THERMAL BRIDGING

Background: Definition, Inventor, First Used & Other Information

 Uses (Both in daily life and particularly in Civil Engineering)

 Advantages

 Disadvantages

BACKGROUND

Definition
A thermal bridge, also known as a cold bridge, heat bridge, or thermal bypass, is an area or
component of an object that has greater thermal conductivity than the surrounding materials,
resulting in the least resistance path for heat transfer. Thermal bridges reduce the overall
thermal resistance of the object. The term is frequently used in the context of a building's
thermal envelope, where thermal bridges cause heat transfer into or out of conditioned space.
Thermal bridges in buildings can increase the amount of energy required to heat and cool a
space, cause condensation (moisture) within the building envelope, and cause thermal
discomfort. Thermal heat bridges can result in additional heat losses and require more energy
in colder climates (such as the United Kingdom).

Concept

Thermal bridge at junction. Heat moves from the floor structure through the wall because
there is no thermal break.
Heat transfer occurs through three mechanisms: convection, radiation, and conduction. A
thermal bridge is an example of heat transfer through conduction. The rate of heat transfer
depends on the thermal conductivity of the material and the temperature difference
experienced on either side of the thermal bridge. When a temperature difference is present,
heat flow will follow the path of least resistance through the material with the highest thermal
conductivity and lowest thermal resistance; this path is a thermal bridge. Thermal bridging
describes a situation in a building where there is a direct connection between the outside and
inside through one or more elements that possess a higher thermal conductivity than the rest
of the envelope of the building.

Identifying Thermal Bridges

According to the International Organization for Standardization, passive infrared
thermography (IRT) is used to survey buildings for thermal bridges (ISO). Building Infrared
Thermography can detect thermal signatures that indicate heat leaks. IRT detects thermal
anomalies caused by fluid movement through building elements, highlighting variations in
the thermal properties of the materials that cause a significant change in temperature. The
drop shadow effect, which occurs when the surrounding environment casts a shadow on the
building's facade, can lead to measurement accuracy issues due to inconsistent facade sun
exposure. Iterative Filtering (IF) is an alternative analysis method that can be used to solve
this problem.
Thermal image interpretation is performed by a professional in all thermographic building
inspections.

INVENTOR, FIRST USED AND OTHER INFORMATION

Thermal bridging would be defined by the ‘Princeton House Doctors’ in their ground-
breaking retrofits of the late 1970s in the leafy suburbs of New York State.

Research indicates that a working knowledge of cold bridging was part of

Scandinavian construction prior to the 1950s. However, linear and point thermal
bridging is first reported by Danish engineers Egeskjold and Korsgaard (who would
later design the first zero energy house in Copenhagen in 1974) when examining
moisture transfer in building envelopes. They had identified the risk of condensation
particularly with continuous concrete intermediate floor slabs, and advised on using
an internal cork insulation below the slab, and timber board above, to mitigate risk of
damage or discoloration. They also identified that modern tighter concrete
constructions were aggravating the risk of condensation at cold bridges.

In 1963 Brown and Wilson, writing in Canadian Building Digest, warned that
linear thermal bridges could cause condensation and structural damage in freeze
thaw conditions, which can be “readily overcome where insulation is placed over the
entire exterior”. They highlighted the impact of lateral heat movement in a non-
continuous construction, such as a timber frame detail commonly found in the US
and Canada at the time. There seemed to be a standard construction detail placing
cork on the interior of timber studs or structural members to increase surface
temperatures, which resulted in lateral heat movement from structural members
toward the intermediate construction materials.
The post-war brutalist movement saw an increase in concrete constructions in
Europe, the UK and Ireland, with thermal bridging between internal partitions and
slabs, and external walls, causing issues in most standard industrialised
constructions well into the 1970s, before insulation was widely used.

In a retrofit context, the oil crisis of 1973/74 saw the introduction of weatherisation
and insulation grants, and a general interest in energy conservation. A group of
academics in Princeton in 1977 would become the pioneers of building energy
retrofit, and would establish the basis for internal thermal bypass as distinct from
thermal bridging.

The Centre for Environmental Studies at Princeton University retrofitted recently built
houses in nearby Twin Rivers with a focus on space heating, water heating and air
conditioning. “House Doctor” inspections analysed air infiltration, heat loss to
insulated attics and non-insulated basements, conductive heat loss through heating
pipes, heating controls, setpoints, passive solar and appliance heat gains, and
payback periods. They used infrared cameras, thermal modelling, wind tunnel smoke
tests, and one time air pressurisation with tracer gas (sulphur hexafluoride) to
establish the rate of air change, which was ground-breaking in 1977.

What was critical about the study was its examination of the performance of the inner
building links to the unheated attic and basements. The team had modelled the
expected temperature of the cold attic spaces, but their on-site inspection found
them to be a far higher temperature, resulting in 35 per cent overall heat loss in
winter. They discovered that the cavity in the party walls between houses was
creating a thermal bypass. What they were highlighting was not a conductive heat
loss (thermal bridge) but a convective heat loss as warm air travelled behind the stud
and bypassed the attic insulation.

The team went to great lengths to seal the attic from living area and party wall. They
simulated the mean temperature reduction in the attic after sealing, but soon
discovered a discrepancy in the actual temperature reduction. Having resolved the
convective heat transfer the researchers were left scratching their heads and looking
for a parallel thermal transfer route.

