainty in the windy environment, the correlation be-tween all the wind spends in the tested courtyard and PET values are generally weak, with an overall performance R² value lower than 0.3. However, the P-value can be used in the determination of which courtyard PET values are related to the wind speed.
- Other check:
1) Keywords:Plateau cold area Traditional house courtyard, Courtyard thermal environ-ment, Influencing factors, related analysis → double check.
Response 1）:
The keywords have been adjusted and the revised content is as follows：Plateau cold area，Traditional house courtyard，Courtyard thermal environment， Influencing factors，Related analysis.
2) 14(?) double check
Response 2）:
Here the number 14 should be numbered wrongly should be 15. The text has been modified.
3) Partially grammar mistakes and awkward sentences: Please make sure grammar mistakes and unclear sentences before published. I think that this paper should be required from a special editor.
Response 3）:
Thank you for your valuable comments on this article. We have made every effort to improve the quality and clarity of the language throughout the manuscript.
Finally, thank you for spending your precious time reviewing and revising our paper. Thank you again on behalf of all the researchers.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
I have reviewed this Case Report which addresses the performance of residential courtyards in the Sichuan Plateau.
This paper is well conceived and clearly rendered, there are however, some doubtful points that I would like to clarify for the authors.
The architectural definition of the courtyards under study is slightly insufficient, the plans in figure 5, should incorporate the orientation together with sections of the courtyards to better understand their dimensions and proportions
The monitoring campaign is limited to four days. The authors claim that simulations are useful but inaccurate and thus they discard them. But with such limited monitoring time it is also rather difficult to extend the validity of the results.
I recommend in the future, as the authors recognise, to introduce simulation software for the study that can be checked against the monitoring results.
The measurements of temperature and humidity are adequate but later on they are not reflected as spatial maps, with which the complexity of the courtyard is reduced to a single point.
The way in which radiation is measured and treated is inadequate, some studies of solar geometry would be necessary together with more detailed irradiation data on vertical and horizontal surfaces.
Wind patterns are not detailed and there are not enough references to analyse air movement for the case study.
Generally speaking, and due to the indefintion of architectural and constructive characteristics, detailed strategies to improve the design of the courtyards and consequently to preserve its heritage are somewhat lacking.
Due to these constraints, the conclusions of the study are also limited but I believe that the authors have demonstrated a positive potential to deal with this case report and that is the main reason why my assessment is eventually favourable and I would accept the article with some minor adjustments referring to the above.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 2 Comments
I have reviewed this Case Report which addresses the performance of residential courtyards in the Sichuan Plateau. This paper is well conceived and clearly rendered, there are however, some doubtful points that I would like to clarify for the authors.
Response ：First of all, thank you for your affirmation of our work, and for spending valuable time reviewing our papers and providing valuable comments. According to some of your questions, we thought about and responded one by one. The content of the amendments and responses are as follows.
1) The architectural definition of the courtyards under study is slightly insufficient, the plans in figure 5, should incorporate the orientation together with sections of the courtyards to better understand their dimensions and proportions.
Response 1) ：
We accepted your valuable suggestions and marked the size and orientation of the courtyard plan. The revised figure is shown in Figure 5. (On page 9 of the article) In the article, we marked the number of building floors, courtyard size, and courtyard door orientation in detail.
2)The monitoring campaign is limited to four days. The authors claim that simulations are useful but inaccurate and thus they discard them. But with such limited monitoring time it is also rather difficult to extend the validity of the results. I recommend in the future, as the authors recognise, to introduce simulation software for the study that can be checked against the monitoring results.
Response 2) ：
In the process of literature review, we found that there are studies that show that the simulation software does have a gap with the measured data under certain conditions. And added the source of this conclusion in the sixth paragraph of the introduction. (The simulated research on the thermal environment of the courtyard by López-Cabeza, V. P. and others also proved that there is a certain deviation between the simulated outcomes and the actual parameters. [18])
But we also very much agree with your proposal to add simulation software to follow-up research. After verifying the measured data and the software model, our team has begun to carry out related work on the courtyard thermal environment simulation. It is planned to use Ecotect and Phoenics software to study the wind environment and solar radiation of the courtyard. And thank you again for your valuable comments and encouragement.
