Light Steel-frame Walls: Thermal Insulation Performances and Thermal Bridges

Abstract

This paper deals with the evaluation of thermal insulation performance of metal framed lightweight walls. This technology, more and more popular also in Italy, offers interesting advantages, but available commercial documentation lacks in reliable information about the real thermal insulation performance of the whole building envelope taking into account all the details and related thermal bridges. In other countries the available knowledge has been completed after long time and the recent growth of insulation performances requires something more than a simple Italian translation. In this paper the main envelope solutions are identified. The thermal transmittance has been calculated using a specialized freeware FEM application (THERM [1]) and the results checked with a commercial HAM application (WUFI [2]). The existing simplified methods have been extended in order to take into account also the most recent solutions proposed and realized, for a simple assessment of the real (corrected) avera ge thermal transmittance, far from singular points. Finally the main thermal bridges have been analyzed, optimized and used to calculate the average thermal transmittance of a standard façade module comparing it with the non-corrected U-value

Thermal Assessment of a Novel Drywall System Insulated with VIPs

“…The structural performance is improved in terms of seismic resistance and fire protection. This type of construction can improve the hygrothermal performance of the buildings and offer extra sound insulation, providing a healthy and high quality indoor environment [1][2][3][4].…”

“…This is a well-known problem that has been previously studied. It has been shown [1] that the metal studs can be responsible for up to 74% increase of the thermal transmittance of a LSF wall. Therefore, one of the main challenges is the alleviation of the effect of thermal bridges.…”

A Simplified Methodology for Evaluating the Impact of Point Thermal Bridges on the High-Energy Performance of a Passive House

“…Therefore, the selection of heating systems may be problematic as the required indoor temperature conditions will not be ensured because of extreme outdoor and indoor temperature differences. Angelis and Serra [26] state that this may be the cause for moisture condensation and mold growth in places where there are thermal bridges.…”

Numerical investigation of the effect of vacuum insulation panels on the thermal bridges of a lightweight drywall envelope

“…Kontogeorgos et al / Numerical investigation of the effect of VIP on the thermal bridges and maximum constructive simplification. Hence, lightweight constructions coupled with VIPs form an attractive solution due to the advantages they offer, such as the low construction time, structural seismic resistance, the reduction and recyclability of wastes, the decrease of loads and costs on bearing structures and the high insulation capability (De Angelis & Serra, 2014). The concept of standardized lightweight steel framed residential buildings, aiming to build more buildings in a short period with fewer resources, is currently being investigated in the framework of the FP7 ELISSA project (www.elissaproject.eu).…”