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Thermal bridges
Publication
in residential buildings in Denmark
A part of the OPET work package: RUE in prefabricated buildings
ENERGIE
Brno 2002
OPET Czech Republic OPET CR
Organization for the Promotion of Energy Technologies
ENERGIE
In 2000 the OPET Network was extended to cover similarly oriented organisations
in the Countries of Central Europe (CCE), Candidate Countries and a number of
countries who have signed international co-operation agreements in the field of
RTD with the EU. In June 2000 the OPET Network consisted of 45 consortia
operating in Europe and other countries.
The Czech Republic is a member of the OPET Network through the OPET CR.
The OPET Network is unique structure connecting the demonstration and inno-
vation part of former European programmes JOULE-THERMIE and INNOVATION
with current ENERGIE programme that is a part of the 5th Framework Programme
(19982002). This connection makes it possible to cover both research and
demonstration activities related to the support of technology transfer and to put
into practice the results of RTD in the field of energy technologies and innovations.
The basic idea of the OPET Network also includes a wide discussion on the future
of European technology research and development realised in close collaboration
with practical needs of clients, particularly under the 5th Framework Programme
and other energy-oriented programmes.
Brno 2002
Written by:
Lars Olsen Division for Building Technology,
Niels Radisch Division for Energy Technology
Danish Technological Institute
Graphics:
grafické studio Klassic, s. r. o., Norbertov 53/5, Praha 6-Dejvice
Published in the frame of the project of European Union OPET Czech Republic OPET CR
(Organization for the Promotion of Energy Technologies, Czech Republic)
3.2. Standards 8
3.3. Reports 10
8. References 19
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1. INTRODUCTION
The present report is the Danish contribution to the OPET · European standards
work package "RUE in prefabricated buildings", led by · Residential buildings in Denmark
OPET Czech Republic. The Danish part is about residential
buildings and is to some extent based on Nordic work on The chapters 57 describe thermal bridges more generally:
thermal bridges. · Different types of thermal bridges
At a meeting in Prague April 19, 2002, the Danish · The consequences of thermal bridges
contribution was gone through, and this present report · Examples on solutions
includes what was agreed at the meeting.
To improve the building envelope by reducing thermal
Since the 1970s Denmark has set up some of the most bridges, the calculations as well as the building techniques
extensive/ambitious building regulations concerning the in- should not be too complicated. Another important point is that
sulation of the building envelope. By doing this, concern the demands on the energy performance of the buildings
has also been given to thermal bridges, as they become have to be backed by the building regulations.
increasingly important by low U-values.
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Thermal bridges in residential buildings in Denmark
2. CONCLUSION
A Nordic study showed that the transmission loss is likely The intention further to reduce the energy consumption in
to increase by 1050% when more correct calculations of the building sector puts more focus on the thermal bridges.
thermal bridges are introduced. It is especially thermal Calculations show that when no attention is given to
bridges in the walls around doors and windows, which thermal bridges in low energy buildings, the thermal
increase the overall transmission loss. bridges can amount up to more than 60% of the total
transmission losses.
During the last years, attention has been given to thermal
bridges in windows. By reducing the width of the window This report shows the large influence of thermal bridges,
frames and improving their insulation the total U-values of but it also shows that there are good possibilities to reduce
windows have been improved by 1030%. the amount of them and at the same time improve
the thermal comfort in the buildings.
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8.1.2: External building parts, including windows and In 8.1.6 the Building Regulations refer to DS 418 (Danish
doors, are due to the risk of condensation only allowed to guidelines for calculation of heat loss).
have an unessential amount of thermal bridges. The ener-
3.2. Standards
3.2.1. European standards
A number of European standards are published to provide one part with undisturbed construction with one-
ways of calculation and measuring heat losses. Thermal dimensional loss, another part with linear thermal bridges
bridges are an important part of these standards. taking two dimensional heat flow into consideration and
a third part with point thermal bridges taking three
One calculation system is described in EN ISO 14683. dimensional thermal heat flow into consideration.