3)The measurements of temperature and humidity are adequate but later on they are not reflected as spatial maps, with which the complexity of the courtyard is reduced to a single point.
Response 3) ：
The test points set according to the size of the courtyard are all close to the center of the courtyard, so in the interpretation process, it is simplified to indicate the change of the midpoint value of the courtyard. However, this is indeed not sufficient. Due to the limitations of equipment and time, more detailed data of each part of the courtyard will be displayed in the simulation software in the future.
At present, we have carried out simulation work on part of the courtyard model, as shown in the figure below, these will appear in detail in the follow-up research work.
4)The way in which radiation is measured and treated is inadequate, some studies of solar geometry would be necessary together with more detailed irradiation data on vertical and horizontal surfaces.
Response 4) ：
Thank you for your comments on our work. In view of the experiments that have been carried out, we will combine the measured data to describe the solar radiation data of the horizontal and vertical surfaces in the Ecotect simulation in the future research.
5)Wind patterns are not detailed and there are not enough references to analyses air movement for the case study.
Response 5) ：
We added some wind environment-related discussions in Section 4.3. Combining some research cases to discuss the current courtyard wind environment. And we have carried out a simulation study of the courtyard wind environment. In view of the limited modification time, more detailed wind environment discussions will appear in the follow-up research. The new discussion on the courtyard wind environment results is as follows:
4.3 Wind
Courtyards C and D are significantly affected by strong external winds in this survey, which may be attributed to the geographic location of the two courtyards. Figure 4, shows that the whole village gets increasingly narrower from northeast to southwest, and the narrower the formation of the valley closer to the two mountains, the higher the wind speed. Courtyards C and D are closer to the depths of the gorge than courtyards A and B, hence, the influence of the wind environment inside the courtyard is more significant. The front door of courtyard C is SW235°, which is exactly towards the prevailing wind di-rec-tion in the gorge, so the average wind speed inside the courtyard is the highest. This is consistent with the findings of Yafeng Gao et al.[7] who studied the layout of campus buildings. In low-rise buildings, different opening ori-entations will affect the wind envi-ronment inside the enclosed building. Given the wind environment problem in the court-yard, the wind-shielding efficiency of the courtyard wall can be improved by adjusting the layout of the plane and the aspect ratios of the court-yard.[14]
6)Generally speaking, and due to the indefinite of architectural and constructive characteristics, detailed strategies to improve the design of the courtyards and consequently to preserve its heritage are somewhat lacking.
Response 6) ：
As you said, the focus of this study is mainly to explain the main environmental factors that affect the thermal environment of the plateau courtyard, so design changes and specific strategies are not clearly proposed. We have made minor adjustments to the formulation of the conclusion. More specific design improvement strategies need to be verified by simulation, so these will appear in follow-up research. Sincerely hope you can understand.
7)Due to these constraints, the conclusions of the study are also limited but I believe that the authors have demonstrated a positive potential to deal with this case report and that is the main reason why my assessment is eventually favorable and I would accept the article with some minor adjustments referring to the above.
Response 7) ：
Thank you for your suggestion. We have revised the article according to your suggestion. And start the follow-up simulation research work under your guidance. The climate on the plateau is harsh and it is very difficult to carry out scientific research. Thank you very much for understanding the difficulty of the research work. And take the time to provide valuable opinions on our research. On behalf of all team members, I would like to thank you again.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
This paper is improved and revised. I agree with the authors opinion. You need to double-check the points of grammar mistakes and reference writing method.
Author Response
Response to Reviewer 1 Comments
This paper is improved and revised. I agree with the authors opinion. You need to double-check the points of grammar mistakes and reference writing method.
Response：
Thank you very much for taking the time to review the revised manuscript and agree with our results. We have carefully checked and revised the grammatical errors and bibliographic format problems you raised. Sentences with grammatical errors have been revised and marked in red font. The format of the references has also been modified according to the journal reference format. Thank you very much for understanding the difficulty of the research work. And take the time to provide valuable opinions on our research. On behalf of all team members, I would like to thank you again.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
