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Calculation of U-Value Based On ISO 6946-1997
Calculation of U-Value Based On ISO 6946-1997
Calculation of U-Value Based On ISO 6946-1997
Prepared for:
DETR/BR
By:
S M Doran and L Kosmina
BRE East Kilbride
Dec
Decembe
emberr 1999 Repo
Report
rt No 78
7812
129
9
Signed ________________
______________ __ Date ________________
______________ __
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Outline of the procedure 2
3. Cavity
vity wall with
with lig
lightw
htweight
ight ma
maso
sonr
nry
y leaf
leaf an
and
d insul
nsula
ated
ted dry linin
ining
g 3
4. Timber framed wall 8
5. Insulated cavity wall with metal wall ties 13
6. Wide cavity wall with vertical twist ties 18
7. Pitched roof with insulation between and over the joists 21
8. Room in roof construction 24
9. Room in roof construction with limited rafter depth 27
10. Fl
Floor above unheated space 31
11. Suspended beam and block floor 34
12. Suspended timber ground floor 38
Appendix : Data tables 41
References 45
1. Introduction
For building elements which contain repeating thermal bridges, such as timber joists
between insulation in a roof, or mortar joints around lightweight blockwork in a wall,
the effect of thermal bridges should be taken into account when calculating the
U-value. At present, Building Regulations
Regulations specify that U-values
U-values should be calculated
using the Proportional Area Method, which is described in the CIBSE Guide, Section
A32. Future regulations,
regulations, however, are likely to be based upon
upon the method for
calculating U-values defined in BS EN ISO 6946:1997, which includes the Combined
Method for repeating thermal bridges and correction procedures for the effects of
metal fixings, air gaps and unheated
unheated spaces. This paper illustrates the use of
BS EN ISO 6946:1997 for some typical wall, roof and floor designs.
Thermal conductivity values for common building materials can be obtained from the
CIBSE Guide Section A3, 1999 Edition (especially for masonry) or from prEN 12524 3.
For specific insulation products, however, data should be obtained from
manufacturers’ declared
declared values. A table is provided at the end of this document
document
giving typical conductivities for some common building materials.
Examples of U-value calculations using BS EN ISO 6946:1997
S M Doran and L Kosmina, BRE East Kilbride
December 1999
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Outline of the procedure 2
3. Cavity
vity wall with
with lig
lightw
htweight
ight ma
maso
sonr
nry
y leaf
leaf an
and
d insul
nsula
ated
ted dry linin
ining
g 3
4. Timber framed wall 8
5. Insulated cavity wall with metal wall ties 13
6. Wide cavity wall with vertical twist ties 18
7. Pitched roof with insulation between and over the joists 21
8. Room in roof construction 24
9. Room in roof construction with limited rafter depth 27
10. Fl
Floor above unheated space 31
11. Suspended beam and block floor 34
12. Suspended timber ground floor 38
Appendix : Data tables 41
References 45
1. Introduction
For building elements which contain repeating thermal bridges, such as timber joists
between insulation in a roof, or mortar joints around lightweight blockwork in a wall,
the effect of thermal bridges should be taken into account when calculating the
U-value. At present, Building Regulations
Regulations specify that U-values
U-values should be calculated
using the Proportional Area Method, which is described in the CIBSE Guide, Section
A32. Future regulations,
regulations, however, are likely to be based upon
upon the method for
calculating U-values defined in BS EN ISO 6946:1997, which includes the Combined
Method for repeating thermal bridges and correction procedures for the effects of
metal fixings, air gaps and unheated
unheated spaces. This paper illustrates the use of
BS EN ISO 6946:1997 for some typical wall, roof and floor designs.
Thermal conductivity values for common building materials can be obtained from the
CIBSE Guide Section A3, 1999 Edition (especially for masonry) or from prEN 12524 3.
For specific insulation products, however, data should be obtained from
manufacturers’ declared
declared values. A table is provided at the end of this document
document
giving typical conductivities for some common building materials.
