THERM - 01 - Beginning Users

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Introduction to Thermal Bridge

Modeling in LBNL THERM
THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS
Feb. 27, 2018
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Building-Type, LLC
Ed May & John Mitchell
Ed@bldgtyp.com
John@bldgtyp.com
www.bldgtyp.com
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• Introduction
• THERM Libraries
• Using Underlays
• Creating Geometry
• Assigning Materials
• Boundary Conditions
• Simulating
• Calculating a ‘PSI Value’
© BLDGTYP, LLC. 2018

This presenta:on is protected by U.S. and interna:onal copyright laws. Reproduc:on, distribu:on, display, and
use of this presenta:on without wriHen permission of BLDGTYP, LLC is prohibited.
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From ISO 10211
“thermal bridge: part of the building envelope where the otherwise uniform thermal resistance
is significantly changed by full or partial penetration of the building envelope by materials with a
different thermal conductivity, and/or a change in thickness of the fabric, and/or a difference
between internal and external areas, such as occur at wall/floor/ceiling junctions"
Thermal bridges, which in general occur at any junction between building

components or where the building structure changes composition, have two
consequences compared with those of the unbridged structure:
1. a change in heat flow rate, and

2. a change in internal surface temperature.
Although similar calculation procedures are used, the procedures are not
identical for the calculation of heat flows and of surface temperatures.
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From ISO 10211
Any place in the building envelope where the otherwise uniform thermal
resistance is significantly changed due to:
full or partial penetration of the insulating layers by materials

with a different thermal conductivity
and/or
a change in thickness or conductivities of the insulating layers
and/or
a difference between internal and external areas, such as occurs
at wall/floor/ceiling junctions.
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Simulating 2-Dimensional Heat Flow
ENERGY IN
ENERGY OUT
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THERM (LBNL)
THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS h-ps://windows.lbl.gov/so<ware/therm/therm.html
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THERM Model
A model is made of the

construction assembly and the
conductivities / resistances are
added for the relevant
materials
The model is overlaid in a mesh

and all elements are calculated.
The thermal behavior of the
construc;on elements can be
calculated according to the
‘grain’ or scale of the mesh.
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ISO Reference Standards
ISO 10211 ISO 13370 ISO 13788

• Thermal bridges in building • Thermal performance of buildings. • Hygrothermal performance of building
construction. • Heat transfer via the ground. components and building elements
• Heat flows and surface temperatures. • Calcula;on methods • Internal surface temperature to avoid
• Detailed calculations critical surface humidity and
interstitial condensation
• Calculation methods
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How much to model?
ISO 10211 Section 5.2.2 and 5.2.3 have detailed rules about how far to model, and where to ‘cut’
the model in order to ensure accurate simulation results.
• at least 3-ft from the central element if there is no nearer symmetry plane
• at a symmetry plane if this is less than 3-ft from the central element
• ‘Rule of thumb’: use at least 3x the wall thickness for length of the detail
NOTE If there is more than one thermal

bridge present in the geometrical model,
the calculated surface temperature at the
central element of the second thermal
bridge is only correct if the second
thermal bridge is at a distance of at least
1m from the nearest cut-off plane, unless
the cut-off plane is a symmetry plane.
ISO 10211:2007 Figure 5 - Symmetry planes which can be used as cut-off planes bldgtyp
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Materials and Conduc0vity Values
ISO 10456 ISO 6946

• Building Materials and Products • Building components and building
• Hygrothermal Properties elements
• Tabulated design values and • Thermal resistance and thermal
procedures for determining declared transmittance
and design thermal values • Calculation method
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2x6 Stud Wall (Typ.)
Clear Field Assembly
U-Factor = 0.0541 (Btu / hr·ft2·F)

8” Plywood Sheathing
(R-1.2/in)
2x6 Wood Studs, 16” OC

(R-1.11/in)
Fiberglass InsulaDon
(R-3.2/in)
For the ‘normal’ clear field assembly, we’ll use
THERM to give us an effective whole assembly GWB Int. Finish
U-Factor. This takes into account the effect of 16” O.C. (R-0.65/in)
the repeating bridges (studs).
Our energy model’s Transmission Heat Loss

calculations are all executed using this value as
well.
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Structural Steel Thermal Bridge
Thermal Bridge Clear Field Assembly
8” Plywood Sheathing
(R-1.2/in)
2x6 Wood Studs, 16” OC

