THERMAL BRIDGE ANALYSIS

An Introduction for Passive House Consultants

Presented by:
Chris West
Certified Passive House Consultant
Certified Green Professional

info@ecohousesofvt.com

Eco Houses of Vermont, LLC

Definition of a Thermal Bridge

EN 10211 definition
Part of the building envelope where the otherwise uniform thermal resistance is
significantly changed by:

a)full or partial penetration of the building envelope by

materials with a different thermal conductivity
and/or
b)a change in thickness of the fabric
and/or
c)a difference between internal and external areas,
such as occur at wall/floor/ceiling junctions.

Where are Thermal Bridges found?

Definition of a Thermal Bridge 2

Units for Thermal Bridges
IP R-values:
IP U-values:
U-value = 1/R-value

hr*ft^2*F/Btu
Btu/hr*ft^2*F
U-value is the inverse of the R-value

Linear Resistivity per inch: hr*ft*F/Btu in.

Linealr Conductivity: Btu/hr*ft*F
This is also known as the Psi () value.
Conductivity = 1/Resistivity*12
The 2D Thermal Analysis Program Therm* uses Conductivity units, U-values.

*Therm Available for free through www.lbnl.gov

Definition of a Thermal Bridge 3

We know the places to look.
We know the units to use.
What values are we looking for to determine if something is a thermal bridge?

Passive House Defines a Thermal Bridge as:

A positive Psi value (Linear Thermal Conductivity) > 0.006 Btu/hr*ft*F

Linear Thermal Conductivity is a Line

U-value is an Area.

(Btu/hr*ft*F)
(Btu/hr*ft^2*F)

What do we do with Therm?

Therm is a 2-D Thermal Modeling Program
Designed by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Your tax dollars at work!

How does Therm Work?

In-Homogeneous Construction Analysis

Therm can tell us Surface Temps

Use Therm to test anticipated Surface

Temperatures
Important for Comfort
Condensation issues often in corners
where dew point is reached
Mold forms at Surface Temp of 53.7 F
(with R.H. of 50%).

What is 2D analysis?

How do we use Therm?

Psi? How do we get from Psi to Heat Loss?

With Q we can find the benefit

Use building heat loss analysis program like the Passive House
Planning Package (PHPP) we can find out how much heat we are
losing through a construction junction.
This can then be equated with a particular heating system (efficiency)
and then we can see how much money the client will spend on
heating the building as it is.
We can also change materials or the makeup of a construction and
model what these changes will mean for energy savings.
Comparing these savings with the cost of materials and labor
gives us the cost benefit of various constructions.

How do we use Therm?

Model the construction and input the thermal conductances
of the materials for each component construction and for the
conjunction of these components.
For instance a Wall to Slab detail:

Wall

Slab

Wall to Slab

We choose lengths for the conjunction

Lengths? Why lengths?
Remember Psi is given in Btu/ft hr F
U is given in Btu/ft^2 hr F
If we multiply the U value by the length we get the Psi.
The Length is of the utmost import. Choose the wrong length and
your analysis is worthless.
Length, as measured at the inside surface of the construction in the

How to choose the length?

Length of the component (wall or slab here), measured on the
inside surface is to be 42 or 3x the thickness of the component
if 3xs the thickness is more than 42.
Wall is 16.5 thick
16.5 x 3 = 49.5
49.5
49.5 > 42 thus in conjunction
model use 49.5 as inside
Length of the wall.

16.5

Length of the

nd
2

component

Slabe is 20 thick
20 x 3 = 60
60 > 42 thus in conjunction
model use 60 as inside
Length of the wall.
60
20

Calculate the U-value of the

separate components.
Make a copy of your slab and wall separate and put them into
their own Therm Model.
Important! When you are modeling in Therm you need to set your Therm Parameters!
Error % to 2% (windows 4%) and Max Iterations to 10 (in Therm under
Options>Preference>ThermFileOptions[tab]).

!!! Inhomogeneous constructions need to be dealt with

in a particular manner. Stud walls, etc. need special attention when being modeled!

Modeling Constructions in Therm

How you model a wall depends on how you are looking at it!
If you are modeling a wall constructions
Wall to Wall connection you are looking
down on a cross section of the construction
from above. You need to model every
material and its place in the construction.

Modeling Constructions in Therm 2

If you are modeling a wall constructions
Wall to Slab you are looking
through the construction .

Use of Composite Materials

Therm is much better at U-value calculation that PHPP!
Modeling a part of the wall in Therm will give you a more accurate U-value.
We, therefore, model each construction in Therm and use these U-values in the
Psi Calculation instead of using the PHPP value. This is a good way to check to see
if the PHPP has properly modeled the U-value.

How do we calculate the Average Concuctivity of a Composite Material?

Rembember the Materials in Therm use Conductivities (k).
The conductivity is the inverse of the resistance per inch.
k = 1/(R/in)
R/in you can get out of R-values list in PHPP or from Manufacturer

Calculating Composite Concuctivity

for Therm

Making a (composite) material

Symmetrical model for stud walls!

