flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

New guide for prevention of thermal bridging in commercial buildings

New guide for prevention of thermal bridging in commercial buildings

The guide aims to overcome obstacles with respect to mitigating thermal bridging to reduce energy consumption in buildings.


By Morrison Hershfield | August 11, 2014
Photo courtesy BC Hydro
Photo courtesy BC Hydro

Morrison Hershfield has announced that the Building Envelope Thermal Bridging Guide – Analysis, Applications, and Insights is now public and can be downloaded from BC Hydro. The guide aims to overcome obstacles confronting the industry with respect to mitigating thermal bridging to reduce energy consumption in buildings.

The guide was developed by Morrison Hershfield in collaboration with co-sponsors and industry partners.  Co-sponsors include BC Hydro Power Smart, Canadian Wood Council, Fortis BC, FPInnovations, and Homeowner Protection Office. Industry partners helped extend the scope of the guide to include many additional details.

The principle goal of these collaborating organizations is to promote energy-efficiency in buildings by increasing awareness of the impact of and methods to mitigate thermal bridging. To meet these goals, the guide addresses a number of obstacles currently confronting our industry by:

  • Cataloging the thermal performance of common building envelope assemblies and interface details.

  • Providing data-driven guidance that will make it easier for the industry to comprehensively consider thermal bridging in building codes and bylaws, design, and whole building energy simulations.

  • Examining the costs associated with improving the thermal performance of opaque building envelope assemblies and interface details, and forecasting the energy impact for several building types and climates.

  • Evaluating the cost effectiveness of improving the building envelope through more thermally efficient assemblies, interface details, and varying insulation levels.

  • The guide, which is broken into three main sections for ease of use, contains helpful information for technical committees for energy standards, regulators, utilities, architects, mechanical designers, building envelope consultants, energy modellers, developers, manufacturers and trade organizations.  

The guide outlines how to effectively account for thermal bridging and is backed up by an extensive catalogue of thermal performance data. This information is essential for practitioners evaluating building envelope thermal performance.

Researchers and regulators will be interested in the sections focused on market transformation, which includes an evaluation of cost effectiveness and energy savings in common large building types.

Related Stories

| Jul 10, 2014

Berkeley Lab opens 'world's most comprehensive building efficiency simulator'

  DOE’s new FLEXLAB is a first-of-its-kind simulator that lets users test energy-efficient building systems individually or as an integrated system, under real-world conditions.

| Jul 10, 2014

Steinberg SF Studio launches in San Francisco, plans to transform its own office space

Grant and Saheba left their previous architectural firms, AECOM and Handel respectively, because they saw the opportunity to bring their agile, provocative design aesthetic to clients in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Oakland.

| Jul 9, 2014

Dragon-inspired hotel conveys Vietnamese hospitality [2014 Building Team Awards]

An international Building Team unites to create Vietnam’s first JW Marriott luxury property.

| Jul 9, 2014

Harvard Business School to build large-scale conference center

Expected to open in 2018, the facility will combine the elements of a large-scale conference center, a performance space, and an intimate community forum. The new building will be designed by Boston-based William Rawn and Associates.

| Jul 9, 2014

Top U.S. cities for design professionals

Though New York and Los Angeles are often seen as the sole hubs for design jobs, other design epicenters are scattered between the coasts.

| Jul 9, 2014

The one misstep that could be slowing your company’s growth

Change. It’s inevitable. And success for any professional may very well depend on how well we adapt to it. SPONSORED CONTENT

| Jul 9, 2014

First Look: SOM's design for All Aboard Florida Fort Lauderdale rail station

The lightweight and luminous design "responds to its setting and creates a striking infrastructural icon for the city," said SOM Design Partner Roger Duffy. 

| Jul 8, 2014

Fast-track naval hospital sparks sea change in project delivery [2014 Building Team Awards]

Through advanced coordination methods and an experimental contract method, the Building Team for Camp Pendleton’s new hospital campus sets a new standard for project delivery.

| Jul 8, 2014

Does Zaha Hadid’s Tokyo Olympic Stadium have a design flaw?

After being criticized for the cost and size of her stadium design for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, a Japanese architect points out a major design flaw in the stadium that may endanger the spectators.

| Jul 8, 2014

Frank Lloyd Wright's posthumous gas station opens in Buffalo

Eighty-seven years after Frank Lloyd Wright designed an ornamental gas station for the city of Buffalo, the structure has been built and opened to the public—inside an auto museum. 

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Museums

The Tampa Museum of Art will soon undergo a $110 million expansion

In Tampa, Fla., the Tampa Museum of Art will soon undergo a 77,904-sf Centennial Expansion project. The museum plans to reach its $110 million fundraising goal by late 2024 or early 2025 and then break ground. Designed by Weiss/Manfredi, and with construction manager The Beck Group, the expansion will redefine the museum’s surrounding site.



Reconstruction & Renovation

Movement to protect historic buildings raises sharp criticism

While the movement to preserve historic buildings has widespread support, it also has some sharp critics with well-funded opposition groups springing up in recent years. Some opponents are linked to the Stand Together Foundation, founded and bankrolled by the Koch family’s conservative philanthropic organization, according to a column in Governing magazine.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021