2. Outline of the procedure
procedure
R upper + Rlower
RT =
2
U = (1 / RT ) + ∆Ug + ∆Uf
The standard permits ∆Ug and ∆Uf to be omitted if, taken together, they amount
to less than 3% of the U-value. This has been done in the examples
examples that follow.
3. Cavity wall with lightweight
lightweight masonry
masonry leaf and insulated
insulated dry-lining
In this examplea) there are two bridged layers - insulation bridged by timber and
example). The construction consists of outer leaf brickwork, a clear cavity, 100 mm
AAC blockwork,
blockwork, 38 89 mm timber studs
studs with insulation between the studs and one
one
sheet of 12.5 mm plasterboard.
The thickness of each layer, together with the thermal conductivities of the
t he materials,
are shown below. The external and internal surface resistances used are those
two thermal conductivities are given for each layer to reflect the bridged part and the
bridging part in each case.
case. For each homogeneous
homogeneous layer and for each section
Layer Thickness
(mm) conductivity resistance
(W/m·K) (m²K/W)
- -
1 outer leaf brick 0 .7 7 0.132
air cavity 50 0.180
3(a) 1 00 0.11
3(b) mortar (6.6%) 0.88 0.114
mineral wool (90.5%) 89 2.342
4(b) (89) 0.13
5 plasterboard 0.25 0.050
- -
a)
Due to requirements for sound insulation this wall construction may only be suitable for
Both the upper and the lower limits of thermal resistance are calculated by combining
1
R upper =
F1 F2 F3 F4
+ + +
R1 R2 R3 R4
where F1, F2, F3 and F4 are the fractional areas of sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively
and R1, R2, R3 and R4 are the corresponding total thermal resistances of the sections.
A conceptual illustration of the method of calculating the upper limit of resistance is
shown below:-
F1
1 2 3(a) 4(a) 5
F2
external 1 2 3(b) 4(a) 5 internal
surface surface
F3
1 2 3(a) 4(b) 5
F4
1 2 3(b) 4(b) 5
Figure 3.2 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the upper limit of resistance
1 1
R upper = = = 3.450 m²K/W.
F1 F F3
F 0.845 0.060 0.089 0.006
+ 2 + + 4 + + +
R1 R2 R3 R4 3.783 2.988 2.126 1.331
When calculating the lower limit of thermal resistance, the resistance of a bridged
layer is determined by combining in parallel the resistances of the unbridged part and
the bridged part of the layer. The resistances of all the layers in the element are then
added together to give the lower limit of resistance.
shown below:
3(a) 4(a)
external 1 2 5 internal
surface surface
3(b) 4(b)
Figure 3.3 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the lower limit of resistance
The resistance of the bridged layer consisting of AAC blocks and mortar is calculated
using:
1
R first =
Fblocks Fmortar
+
R blocks R mortar
and the resistance of the bridged layer consisting of insulation and timber is
calculated using:
1
R second =
Finsul Ftimber
+
R insul R timber
The lower limit of resistance is then obtained by adding together the resistances of
the layers:
The total resistance of the wall is the average of the upper and lower limit of
resistances:
R upper + R lower 3.450 + 3.058
RT = = = 3.254 m²K/W
2 2
Since the insulation is entirely between studs (ie. there is no continuous layer of
insulation) a correction should be applied to the U-value in order to account for air
gaps. The overall U-value of the wall should include a term ∆Ug, where
The effect of air gaps or mechanical fixings should be included in the U-value unless
they lead to an adjustment in the U-value of less than 3%.
In this case ∆Ug = 0.003 W/m²K and 1 / RT = 0.307 W/m²K. Since ∆Ug is less than
3% of (1 / RT),
Note
1. Since the cavity wall ties do not penetrate any insulation no correction need be
applied to the U-value to take account of them.
2. In the above calculation it is assumed that the noggings (or dwangs) do not
penetrate the whole of the insulation. If the noggings (or dwangs) do penetrate
the whole of the insulation thickness they should be included as part of the timber
percentage used in the calculation.
