Morrison Hershfield was the principal investigator for ASHRAE Research Project 1365 – Thermal Performance of Building Envelope Details for Mid- and High-Rise Buildings.
ASHRAE’s goal was to develop better tools for building designers to estimate the thermal performance of the building envelope. The project objectives were to; develop analysis procedures, demonstrate that they produce accurate results, and provide thermal performance data for a catalogue of 40 common building envelope details for mid- and high-rise construction. The target was set high; provide a benchmark for the industry and reduce uncertainty around building envelope thermal performance.
How did Morrison Hershfield help?
Morrison Hershfield responded by selecting a three-dimensional heat transfer software package by Siemens called Nx. We provided a high level of confidence in the project findings by extensively comparing modeling results to measured data. However, our key result was to develop practical solutions that will enable market transformation.
Meeting the goals
- We transformed a complex set of problems and variables into solutions that can be applied to any project and are relatively easy to implement by industry.
- We developed straight-forward procedures that yield realistic heat-loss calculations; we found the right balance between the speed of calculation and accuracy of the results.
- We provided a method to evaluate alternative solutions to increase building energy efficiency other than simply adding more insulation, which has diminishing returns that are compounded when significant heat loss paths are ignored.
- We developed a roadmap for addressing thermal bridging in energy conservation standards such as ASHRAE 90.1 with the potential to transform the building construction industry and its regulation.
Download the most recent ASHRAE 1365-RP Solutions and Publications
Morrison Hershfield is committed to providing up-to-date information about technologies and services. In this section, you’ll find authoritative reports and educational documents to download that can help you to make informed decisions about the best technologies to suit your business or organization.
- Download: Thermal Performance of Building Envelope Details for Mid- and High-Rise Buildings (1365-RP)
- Download: Report - Thermal Performance of Engineered Assemblies Thermal Clips
ASHRAE 1365-RP has been further developed and evolved into the Building Envelope Thermal Bridging (BETB) Guide, a collaborative report from MH and various British Columbia government and industry partners that includes a more extensive catalogue of details and assemblies (500+ growing). MH has and is currently working with many manufacturers to evaluate the thermal performance of their systems and products using the same methodology. Much of this analysis done for manufacturers is currently being incorporated into the BETB Guide as a living document. The next release of the BETB Guide is scheduled for the beginning of 2016.