It divides the transmission heat loss from a building into
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Thermal bridges in residential buildings in Denmark
Large emphasis is laid on setting up calculation models to One of the standards covers heat loss through
do calculations with sufficient accuracy (EN ISO 10211-1 the foundation (EN ISO 13370). The method is based on
and 2). a dynamic analytical method and takes the size of the floor
The standards leave different options to apply different sets into consideration. The standard assumes that the heat
of dimension systems. The dimension system and also the flows through the floor, the soil to the exterior ground
definition have influence on the numerical value of the surface. By doing numerical calculation in combination with
thermal bridge. The two principal types are external and the method, it is possible to apply the method also to
internal dimensions. Applying external dimensions for ex- special foundation constructions. But very few default
ternal edges will lead to significant smaller linear thermal values for the joint floor-wall are given in this standard. So
transmittances than if internal dimensions are used. For the user will often have difficulties in achieving accurate
external edges the value can in some cases even be values without doing detailed calculations.
negative. In these cases the value is assumed to be zero.
The CEN standards have given the general guidelines for
In one standard (EN ISO 14683) a set of default values is estimating the effect of thermal bridges, but have not given
given. The values are general and do not include many a comprehensive set of values for the different thermal
details. The values of the linear thermal transmittance bridges.
include the total heat loss through the thermal bridges but
subtracted the one dimensional heat loss corresponding to
the undisturbed part of the construction.
3.2.2. Danish standard "Rules for calculation of Heat loss from Buildings"
The Danish standard DS 418 "Rules for calculation of Heat the total heat loss through the construction with the thermal
Loss from Buildings" /4/, provides a simple and practical bridge but after subtraction of the different (local) one
method for assessing heat loss. It is the key-standard for dimensional heat losses. These one dimensional losses
the calculation of heat losses from buildings to check if the come from both the undisturbed part of the construction
transmission loss observes the Danish building regulations. and from parts where thermal bridges occur. This method
is slightly different from the tables in the EN-standards,
A revised 6th edition of DS 418 is expected to be available where there are bigger differences between tabulated
May 2002. The standard has adopted the new EN-stan- values due to another definition of the construction parts.
dards. This is made in a way to reduce the amount of
written pieces of information which the user has to go Tables of the linear thermal transmittances in the window-
through to be able to apply the standard. Furthermore wall joint are organised in dependence of the materials of
the standard is supplemented with a number of default the walls and the thickness of the thermal break.
values for the most important construction types in typical
Danish buildings. The calculation of the thermal loss through the ground is
The standard is primarily used as a basis for the calculation based on a calculation of the dynamic loss through the
of the annual energy performance of buildings, while the ground. The external temperature is assumed to be varying
calculation of the losses for the design of the heating sinusoidal corresponding to the annual variation. A model
system is expected to be covered by other standards. of the floor construction is set up including a part of the
Below parts of DS 418, which might be of special interest ground. The heat loss through the construction is calcu-
to other countries, are summed up. lated until quasi-stationary equlibrium is obtained typically
after a number of sinusoidal periods. The linear thermal
The dimension system is changed to primarily external transmittance of the foundation is calculated as the total
dimensions. The advantage is that in a number of cases heat loss in the heating season subtracted by the one
the heat loss will be on the safe side, i.e. the losses will be dimensional heat loss through the different construction
larger than if a more accurate calculation was made. parts. The one dimensional heat flow through the floor is
defined to be the same for the whole floor as the heat flow
The standard has a number of tables with the linear thermal in the centre of the building. In the standard, linear thermal
transmittance for thermal bridges. The values are based on transmittance is given for typical Danish foundation details.
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3.3. Reports
In Denmark different reports dealing with thermal bridges methods give normally the lowest accuracy, if the values do
are elaborated. not cover the actual type of construction.
The aim of the NKB /1/ report is to introduce the concept of Another report /3/ contains an overview of 12 different
thermal bridges and outline the consequences of including external post insulation systems. The different systems are
thermal bridges in the calculation of heat loss from evaluated regarding construction, thermal insulation,
buildings. Different thermal bridges are defined. This is durability and economy.
described in a later chapter 5. The calculation principles
and guidelines on calculation of thermal bridges are des- The third report /2/ is concerning design of new low energy
cribed. The contribution of thermal bridges to heat loss is houses. The report contains information on how to take
compared with the total transmission loss from typical a number of aspects into consideration in order to obtain
Nordic Buildings. In the report different default values of a low energy house. In the field of thermal bridges it is
thermal bridges are suggested. The effect of thermal brid- especially air tightening of buildings which are of interest.
ges can be estimated by different accuracy. Simplified
3.3.1. NKB
In an example of a calculation which demonstrates The tabulated values prepared by CEN are not well suited
the significance of thermal bridges in typical Nordic for the structures used in the Nordic types of structures.