4. Timber framed wall
In this exampleb) there is a single bridged layer in the wall, involving insulation
bridged by timber studs. The construction consists of outer leaf brickwork, a clear
ventilated cavity, 19 mm plywood, 38 × 140 mm timber framing with 120 mm of
insulation between the timbers and 2 sheets of plasterboard each 12.5 mm thick.
heat flow
The thicknesses of each layer, together with the thermal conductivities of the
materials in each layer, are shown below. The external and internal surface
resistances are taken from Table 1 of this document. Layer 4 is thermally bridged
and two thermal conductivities are given for this layer, one for the unbridged part and
one for the bridging part of the layer. For each homogeneous layer and for each
section through a bridged layer, the thermal resistance is calculated by dividing the
thickness (in metres) by the thermal conductivity.
Both the upper and the lower limits of thermal resistance are calculated by combining
the alternative resistances of the bridged layer in proportion to their respective areas,
as illustrated below. The method of combining differs in the two cases.
b)
This construction provides satisfactory sound insulation
Upper resistance limit
When calculating the upper limit of thermal resistance, the building element is
considered to consist of two thermal paths (or sections). The upper limit of resistance
is calculated from:
1
R upper =
F1 F2
+
R1 R 2
where F1 and F2 are the fractional areas of the two sections and R 1 and R2 are the
total resistances of the two sections. The method of calculating the upper resistance
limit is illustrated conceptually below:-
F1
F2
1 2 3 4(b) 5
Figure 4.2 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the upper limit of thermal
resistance
1 1
R upper = = = 3.533 m²K/W
F1 F2 0.905 0.095
+ +
R1 R2 3.976 1.715
When calculating the lower limit of thermal resistance, the resistance of a bridged
layer is determined by combining in parallel the resistances of the unbridged part and
the bridged part of the layer. The resistances of all the layers in the element are then
added together to give the lower limit of resistance.
1
R=
Finsul Ftimber
+
R insul R timber
4(a)
external 1 2 3 5 internal
surface F2 surface
4(b)
Figure 4.3 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the lower limit of thermal
resistance
The lower limit of resistance is then obtained by adding up the resistances of all the
layers:
1
Resistance of bridged layer = = 2.783
0.905 0.095
+
3.158 + 0.180 1.077
Total resistance of wall (not allowing for air gaps in the insulation)
The total resistance of the wall is the average of the upper and lower resistance
limits:
If there are small air gaps penetrating the insulating layer a correction should be
applied to the U-value to account for this. The correctionc) for air gaps is ∆Ug, where
The effect of air gaps or mechanical fixings should be included in the U-value unless
they lead to an adjustment in the U-value of less than 3%.
c)
Using Table D.1 of BS EN ISO 6946
d)
In this example RI is the same as the resistance of the bridged layer used in the calculation
of the lower resistance limit
In this case ∆Ug = 0.026 W/m²K and 1 / RT = 0.288 W/m²K. Since ∆Ug is not less
than 3% of (1 / RT),
Note
1. In the above calculation it is assumed that the noggings (or dwangs) do not
penetrate the whole of the insulation. If, however, the noggings (or dwangs)
penetrate the whole of the insulation thickness they should be included within the
timber percentage used in the calculation.
2. In this example correction level 2 is appropriate because air may circulate on the
warm side of the insulation. If 140 mm of insulation was used instead of 120 mm
so as to fill the space between the studs, correction level 1 would be appropriate.
3. The additional timbers at the junctions of plane elements, for example wall/wall,
wall/floor, and wall ceiling junctions, and the additional timbers surrounding
openings are taken account of in the treatment of such details and so are not
taken into account in the calculation of the U-value of the wall.
