Purpose – This paper aims to address Passive Design Strategies (PDSs) in the traditional houses of Sabzevar and to assess the adaptation level of these strategies to the climate of the region. Design/methodology/approach – Identifying the Sabzevar climate, five samples of traditional houses have been chosen to be analyzed via two stages. In stage one, the efficiency of each strategy is weighted through qualitative analysis, and in stage two, the houses are simulated in EnergyPlus 9.3.0 to quantitatively evaluate their heating and cooling performances. Findings – The obtained results from the energy performance analysis of the case studies indicate that the houses present diverse energy performances in different seasons. Those buildings with PDSs for both cold-arid and hot-arid climates, however, are more adaptable cases to the climate of the region. Originality/value – The results of this study are expected to provide a basis of materials and methods for the climatic assessment of the traditional buildings, specifically traditional houses and will open new doors to future studies about the integration of these potential PDSs with the new technological developments and climate considerations as well as protecting the conservation policies of these buildings by means of optimizing and improving their energy performance and implementing effective retrofit scenarios

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