Buildings account for nearly half of the UK’s total carbon emissions and are therefore targeted for significant improvement by regulations. In response to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive and the UK Climate Change Act 2008, national regulations are requiring ever more energy efficient buildings. 

In the UK climate, heat losses through the building envelope (the shell of a structure separating the outside from the inside environment) account for more than 75% of the total heat loss including air leakage. The thermal insulation provided by the building envelope is key to energy efficiency but thermal bridges, which are weak spots in the insulation, lead to local heat losses that reduce the thermal efficiency. There are cases where it is necessary to detail steel components that penetrate the building envelope or where the structure is connected to foundations or other elements, therefore this should be done without causing excessive heat loss or causing a condensation risk. 

Why Choose SCI 

SCI has experience on the thermal performance and thermal bridging in the building envelope from involvement in past studies and work1, and SCI has published guidance on the topic including two publications2.  SCI’s flexibility means we can offer bespoke consultancy by providing thermal modelling analysis, inhouse, and holistic consultancy on the thermal performance of the building envelope by using specialist thermal analysis software in order to assess: 

• Planar thermal performance (U-value determination)

• Linear heat losses (ψ-value determination) 

• Risks of surface condensation (fRsi value determination)

1 Multi-year European Projects:

TABASCO (contract RFSR-CT-00028)

BATIMASS (contract RFSR-CT-00033) 

2 Publications on thermal bridging:

Thermal bridging in steel construction (P410)

Thermal Bridging in Light Steel Framing & Modular Construction (P411)

Learn more about Thermal modelling. 

Contact Constantinos Kyprianou for more information or to discuss your requirements..