Improvement of the summer cooling induced by an earth-to-air heat exchanger integrated in a residential building under hot and arid climate

•A dynamic model successfully validated for modelling residential buildings equipped with EAHE is developed.•The building indoor conditions in summer can be significantly enhanced by using EAHE and insulation.•The insulated light buildings are more effective than the insulated heavy buildings in hot and arid climate.•Effect of building materials, including insulation materials, combined with that of EAHE is also investigated.•Due to its influence, the building geometrical aspect is a parameter which should be carefully chosen.