4. The Standard (BS EN ISO 6946) states that if the insulation is fitted in such a way
that no air circulation is possible on the warm side of the insulation then ∆U’’ is
set to 0.01 W/m²K. If, on the other hand, air circulation is possible on the warm
side then it should be set to 0.04 W/m²K. The possible correction levels are
summarised as follows:
In this examplee) an insulated cavity wall has stainless steel double triangle wall ties
penetrating the insulation layer. The construction consists of outer leaf brickwork, a
cavity filled with mineral wool batts, 100 mm of AAC blockwork and 13 mm of
lightweight plaster. The wall ties are spaced 900 mm horizontally and 450 mm
vertically.
heat flow
Figure 5.1 : Insulated cavity wall (fully-filled) with metal wall ties
The thicknesses of each layer, together with the thermal conductivities of the
materials in each layer, are shown below. The external and internal surface
resistances used are those given in Table 1 of this document. The metal ties are not
treated as repeating thermal bridges but instead are accounted for at the end of the
calculation. The third layer contains AAC blockwork bridged by mortar with the
mortar occupying 6.6% of the cross-sectional area.
e)
This construction provides satisfactory sound insulation from neighbouring dwellings
Upper resistance limit:-
When calculating the upper limit of thermal resistance, the building element is
considered to consist of two thermal paths (or sections). The upper limit of
resistance is calculated from:
1
R upper =
F1 F2
+
R1 R 2
where F1 and F2 are the fractional areas of the two sections and R 1 and R2 are the
total resistances of the two sections. A conceptual diagram of the upper limit of
resistance is shown immediately below
F1
F2
1 2 3(b) 4
Figure 5.2 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the upper limit of resistance
1 1
R upper = = = 3.189 m²K/W
F1 F2 0.934 0.066
+ +
R1 R2 3.257 2.462
Lower resistance limit:-
To calculate the lower resistance limit the resistance of the bridged layer is
determined by combining in parallel the resistances of the unbridged part and the
bridged part of the layer. The resistances of all the layers are then added together to
give the lower limit of resistance. A conceptual illustration of the method of
calculating the lower limit of resistance is shown below:-
F1
3(a)
external 1 2 4 internal
surface F2 surface
3(b)
Figure 5.3 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the lower limit of resistance
1
Resistance of AAC blocks & mortar = = 0.622
0.934 0.066
+
0.909 0.114
The total resistance of the wall is the average of the upper and lower resistance
limits:
In this example the wall ties are of stainless steel (double triangle) and are 3.7 mm in
diameter giving a cross-sectional area of 10.75 mm². They are arranged at 900 mm
horizontal centres and 450 mm vertical centres. Using the procedure in BS EN
ISO 6946, the adjustment to the U-value, ∆Uf, is given by
∆Uf = α λf nf Af
where α is the scaling factor for mechanical fixings, which is 6 for wall ties f), and λf is
the conductivity of the fixings, which is 17 W/m·K in this example. The number of
wall ties per square metre which penetrate the insulation, n f, is calculated as follows
using the above information on the wall tie spacing.
1000 000
nf = = 2.47
900 × 450
The effect of air gaps or mechanical fixings should be included in the U-value unless
they lead to an adjustment in the U-value of less than 3%.
In this case ∆Uf = 0.003 W/m²K and 1 / RT = 0.3247 W/m²K. Since ∆Uf is less than
3% of (1 / RT ), U = 1 / RT = 1 / 3.080 = 0.32 W/m²K
Note
1. By adding ∆Uf (0.003 W/m²K) to the U-value which would be obtained without any
correction for wall ties (0.325 W/m²K) this would imply a U-value of 0.328 W/m²K.
The Standard (BS EN ISO 6946), however, permits the effects of mechanical
fixings to be ignored if they lead to an increase of less than 3% in the U-value.
Since the ∆Uf correction (0.003 W/m²K) is less than 3% of (1 / RT ) the correction
need not be applied. The final quoted U-value, obtained by rounding the
(uncorrected) U-value to two significant figures, is 0.32 W/m²K.
2. If vertical twist wall ties are used instead of double triangle ties the correction to
the U-value can be considerably larger than that shown above, due to their
greater cross-sectional area.
3. If instead of stainless steel ties, galvanised steel ties of conductivity 50 W/m·K are
used, this will increase ∆Uf from 0.003 W/m²K to 0.008 W/m²K.