(R-1.11/in)
Fiberglass Insulation
(R-3.2/in)
XPS InsulaUon
(R-5/in) GWB Int. Finish
16” O.C. (R-0.65/in)
Steel W5x16
Column
(R-0.0024/in)
Because of the high

conductivity of steel, we
have to assess the thermal
bridge caused at this point
EXAMPLE: For structural reasons, at several locations in the building the engineering team wants to insert steel
columns in the walls which support beams above. They propose adding ½” of XPS foam to the exterior as a
thermal break. What is the impact of adding these columns to the wall?
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Calcula&ng the PSI value
The steel columns’

disruption to the
‘normal’ envelope will
mean additional heat
loss at this area
The ‘PSI-Value’ accounts for the

actual heat loss at the detail vs.
the clear field assembly we used
in the numerical energy model
Actual Assembly Total Clear Field Assembly Total

— = PSI-Value
Heat Loss Heat Loss
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Setting Up THERM Libraries
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A lot of the important information

in THERM is stored in the ‘Libraries’.
Its important we know where to
find these.
…/Users/Public/LBNL/Therm7.4/lib/…
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This is the ‘Material’ Library where all

the conductivity properties are stored
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‘BC’ refers to the ‘Boundary Conditions’ –

this is library which stores all the
temperature information (design temps for
inside and outside) as well as surface film
resistances
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Ok, lets get rolling….
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1. Load Material Library
First thing we always do

a6er installing THERM is
Load the right Material
Library file…
In the top menu bar

choose ‘Libraries’ then
‘Material Library’ from the
drop down
Click ‘Load Lib’
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Select ‘Material-Arch.lib’
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You can also change the

color of materials here
Conductivity info for each

material in the library can
be viewed and set here
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Conductivity?
Note: Conductivity (k) is a measure of the material properties measured over 1
inch of thickness, measured in Btu·in/hr· ft2·F
By default Therm uses 1D Conductivity values, rather than the 2D Conductivity
values we are more familiar with. You’ll need to convert all your materials to a
1D value to be able to input them into a new Therm material.
Most folks know this as

‘R per inch’
Resistivity Conductivity (2D) Conductivity (1D)
hr· ft2·F/Btu· in Btu· in/hr· ft2·F Btu/hr· ft·F
5 1/5 = 0.20 0.20 / 12 = 0.017
In order to use in THERM, first convert your

material R/in values to a conductivity value,
then divide by 12 in/ft to correct our units
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Conductivity?
If you prefer, in Options/Preferences/…

you CAN change the input to 2D
conductivity units though…
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2. Load the ‘BC’ Library
Next load the Boundary

Condition Library file…
In the top menu bar

choose ‘Libraries’ then
‘Boundary Condition
Library’ from the drop
down
Click ‘Load Lib’
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2. Load the ‘BC’ Library
Select ‘BC-Arch.lib’
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Impor&ng Underlays
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Drawing in THERM is very

hard – so we use ‘Underlays’

wherever we can to trace.
Under File, click ‘Underlay…’
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Click Browse to find the file

you want to use
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Click Browse to find the file

you want to use
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We now have some base

geometry we can trace
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NOTE: you can bring geometry

straight from CAD, but be very sure
that it is clean geometry with no
overlaps or gaps.
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Crea%ng Geometry
…/Share/THM files/01 Beginner/Therm Example_1_Geometry.THM
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Draw Polygon Example: Draw a rectangle 2” x 3”

Step 1: Select
Draw Rectangle Step 2: Click the starting point of the rectangle,
Draw Many but don’t move the cursor!

Step 3: Enter the horizontal distance away from
Insert Point the origin for the second point (2)
Step 4: You will see a dialog box like this:
Press the right arrow on your keyboard

and then press return to draw the base
of the rectangle
Step 5: Describe the remaining three sides in the
same manner: length, direction, return
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Draw Polygon Example: Draw a rectangle 2” x 3”

Step 1: Select
Draw Rectangle Step 2: Click the starting point of the rectangle,
Draw Many but don’t move the cursor!

Step 3: Enter the horizontal distance away from
Insert Point the origin for the second point (2)
Step 4: You will see a dialog box like this:
Press the right arrow on your keyboard

Step 5: Enter the vertical distance away from the
origin (3) and press return
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Draw Polygon Click any time you want a command to

stay selected – for example, when drawing
Draw Rectangle multiple rectangles or taking multiple
Draw Many measurements
Insert Point Works with both the drawing and edit tools
Draw Polygon Click to insert a point into any polygon

segment.
Draw Rectangle
Draw Many
Insert Point
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Tape Measure
Move Points
Move Polygon
Set Origin
Snap Settings
Zoom
Select Material/BC
Fill
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Zoom In
+ SHIFT Zoom Out
+ CTRL Zoom Extents
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Lets make some geometry

with the rectangle tool…
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First, turn on ‘Smart Snap’

in Preferences
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The snapping is sometimes

challenging to get accurate, but it
mostly works. Try zooming in (right
mouse button) to be more
accurate with your drawing.
Use the underlay to help you

create all the elements with the
rectangle and polygon tool
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Assign Material Properties

