A thermal bridging issue that has long plagued external wall insulation systems at building base levels could be costing homeowners the equivalent of 25 mm of insulation thickness, according to new independent testing.

Waterford-based high-performance window supplier and installer Zyle Fenster Ireland is now offering Triotherm thermal brackets from Prodomo Ireland as standard under door thresholds on all of its projects.

Mannok’s Aircrete blocks are often specified at the wall-to-floor junction to tackle thermal bridging, but specifying them for the entire inner leaf of a cavity wall can yield significant energy savings and an improvement in comfort, according to the company.

ISO CHEMIE’s WINFRAMER thermal insulating and load bearing bracket support system for the rapid installation of windows, has gained British Board of Agrement (BBA) certification.

Leading sustainable building product supplier Partel has a launched a new 100% recycled thermal break product. ALMA THERM is a hi-performance panel for structural insulation, and meets the highest technical and ecological standard for reducing thermal bridges, according to the company.

Assessment of thermal bridges is the low hanging fruit lining the path to passive house and low-energy building, according to leading thermal modeller Andy Lundberg of Passivate, who says that taking the time to understand thermal bridging and to minimise and calculate it properly is essential to delivering cost optimal low energy buildings without an Achilles heel.

Building physics take no prisoners. Anyone designing, constructing or upgrading the thermal envelope of a building to modern energy performance levels is duty bound to understand and minimise thermal bridging, or suffer the consequences. One-man thermal bridging encyclopaedia Andrew Lundberg of Passivate, who teaches thermal bridging analysis at Dublin Institute of Technology, gives some practical advice on why and how to tackle thermal bridging head on, and describes some of the leading innovations in thermally broken components.

Ancon will be launching its latest fixing innovations at Ecobuild between 6 and 8 March at the London ExCel centre, at stand number C62.

Quinn Building Products says that a study undertaken by the company’s technical team demonstrates how the developer of a typical A3 rated, semi-detached house can make substantial savings using Quinn products.

Fixing specialist Ancon has launched a brand new ultra-low thermal conductivity wall tie 

It is well documented that parapets allow conductive materials to transfer energy through the thermal barrier and are therefore just as prone to the problems of thermal bridging as balconies. 

The digital versions of all previous issues of Passive House Plus are now freely available online.  The magazine is available in entirety in digital form, while many of the feature articles are also now available in HTML form - or in other words as regular web articles. The digital editions use the Issuu pageflipper software, which was chosen for its functionality, simplicity and the ability for readers to interact with magazine content - for instance by sharing links to articles in the magazine via social media or email, or by clicking links to websites contained in articles and adverts.

Six years after it was completed, Passive House Plus takes a look at a pioneering low energy upgrade that went on to become the UK’s first certified Enerphit project, to find out how it has performed — and what lessons have been learned.

The eco-village at Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary is no stranger to low energy buildings, and with this passive house, architect Paul McNally of The Passivhaus Architecture Company set out to prove that energy efficiency and good architecture go hand-in-hand.

Three award-winning affordable homes in scenic North Norfolk have achieved passive certification while embracing a unique local style of architecture.

Built on a tricky site in the seaside town of Salthill, Co Galway, Ireland’s first semi-detached passive house development is designed to meet the needs of three generations from the same family.

U-value alone is a blunt instrument for gauging the thermal performance of a building. Ground-breaking eco architects Joseph Little and Benat Arregi of Building Life Consultancy explain why our increasingly ambitious insulation efforts must involve a rigorous attention to thermal bridging if we’re serious about creating low energy, healthy buildings.

Passive houses have long been considered the ultimate in low energy buildings. So when it comes to BERs, why don’t they always get a straight A? Lenny Antonelli investigates.