Thermal bridge - What is it and how to avoid it
by Mark Row
What is a Thermal Bridge?
Thermal bridge is created when materials with low thermal insulating characteristics come in contact with each other and create a funnel of unobstructed heat flow through that area, bypassing and rendering useless surrounding layers of insulation materials which are suppose to minimize transfer of heat. Heat loss areas mostly are located in walls, floor and roof. Thermal bridge also occurs inside the house, around the doors, windows and any other openings on the wall. An un-insulated home, about 30% of heat loss goes through the roof, 13% through the doors and windows, 16% through the walls and 16% through the floor.
How to avoid a Thermal Bridge?
Thermal bridges may be avoided with an appropriate structural composition and through insulation of the existing thermal bridges. These problems should be taken care of not only for energy saving and costs decreases, but also for the increase of the building's lifespan.
At the design level, it is important to choose construction systems and elements that reduce surface losses as much as.
An advanced, efficient and safe solution is to cover the entire external wall with a continuous layer of thermal insulation, for instance polystyrene insulation boards. There are several alternatives of this system on the market.
Example of a correctly insulated external wall
1. Expanded polystyrene or mineral wool
2. Protection layer
3. Brick masonry or autoclaved cellular concrete
4. Reinforced concrete.
Thermal bridging may be a huge problem especially in older homes that are less likely to be fitted with cavity walls and the very best insulation. Cavity wall insulation can solve this problem. It can also reduce condensation inside the building. Most common cavity wall insulation materials are glass and rock wool, and polyurethane foam. Building a partition wall filled with mineral wool or at least fitted with rigid insulation boards is a common solution for internal wall insulation. External wall insulation is also great because it fills cracks and gaps in the brickwork, increases resistance against the elements and lengthens the life time of your walls by protecting the brickwork.
Learn more about characteristics and types of insulation materials for Partition Wall Insulation and External Wall Insulation Systems.
In order to minimize the problem of heat lost caused by this phenomenon there are some other things that can be done. First of all, replacing old windows with new UPVC windows is an effective solution. Cracks between the wall and window frame should be filled in and draughtproofed.
Another effective way to reduce heat loss is to insulate the roof. Fiberglass, mineral wool or rock wool are most commonly used insulation materials for this task.
In the case of individual homes, floor insulation is a necessity. On your ground floor you can seal the gaps between floors and skirting boards to reduce draught by insulating the space under the floorboards. Most of older homes have suspended timber floors. Removing the floorboards and laying mineral wool insulation, timber floors can be insulated and energy consumption reduced.
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