Buildings it is shown that the transmission loss is likely to
increase by 1050 %, if thermal bridge calculations are Where special structures are used, either tables with
introduced in conformity with the CEN standards. values on the safe side can be used or two-dimensional
calculations can be performed for the structure concerned.
The thermal bridge increment to a high degree will depend These two-dimensional calculations involve additional
on how well the thermal bridges are detailed, and how well work, but there are computerised catalogues available
insulated the buildings are. In particularly it is the thermal which should make this work a lot easier.
bridges in the walls around windows and doors and through
foundations, which make a large contribution to the aggre- Calculations for three dimensional thermal bridges are
gate heat loss. On the other hand, thermal bridges through normally not necessary.
vertical junctions between walls normally make only a small
contribution. It is necessary to establish a dimension system, as the EN
standards are optional in this respect.
It is considered that EN standards can be used for thermal
bridge calculations, but that there is a need to modify and Application of EN standards will necessitate guidelines and
adapt them, so they should not be too complicated for the information activities, since calculations for thermal bridges
use by designers. will be a new approach for most consultants.
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Thermal bridges in residential buildings in Denmark
4. TYPES OF RESIDENTIAL
BUILDINGS IN DENMARK
4.1. Typical designs of residential buildings
The following building designs used in Denmark are covered private or social double/row houses and 7,400 as private or
by the Building Regulations for Small Houses (BR 98-S): social apartments in blocks.
· Single-family houses
· Double houses (beside each others) Traditionally houses in Denmark are made out of bricks
· Row houses which are manufactured from clay, which is found in
the underground. One important reason for that is fire
The Building Regulations (BR 95) comprises: protection.
· Two-storey houses with one apartment above the other
· Multi-storey apartment blocks A minor part mostly smaller, newer ones are made in
a Swedish style out of wood. Experiments have been
In the year 2001 a total of 17,400 dwellings were built in carried out with wooden constructions in bigger houses.
Denmark 6,000 as private single family houses, 4,000 as
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5. THERMAL-TECHNICAL DEFECTS
THERMAL BRIDGES
Thermal bridges come from the design and building phase. On the following pages types 14 are described in details.
In this project mainly the design based thermal bridges are The most common reasons for thermal bridges are
mentioned. explained. A combination of different types of thermal brid-
ges occurs very often in the same building component.
1. Geometrical thermal bridges
2. Structural thermal bridges
3. Systematic thermal bridges
4. Convective thermal bridges
5. Air tightness problems
At the corners and edges of a building, a thermal bridge building surfaces. Geometrical thermal bridges can be
occurs at the junction between wall and ceiling, wall and approximately taken into consideration in calculations if, at
wall, and wall and floor. At these places the geometrical external edges, the external dimensions are used instead
thermal bridges are due to changes in the direction of the of internal dimensions.
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Thermal bridges in residential buildings in Denmark
Figure 3: Examples of structural thermal bridges. Junction between wall and balcony slab and
penetration for services
Typical examples of structural thermal bridges are: · Penetrations for various services such as water pipes,
· Points where e.g. projecting beams and slabs pass chimneys, ventilation ducts and cables.
through the building envelope between the cold and · In many cases structural thermal bridges are not taken
warm side of the building. into consideration, when the heat losses from
· Openings in walls for windows and doors. the buildings are calculated.
Systematic thermal bridges occur in many building bridges is normally allowed for in a simplified manner in
components. They may be due to wall ties or joints in calculating heat losses from buildings.
masonry, or to timbers in stud walls. This type of thermal
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The term convective thermal bridges is used here to denote Finally room air may also pass into the structure. This air
places in structures where unintended air movements stream gives rise to a heat loss which is included in the
occur inside the structure. These may be due to natural ventilation loss. But the air stream will also cause moisture
convection in gaps, through gaps or in the insulation itself, to accumulate in the outer part of the building envelope,
or between gaps on each side of the insulation. It is also with a reduction in insulation performance as a result.
These types of thermal bridges are at present allowed for There is only limited knowledge regarding the extent of this
by way of general increment of either conductivity or thermal type of thermal bridge in practice. In some cases there is
transmittance. a additional heat loss where outside air can penetrate
Convective thermal bridges are not given detailed below the roof insulation. Convective thermal bridges can
treatment in the standard EN ISO 6946. be greatly reduced by proper design and workmanship.
