How pre-testing balcony connectors for thermal bridging brings certainty to your project

Pre-testing psi-values of balcony connectors and thermal breaks enables their consideration from the outset, with untested products ignored due to uncertain thermal performance.

Since balconies are especially susceptible to increased heat losses due to the thermal bridging effect, their performance is crucial to meet the energy targets. While it is recommended that bespoke thermal calculations are undertaken for the balconies at every design iteration, they can be avoided in early stages by specifying tested products, streamlining the design process.

Numbers from pre-testing are a good estimation of the balcony performance in common construction types, bringing certainties at initial design stages and preventing expensive last-resort measures to meet energy targets in later stages. These include larger areas of solar panels, high performance glazing or MVHR systems, redesigns of the building fabric, among others.

Pre-testing is usually done with computer simulations using specialised thermal software, which is much quicker and much less expensive than a laboratory. Hence, manufacturers should aim to have their products tested, and designers should prioritise those that have test results as a way to ensure the performance of the building.