…/Share/THM files/01 Beginner/Therm Example_2_Materials.THM
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First, we select the

geometry, then select the
desired material from the
drop down list
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Assigning ‘Boundary Conditions’

…/Share/THM files/01 Beginner/Therm Example_3_BC.THM
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BC + U-Factor ‘TAGS’
THERM needs us to specify the
surface temperature, as well as
surface film-coefficient information.
We’ll also specify some custom We’ll specify this as the interior ‘gate’
by designating the surface temperature
U-Factor Tags which will allow us to
and surface film resisance.
measure the amount of heat flow
later on.
We’ll specify this as the exterior ‘gate’ by

designaJng the surface temperature and
surface film resistance. We’ll also apply
a ‘U-Factor Tag’ to this surface in order
to tell THERM to watch and record the
heat flow across this boundary.
Note: the U-Factor tag names

themselves don’t maNer, just name
them something descripJve so you can
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Surface Film Resistances: Rsi and Rse
3
.2
+0
All Exterior
exposed surfaces
7
.5
+0
Upward Heat Flow*
Horizontal Heat Flow +0.74 +0.23
Downward Heat Flow

+0.97
Below ground exterior surface

Image Source: Passive House Academy
*Note: Ceilings over 60 degrees are 0.0
considered ‘horizontal’ heat flow (like walls) bldgtyp
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Boundary Condi,ons
Horizontal Heat Flow (Int)

T = 68° F
RSI = 0.74 hr·ft2·F/Btu
Horizontal Heat Flow (Ext)

T = 32° F
RSI = 0.23 hr·K2·F/Btu
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Drag a selection
around all the

geometry, then click
the ‘BC’ button in
the top bar
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Now- select one ‘edge’ at a

1me and hit ‘ENTER’ on the
keyboard
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From the drop

down select
‘Interior Vertical
Surface’
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BUT – we wanted 68F for our interior We’ll make a new BC in the
temp, so we’ll need to create our Boundary Conditions Library
own Boundary Condi=on
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1
0.74 hr-sf-F/Btu
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Select this new Boundary Condition and leave

the ‘U-Factor Surface’ set to ‘None’
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Select the exterior edge

and click ‘enter’
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What Temperature to Use?
For all heat-flow calcula6ons (for PSI-values)

we’ll use standard temperatures of:
• Exterior: 32F [0C]

• Interior: 68F [20C]
Note: For Glaser analysis / dew point assessment calcula7ons you’d need to determine a
climate specific exterior temp which is relevant for your loca7on.
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1
0.23 hr-sf-F/Btu
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Last, drag a selec-on around the

‘ends’ of the sec-on
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‘Adiabatic’ means no heat transfer

across this boundary
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Running the Simula.on
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Ok… its time
Click the ‘run’ bu4on and lets see

what happens….
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Success!
We’re seeing temperature ‘Isothermal

lines’ that describe the temperature
gradient through the assembly.
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Note…
Note: when we designate any BC as ‘Adiabatic’

the simulation will force the Isolines to be
perpendicular to that edge. This can sometimes
be misleading or an error so double checking
where you ‘cut’ the model is good practice.
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Lets zoom in a li-le…
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Lets change the range to clean the units…
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Lets change the range to clean the units…
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change view…
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Now we can easily ‘see’ temperature
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Now we can easily ‘see’ temperature
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Calcula&ng PSI Values
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Calculating Psi (Y)
Total losses from ‘typical’ assembly
Psi Value (Ψ) = Losses2D – Losses1D

Total losses from ‘actual’ assembly
∆T
Losses2D = U-factor2D × Length2D × ∆T

Losses1D = U-factor1D × Length1D × ∆T
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Click the ‘U’ button to get detailed heat

flow information
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Record the ‘delta T’ and ‘LENGTH’ as well

Make sure you

set the reference
length to:
‘Total Length’
This ‘U-Factor’ is what we’ll use to
create our PSI Value in the next step
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Calculate Losses2D
THERM’s U-Factor takes into account all

the par6culars of the actual detail and
combines it into one value which
represents heat flow over the en6re area
L2D
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Calculate Losses1D
We also need to model the typical ‘clear

field’ assembly without the disrup;ng
element in a separate THERM file to
calculate its U-Factor.
L1D Remove the disrupting / bridging element

from this ‘Clearfield’ model and recalculate
the U-Factor in THERM
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Calculating Psi (Y)
Total losses from ‘typical’ assembly
Psi Value (Ψ) = Losses2D – Losses1D