4. If the thermal conductivity of the tie, or part of it, is less than 1 W/m·K, no
correction is applied and ∆Uf is taken to be zero. This would apply, for instance,
in the case of plastic wall ties.
f)
see Table 3 of this document
The following is a conceptual diagram showing how the effect of the wall ties, where
applicable, is incorporated into the overall U-value calculation:
U-value in absence of
wall ties
Figure 5.4 : Conceptual diagram illustrating how the U-value is corrected for the
presence of wall ties. The U-value calculation is firstly carried out ignoring the effects
of the wall ties and an adjustment is then applied in order to obtain the final U-value.
6. Wide cavity wall with vertical twist ties
In this exampleg) a wide cavity wall is fully filled with mineral wool insulation with
stainless steel vertical twist wall ties in the filled cavity. To obtain the U-value
allowing for the wall ties the thermal resistance (RT ) should first be calculated
ignoring the effect of the wall ties and then a correction should be made for the
presence of the ties. The wall ties are spaced 750 mm horizontally and 450 mm
vertically.
heat flow
Figure 6.1 : Insulated cavity wall (fully-filled) with metal wall ties
The thicknesses of each layer, together with the thermal conductivities of the
materials, are shown below. The external and internal surface resistances used are
those given in Table 1 of this document. The vertical twist wall ties have a cross
sectional area of 60.8 mm².
In this example there is no distinction between the upper and lower limit of resistance
because all of the layers are considered to be sufficiently homogeneous (for the
purposes of thermal calculations). Strictly speaking, the mortar joints between the
bricks and concrete blocks could be taken into account, however since the
resistances of the mortar parts do not differ from the brick or block parts by more
than 0.1 m²K/W the mortar parts may be ignored.
g)
Due to requirements for sound insulation this construction may only be suitable for
detached dwellings
The wall construction may be summarised as follows:
A correction has to be applied to allow for the additional heat loss due to the wall ties.
In this example the wall ties are of metal (vertical twist) and have a cross-sectional
area, Af, of 60.8 mm². Using the procedure in BS EN ISO 6946, the correction to be
applied, ∆Uf, is given by
∆Uf = α λf nf Af
where α is the scaling factor for mechanical fixings, which is 6 for wall ties h), and λf is
the conductivity of the fixings, which is 17 W/m·K for stainless steel. The number of
wall ties per square metre which penetrate the insulation, n f, is calculated to be 2.96 /
m². Note that Af, the cross-sectional area of the wall tie, is expressed in m². The
correction to be applied is therefore
The effect of air gaps or mechanical fixings should be included in the U-value unless
they lead to an adjustment in the U-value of less than 3%.
In this case ∆Uf = 0.018 W/m²K and 1 / RT = 0.280 W/m²K. Since ∆Uf is not less than
3% of (1 / RT ),
Note
h)
see Table 3 of this document
2. If the thermal conductivity of the tie, or part of it, is less than 1 W/m·K (eg. plastic
ties) the value of ∆Uf may be taken to be zero and the U-value will be
U = 1 / RT = 1 / 3.571 = 0.28 W/m²K
3. Strictly speaking, the mortar joints between the bricks and concrete blocks could
be taken into account in the U-value calculation, however it is permissible to
ignore the mortar in both of these layers because the resistances of the mortar
joints differ from the resistances of the bricks or concrete blocks by less than
0.1 m²K/W
7. Pitched roof with insulation between and over the joists
insulation joist
A pitched roof has 100 mm of mineral wool tightly fitted between 48 × 100 mm timber
joists spaced 600 mm apart (centres to centres) and 100 mm of mineral wool over
the joists. The roof is tiled with felt or boards under the tiles. The external and
internal surface resistances used are those given in Table 1 of this document. The
ceiling consists of 12.5 mm of plasterboard. The roof construction is summarised
below.
