50
EXTERNAL ENVELOPE
than 0.75. In more extreme conditions of high humidity, such as swimming pools, 0.9 would be anticipated.
Passivhaus: a special case The use of highly energy-efficient building materials and the prevention of thermal bridges are essential to Passivhaus. Until relatively recently, cantilevered building components – particularly balconies – posed a challenge. As they penetrate the insulating outer shell, the performance demanded could not initially be met effectively by thermal break products. However, product innovation has led to high spec ‘Passivhaus certified’ structural thermal breaks being available for such applications.
Heavy balconies
These demand a fine balance of design and technical optimisation, due to the greater load transferred back to the structural thermal break connectors. The load capacity of those connectors will therefore need to be such that they can transfer the higher loads. The likelihood here is that there will be more steel reinforcement required, which in turn will increase heat loss. However, as long as the total heat losses remain within acceptable levels
and the minimum temperature factor requirement (fRsi) is exceeded at a specific junction, then it is usually acceptable.
Responsible design for the future The UK has set in law a target to bring all its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. As part of that journey, there is a commitment to introducing the Future Homes Standard in 2025. A key part of that involves uplifting the minimum standard of whole building energy performance and improving the minimum insulation standards.
The thermal performance of the building envelope is therefore becoming increasingly important – and critical to this process is the avoidance of thermal bridging. Mitigating this problem may result in a limited upfront cost, but this represents a small investment when weighed against the long-term savings gained through energy savings and future maintenance issues. It is therefore crucial to shape tomorrow’s construction needs today, ensuring new builds will be future-proofed, and avoiding any need for retrofitting in years to come.
Simon Hill is product and marketing manager at Schöck
WWW.ARCHITECTSDATAFILE.CO.UK
ADF JUNE 2022
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