If you are modeling a stud wall from above (not as a composite
material) for say a Wall to Wall conjuncture.
You must make your model symmetrical or the U-value will be wrong!

This

Not This

This holds true for the full model

Back to the Wall to Slab Calculation

We have the components and the conjuncture modeled.
We made our composite materials.
Now for the Boundary Conditions!
Boundary conditions are exactly what they sound like. You are telling
Therm what the temperature and the thermal resistance of the air
film (layer of air on the exterior and interior surface) is.

Set your Boundary Condition

Click on BC boundary conditions

Choosing your boundary conditions

This is tricky. Look in the R-values sheet of the PHPP.
SURFACE FILM RESISTANCE VALUES
INTERIOR

EXTERIOR

Upward Heat Flow

Horizontal Heat Flow
Downward Heat Flow
Exposed
Screened

BELOW GRADE

Exterior Temp is 14 F (-10 C)

Interior Temp is 68 F (20 C)

R-value

0.57
0.74
0.97
0.23
0.45
0

Here are the Surface

Film Resistance Values
Of course Therm wants
it as a U-value which is
1/R.

Again, this is for your Vanilla situations. Simple outside and inside
ambient air. If you have below grade, vented roof, etc. it gets more
Complex.

Boundary Conditions for components

Adiabadic (no Temp difference or Air film)
14 F (-10 C) : 0.23 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)
35.6 F (2 C) : 0.00 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)

U1 from Therm: 0.0212 Btu/hr*ft^2*F

Adiabadic (no Temp difference or Air film)
14 F (-10 C) : 0.23 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)
68 F (20 C) : 0.74 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)

U2 from Therm: 0.0176 Btu/hr*ft^2*F

The Length in this analysis is not important as long as it is inhomogeneous!

Boundary Conditions for Slab Wall

Our example:
5 Boundary Conditions:
Adiabadic (no Temp difference or Air film)
14 F (-10 C) : 0.23 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)
68 F (20 C) : 0.74 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)
68 F (20 C) : 0.97 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)
35.6 F (2 C) : 0.00 hr*ft^2*F/Btu (R-value Air Film)
The last one is for dirt. Actually the system used is to use the exterior
temp. down to the front of the footer and the 35.6 F from under the
slab to the bottom of the footer.
Lastly we need to make a U-Tag for the inside BCs. Click them. Hit enter and give a name.

Now ask Therm to do the calculation

Results:
You thought we were done! Ha! First we need to measure the length
over which the U-value is calculated. We want the exterior dimensions.
82.5

69.5

These lengths added are the lenght

L(therm) = L1 + L2 = 82.5 + 69.5 = 152

Giving us a U-value for the conjunction of 0.0133 Btu/hr*ft^2*F

Now to get a Psi

Lamda2D = (Utherm x L1+L2)

This is the reduction

factor for the part
that is underground.

Lamda1D = (U1 x L1) + (U2 x L2 x 0.6)

= Lamda2D Lamda1D
So
= 0.0133*152/12 (0.0212*82.5/12+0.0176*69.5/12*.06
= -0.021
A negative thermal bridge! Great construction!

Where do we put this Psi value? 1

Area Tab: Group # list: 21 for Thermal Bridge Ambient

22 for Thermal Bridge Perimeter
23 for Thermal Bridge Ground Floor

Where do we put this Psi value? 2

Group # (21, 22 or 23)

Linear Length over

which the Psi is valid
ie: length of perimeter

Psi value from

calculation

Where can you see the effect of your

Psi value?

How can you make this makes

sense for a client?
Whenever you have an amount of heat it can be translated into a cost to fulfill that
heating demand.
Here is a sample from an analysis where I progressively added insulation and
showed the benefit in dollars saved or spent.

In PHPP Window Psi Install Limited

Windows Tab in PHPP Frame Type Psi Install Thermal Bridge

What does this mean in real life?

Three parts to a window install

We all know a window has four outer edges with three names:
Sill
Jamb
Header
In PHPP Window Type Sheet you only get the option of giving one (1) Psi Install, yet
there are often three different Psi Installs one fore each of the edges. This is due to
the differing amount of wood and insulation at each of these places.
How can I get PHPP to more accurately give the window install heat loss (or savings)?
There is a trick, which is authorized by PHI, the maker of the PHPP.

Window installations - Sill

= 0.009 Btu/ft*hr*F

Window installations - Jamb

= 0.000 Btu/ft*hr*F

Window installations - Header

= 0.001 Btu/ft*hr*F

Put 1into Psi Install in Win Type

If you put 1s in the Window Type Tab under the Psi Install
It gives you the ability to put the Psi Install Sill, Psi Install Jamb and Psi Install Header
in the Windows sheet where you would normally put a 1 or 0 for an adjacent wall
or mullion.

Put Psi Install Sill, Jamb or Header into

Window under Installation

In this way you more accurately represent what the

Thermal Bridging is at those places.
Authorized to be used by PHI.

Thank you and

Questions?
Chris West
Eco Houses of Vermont, LLC
Jericho, Vt
info@ecohousesofvt.com