F1
F2
1 2 3(b) 4
Figure 7.2 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the upper limit of resistance
i)
Using Table 3 of BS EN ISO 6946
Resistance through section containing both layers of insulation
1 1
R upper = = = 4.971 m²K/W
F1 F2 0.92 0.08
+ +
R1 R2 5.152 3.540
Lower resistance limit:-
F1
3(a)
external 1 2 4 internal
surface F2 surface
3(b)
Figure 7.3 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the lower limit of resistance
U = 1 / RT = 0.20 W/m²K
Note
1. Since there are two layers of insulation, one between joists and the other as a
continuous layer covering the first layer, a correction for air gaps need not be
applied.
2. Since the nails or fixings do not penetrate any insulation, a correction for
mechanical fixings need not be applied.
8. Room in roof construction
The construction consists of roof tiles, felt, a 50 mm air gap between rafters and
100 mm of insulation between rafters and spacers. Beneath the rafters and spacers
there is an insulation laminate consisting of 15.5 mm of insulation bonded to 9.5 mm
of plasterboard. In this example the rafters are 100 mm deep but 50 mm timber
spacers have been attached below the rafters in order to extend the total rafter depth
to effectively 150 mm.
Plan at A-A
Figure 8.1 : Roof construction shown as two cross-sections (fixing nails not shown)
j)
For example, phenolic foam or polyurethane, where the conductivity has an allowance for
ageing and variation in manufacture
Since the airspace between the rafters is well ventilated, all layers above the
airspace are ignored in the thermal calculation and the airspace is treated as a
surface resistance of 0.10 m²K/W.
F1 F2
external
external surface
surface
insulation rafters insulation rafters
insulation insulation
plasterboard plasterboard
internal internal
surface surface
Figure 8.2 : Conceptual diagrams of how to calculate the upper and lower limits of
resistance
1 1
R upper = = = 3.923 m²K/W
F1 F2 0.88 0.12
+ +
R1 R2 4.858 1.627
Lower resistance limit
The total resistance is the average of the upper and lower limits
U = 1 / RT = 0.27 W/m²K
Note
1. This example assumes that the rafter depth is 100 mm and that 50 mm timber
spacers can be attached below the rafters. In instances where the rafters are
insufficiently deep (e.g. only 75 mm) there may be practical problems in achieving
the required U-value due to a lack of space being available for the insulation. In
such cases the insulation beneath the rafters may need to be thicker in order to
compensate for the limited rafter depth.
2. In this example the effects of the fixing nails may be ignored since they do not
penetrate the main insulating layer.
3. Since there are two layers of insulation, one between rafters and the other as a
continuous layer covering the first layer, a correction for air gaps need not be
applied.
9. Room in roof construction with limited rafter depth
This roof is similar to that shown in the previous example except that the existing
rafters, which are only 75 mm deep in this case, are not extended in depth but
instead a thicker plasterboard-insulation laminate is attached below the rafters. The
construction consists of roof tiles, felt, a 50 mm air gap between rafters and 25 mm of
insulation between rafters and spacers. As in the previous example the insulation is
tightly fitted between the rafters. Beneath the rafters and spacers there is an
insulation laminate consisting of 57.5 mm of insulation bonded to 12.5 mm of
plasterboard. The insulation laminate is nailed to the rafters and the nails have a
horizontal spacing of 400 mm and a vertical spacing of 150 mm. The external and
internal surface resistances used are those given in Table 1 of this document. To
calculate the U-value a calculation is first carried out ignoring the nails and then a
correction is applied to account for the nails.
Plan at A-A
F1 F2
external
external surface
surface insulation rafters
insulation rafters
insulation insulation
plaster
plasterboard board
internal internal
surface
surface
Figure 9.2 : Conceptual diagrams of how to calculate the upper and lower limits of
resistance
1 1
R upper = = = 3.429
F1 F2 0.88 0.12
+ +
R1 R2 3.550 2.742
Lower resistance limit:-
The total resistance is the average of the upper and lower limits
1000 000
nf = = 16.7 / m²
400 × 150
The nails are made of steel with a their thermal conductivity, λf, of 50 W/m·K. Their
cross-sectional area, Af, is 5 mm² or 0.000005 m². The adjustment to the U-value is
∆Uf, where
∆Uf = α λf nf Af = 5 × 50 × 16.7 × 0.000005 = 0.021 m²K/W.
where α is 5 for all roof fixingsk), Rf is the thermal resistance of the insulation
penetrated by the nails and RT is the total thermal resistance of the roof.