Eventually they rounded on the 200 mm hollow cinder blocks in the party wall that
linked basements to inhabited floors to the attic. They discovered that the additional
heat transfer was carried both convectively in the block cavity and conductively in the
continuous block mass: thermal bridging
USES
Thermal Bridging in Construction
Thermal bridging is a term that is frequently used to refer to a building's thermal envelope,
which is a layer of the building enclosure system that resists heat flow between the interior
conditioned environment and the exterior unconditioned environment. Heat will transfer at
different rates through a building's thermal envelope depending on the materials present.
Because there is less thermal resistance at thermal bridge locations, heat transfer will be
greater than at insulation locations. In the winter, when the outside temperature is typically
lower than the inside temperature, heat flows outward and at a faster rate through thermal
bridges. The surface temperature on the inside of a thermal bridge of the building envelope
will be lower than the surrounding area. In the summer, when the exterior temperature is
typically higher than the interior temperature, heat flows inward, and at greater rates through
thermal bridges. This causes winter heat losses and summer heat gains for conditioned spaces
in buildings.
Despite insulation requirements specified by various national regulations, thermal bridging in
a building's envelope remain a weak spot in the construction industry. Moreover, in many
countries building design practices implement partial insulation measurements foreseen by
regulations. As a result, thermal losses are greater in practice that is anticipated during the
design stage.
An assembly such as an exterior wall or insulated ceiling is generally classified by a U-factor,
in W/m2·K, that reflects the overall rate of heat transfer per unit area for all the materials
within an assembly, not just the insulation layer. Heat transfer via thermal bridges reduces the
overall thermal resistance of an assembly, resulting in an increased U-factor.
Thermal bridges can occur at several locations within a building envelope; most commonly,
they occur at junctions between two or more building elements. Common locations include:

 Floor-to-wall or balcony-to-wall junctions, including slab-on-grade

and concrete balconies or outdoor patios that extend the floor slab through the
building envelope
 Roof/Ceiling-to-wall junctions, especially where full ceiling insulation depths
may not be achieved
 Window-to-wall junctions
 Door-to-wall junctions
 Wall-to-wall junctions
 Wood, steel or concrete members, such as studs and joists, incorporated in
exterior wall, ceiling, or roof construction
 Recessed luminaries that penetrate insulated ceilings
 Windows and doors, especially frames components
 Areas with gaps in or poorly installed insulation
 Metal ties in masonry cavity walls
Structural elements remain a weak point in construction, commonly leading to thermal
bridges that result in high heat loss and low surface temperatures in a room.
Masonry Buildings
While thermal bridges exist in various types of building enclosures, masonry
walls experience significantly increased U-factors caused by thermal bridges.
Comparing thermal conductivities between different building materials allows for assessment
of performance relative to other design options. Brick materials, which are usually used for
facade enclosures, typically have higher thermal conductivities than timber, depending on the
brick density and wood type. Concrete, which may be used for floors and edge beams in
masonry buildings are common thermal bridges, especially at the corners. Depending on the
physical makeup of the concrete, the thermal conductivity can be greater than that of brick
materials. In addition to heat transfer, if the indoor environment is not adequately vented,
thermal bridging may cause the brick material to absorb rainwater and humidity into the wall,
which can result in mold growth and deterioration of building envelope material

Curtain Wall
Similar to masonry walls, curtain walls can experience significantly increases U-factors due
to thermal bridging. Curtain wall frames are often constructed with highly conductive
aluminum, which has a typical thermal conductivity above 200 W/m·K. In comparison, wood
framing members are typically between 0.68 and 1.25 W/m·K. The aluminum frame for most
curtain wall constructions extends from the exterior of the building through to the interior,
creating thermal bridges.

Impacts of Thermal Bridging

Thermal bridging can result in increased energy required to heat or cool a conditioned space
due to winter heat loss and summer heat gain. At interior locations near thermal bridges,
occupants may experience thermal discomfort due to the difference in
temperature. Additionally, when the temperature difference between indoor and outdoor
space is large and there is warm and humid air indoors, such as the conditions experienced in
the winter, there is a risk of condensation in the building envelope due to the cooler
temperature on the interior surface at thermal bridge locations. Condensation can ultimately
result in mold growth with consequent poor indoor air quality and insulation degradation,
reducing the insulation performance and causing insulation to perform inconsistently
throughout the thermal envelope
ADVANTAGES
 It reduces the conduction of heat
 It helps in reduction of condensation.
 The usage of thermal bridge saves energy
 Thermal bridge helps to protect the environment

DISADVANTAGES
 The effect of insulation reduces
 The construction of a thermal bridge is not easy

Reference :
https://www.skyfilabs.com/project-ideas/thermal-bridging

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_bridge

Brown, W. and Wilson, A., 1963. Thermal bridges in buildings. Canadian Building Digest,
08.

1957. Work of the Rationalisation Committee for Building Assemblies. Copenhagen: The
Institution of Danish Civil Engineers.

Birkeland, O., 1979. Energy losses through thermal bridges. Batiment International, Building
Research and Practice, 7(5), pp.284-284.

Socolow, R., 1978. The Twin Rivers program on energy conservation in housing: highlights
and conclusions. Energy and Buildings, 1(3), pp.207-242.
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