Total losses from ‘actual’ assembly
∆T
Losses2D = U-factor2D × L2D × ∆T

Losses1D = U-factor1D × L1D × ∆T
INPUTS
U-factor2D (Actual) = 0.0875 Btu/hr·ft2·F
U-factor1D (Typical) = 0.0541 Btu/hr·ft2·F
L2D = 2.66’ (32”)
L1D = 2.66’ (32”)
∆T = 36°F
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Calcula&ng Psi (Y)
Losses2D Losses1D
U-factor2D × L2D × ∆T U-factor1D × L1D × ∆T

0.0875 × 2.66’ × 36°F 0.0541 × 2.66’ × 36°F
= 8.40 BTU/hr·ft = 5.19 BTU/hr·ft
Ψ = (Losses2D – Losses1D) ÷ ∆T
Ψ = ( 8.40 Btu/hr·ft - 5.19 Btu/hr·ft ) ÷ 36°F
Ψ = 0.089 BTU/hr·ft·°F
THERE IT IS!
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Thermal Bridge Length
The length of the thermal bridge

is needed in order to calculate
the actual yearly heat loss
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Calcula9ng Losses via Linear Thermal Bridges
QT-tb = L Y ft Gt
ft Btu unitless (k˚F·hr)
kBtu/yr =
(hr · ft·˚F) yr
QT-tb = Length of the Thermal Bridge
PSI-Value (Btu/hr·ft·˚F)
Transmission Losses due to

thermal bridge
Temp. Correction Factor (if needed)
Yearly Heating Degree Hours (k˚F·hr/yr)

=kBtu/yr
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Calculating Losses via Linear Thermal Bridges
QT-tb = L Y ft Gt
EXAMPLE:
NYC, Gt = 117 kFh/yr
Ψ = 0.089 BTU/hr·ft·F
Length = 2 columns @ 10’ long each
QT-tb= ( 2 10‘) 0.089 Btu/hr·ft·F 1.0 117 kFh/yr
QT-tb= 20 ft 0.089 Btu/hr·ft·F 1.0 117 kFh/yr
QT-tb= 208.3 kBtu/yr
So we have to ADD an additional 208.3 kBtu/yr of losses to our

energy model due to the effect of the steel columns
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Further instruction….
Passipedia
https://passipedia.org/basics/building_physics_-_basics/thermal_bridges/tbcalculation
CarbonLite
http://www.carbonlitetraining.co.uk/
Passitherm
http://www.passitherm.com/passitherm/e-learning/competent-thermal-bridge-assessor-course/
Flixo
https://www.flixo.com/thermal-bridge/samples/
HTFlux
https://www.htflux.com/en/documentation/tutorial-psi-value-thermal-bridging/
https://www.htflux.com/en/documentation/psi-g-ground-contact-calculations/
bldgtyp
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28.07.

Introduction to Thermal Bridge

Feb. 27, 2018

© BLDGTYP, LLC. 2018

Thermal bridges, which in general occur at any junction between building

1. a change in heat flow rate, and

full or partial penetration of the insulating layers by materials

with a different thermal conductivity

A model is made of the

The model is overlaid in a mesh

ISO 10211 ISO 13370 ISO 13788

NOTE If there is more than one thermal

ISO 10456 ISO 6946

U-Factor = 0.0541 (Btu / hr·ft2·F)

2x6 Wood Studs, 16” OC

Our energy model’s Transmission Heat Loss

2x6 Wood Studs, 16” OC

Because of the high

The steel columns’

The ‘PSI-Value’ accounts for the

Actual Assembly Total Clear Field Assembly Total

THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS

Setting Up THERM Libraries

A lot of the important information

THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS

This is the ‘Material’ Library where all

‘BC’ refers to the ‘Boundary Conditions’ –

First thing we always do

In the top menu bar

Click ‘Load Lib’

You can also change the

Conductivity info for each

Most folks know this as

5 1/5 = 0.20 0.20 / 12 = 0.017

In order to use in THERM, first convert your

If you prefer, in Options/Preferences/…

Next load the Boundary

In the top menu bar

Click ‘Load Lib’

THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS

Drawing in THERM is very

hard – so we use ‘Underlays’

Under File, click ‘Underlay…’

THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS

Click Browse to ﬁnd the ﬁle

Click Browse to find the file

THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS

We now have some base

NOTE: you can bring geometry

THERM MODELING FOR BEGINNING USERS

Draw Polygon Example: Draw a rectangle 2” x 3”

Draw Many but don’t move the cursor!

Press the right arrow on your keyboard

Draw Polygon Example: Draw a rectangle 2” x 3”

Draw Many but don’t move the cursor!

Press the right arrow on your keyboard

Draw Polygon Click any time you want a command to

Draw Many measurements

Draw Polygon Click to insert a point into any polygon

+ SHIFT Zoom Out

+ CTRL Zoom Extents

Lets make some geometry

with the rectangle tool…