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Thermal bridges in residential buildings in Denmark
6. NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
OF THERMAL-TECHNICAL DEFECTS
6.1. Energy related consequences
Low energy constructions are sensible to thermal bridges. · The heat loss from the junctions of the external walls is in
To illustrate the proportion of the total transmission loss the low end (13%).
through the building envelope, which is due to thermal · The heat loss through the windows gives the biggest
bridges, calculations have been made /1/. Ventilation contribution to the total heat loss.
losses are not included in these calculations. · In older Danish buildings (high value) with average
thermal bridges the proportion of heat loss from thermal
The thermal bridges are divided into 3 groups: bridges for both building types is 1920%.
· low value if great care is taken to reduce heat losses · With a modern Danish insulation standard (medium
· medium value typical design value), but unchanged (medium value) thermal bridges,
· high value when a structure is built with a large thermal their contribution will rise to 3032%. With heavy thermal
bridge, e. g. a solid construction between the front and bridges (high value) the contribution will be 58%. With
rear leaves of a wall minimum thermal bridges their contribution will be
reduced to 13%.
In the same way as for the structural details, three levels of · In low energy buildings (low value) with average thermal
transmission loss (U-values) are set out: bridges the proportion of heat loss from thermal bridges
· low value typical for low energy constructions for both building types is 4851%. With a modern
· medium value corresponds to the Danish building insulation standard (medium value) but unchanged
regulations thermal bridges, their contribution will amount to
· high value represents a substantially larger heat loss 3032%.
than the medium value (as the 1970s)
It is evident that it is important to assess linear thermal
In this way 2 buildings have been calculated one single bridges where there are a lot of these around windows and
storey building (floor area 120 m2 windows + doors along horizontal lines, while the contribution due to external
21,6 m2) and one 3-storey building (floor area 432 m2 vertical edges on walls is normally moderate.
windows + doors 265 m2). The most important results show
that:
· Thermal bridges around the windows (not the panes) give
the largest individual contribution (3148%).
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there will often be isolated areas on the inside of Maintenance and health
the building envelope, where the surface temperature is The consequences of condensation or a very high relative
lower than before supplementary insulation. humidity at the surfaces are that the maintenance
requirement is increased, because surface treatment has
In order to avoid condensation in buildings with severe to be applied more frequently.
thermal bridges, it is necessary to ensure that relative Another problem with condensation is the risk for mould
humidity in the room is sufficiently low. This is achieved by growth causing allergy and other health problems.
making sure that production of moisture is low, and that
there is a sufficiently large rate of air change. In the case of Comfort
supplementary insulation on the inside, there may also be Thermal bridges can also cause thermal comfort problems.
a risk that the air change rate has to be increased; this may If there is large poorly insulated or uninsulated areas of the
give rise to increased energy consumption. walls, the surfaces will be cold in the winter which can
cause cold draughts. Leakages in the building envelope
In existing buildings there are a number of problems at can also lead to draughts. The cold draughts will cause low
present due to a level of humidity that is too high in relation floor temperatures. The cold draughts and low surface
to moisture production, air change rate and the class of temperatures can both give thermal comfort problems.
thermal bridge. If the surface temperatures were higher,
these problems would be more limited in scope.
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Thermal bridges in residential buildings in Denmark
7. EXAMPLES OF SOLUTIONS
OF DEFECTS
The measures mentioned are normally used on existing buildings.
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Thermal bridges in residential buildings in Denmark
8. REFERENCES
1] The significance of thermal bridges for heat loss from EN ISO 6946, Building components and elements
buildings. L. Olsen, G. Jóhannesson. Nordic Committee Thermal resistance and thermal transmittance Calcu-
on Building Regulations, NKB, Energy Committee, lation method. (ISO 6946).
NKB Committee and Work Reports, 1996: 10E.
EN ISO 10211-1, Thermal bridges in building construction
2] Design of low energy buildings, A collection of Heat flow and surface temperatures, Part 1. General
experiences from low energy buildings. (in Danish), calculation methods (ISO 10211-1).
L. Olsen. Byggeteknisk Institut, Dansk Teknologisk
Institut, Laboratoriet for Varmeisolering, Danmarks EN ISO 10211-2, Thermal bridges in building construction
Tekniske Hojskole, Energiteknologi, Dansk Teknologisk Calculation of heat flows and surface temperatures, Part
institut. September 1993. 2. Linear thermal bridges (ISO 10211-2).
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ISBN 80-902689-6-X