Thermal Bridging Solutions: 
Improving Building Envelope Performance

Description

This CPD seminar gives architects, engineers and specifiers a practical understanding of thermal bridging and its effect on building envelope performance.

The session explains what thermal bridges are and how heat moves through the building envelope, then identifies where bridges most commonly occur in real projects: balconies and slab edges, masonry supports and shelf angles, cladding and facade attachments, parapets and roof penetrations, foundation-to-wall transitions and column bases.

It examines the consequences for energy performance, compliance, comfort, condensation and mould risk, and explains how bridging is assessed and quantified, covering temperature factors (fRsi), psi and chi values, the relationship between U-values and y-values, and thermal modelling, with reference to Approved Document L, BS 5250:2021, BS EN ISO 10211:2017, BS EN ISO 14683:2017 and BRE BR 497.

The final section introduces structural thermal break materials, the balance between thermal and structural performance (including thermoset and thermoplastic behaviour under sustained load), and the specification, coordination, fire, environmental and end-of-life considerations that shape a robust, buildable detail.

By the end of the seminar, participants will be able to:

• Explain what thermal bridging is
• Identify common thermal bridge locations
• Understand the impact on energy performance and condensation risk
• Recognise when structural thermal breaks may be needed
• Understand the key specification and coordination considerations

Duration: approximately 45 minutes plus questions.