The effect of air gaps or mechanical fixings should be included in the U-value unless
they lead to an adjustment in the U-value of less than 3%.
k)
see Table 3 of this document
In this case ∆Uf = 0.021 m²K/W and 1 / RT = 0.301 W/m²K. Since ∆Uf is not less
than 3% of (1 / RT),
Note
Since there are two layers of insulation, one between rafters and the other as a
continuous layer covering the first layer, a correction for air gaps need not be applied.
10. Floor of heated room above an unheated space
In this example a floor has insulation between timber joists. The floor is situated
above an unheated space such as a garage or an unheated corridor.
The construction consists of 19 mm of plywood over timber joists with mineral wool
insulation (of conductivity 0.040 W/m·K) between the joists and 12.5 mm of
plasterboard over the unheated space. The total area (Ai) of components between
the internal environment and the unheated space is 35 m² and the total area (Ae) of
components between the unheated space and the external environment is 35 m².
Using the procedure in BS EN ISO 6946 for unheated spaces, an additional thermal
resistance, Ru, is added as if it were an additional homogenous layer, where
Ru = 0.09 + 0.4 Ai / Ae
giving Ru = 0.490
The floor consists of 19 mm plywood over 150 mm timber joists with 150 mm glass
mineral wool between the joists. Below the joists is 12.5 mm plasterboard forming
the ceiling of the garage. The external and internal surface resistances used are
those given in Table 1 of this document.
internal
internal surface
surface
plywood
plywood
2(a) 2(b)
2(a) 2(b)
plaster-
plaster-
board
board
Ru
Ru
external
surface
external
surface
Figure 10.2 : Conceptual illustration of how to calculate the upper and lower limits of
resistance
1 1
R upper = = = 4.033 m²K/W
F1 F2 0.88 0.12
+ +
R2 R2 4.646 2.050
Lower resistance limit:-
The total resistance of the wall is the average of the upper and lower resistance limits
Since the insulation is entirely between the joists a correction should be applied to
the U-value in order to account for air gaps. The overall U-value of the floor should
include a term ∆Ug, where
The effect of air gaps or mechanical fixings should be included in the U-value unless
they lead to an adjustment in the U-value of less than 3%.
In this case ∆Ug = 0.005 W/m²K and 1 / RT = 0.254 W/m²K. Since ∆Ug is less than
3% of (1 / RT ),
A beam and block floor consists of blocks of lightweight concrete which are 100 mm
thick and 440 mm wide suspended on T-beams which are 70 mm wide. Above the
beams and blocks is 65 mm of flooring screed and 100 mm of polystyrene insulation.
Beneath the beams and blocks there is an underfloor space over sandy soil. The
beams protrude below the blocks by 75 mm. The perimeter of the ground floor is
35.6 metres and its area is 79.1 m² giving a perimeter to area ratio of 0.45.
* The internal surface resistance is taken from Table 1 of this document. The surface
resistance for the lower side of the floor deck is taken to be 0.17 m²K/W, as this is the
value that applies for downwards heat flow in a non-external environment.
70
440
U-value 0.24 W/m·K
100
insulation
insulation
lower
lower
surface surface
Figure 11.2 : Conceptual diagram of how to calculate the upper and lower limits of
resistance
Since the conductivity of the beams is less than 2.0 W/m·K the part of the beam
which protrudes below the blocks is ignored, as indicated in BS EN ISO 6946.
The U-value between the dwelling and the underfloor space is calculated using
BS EN ISO 6946, as follows:
1 1
R upper = = = 3.483
F1 F2 0.863 0.137
+ +
R1 R2 3.555 3.087
Lower resistance limit (of floor deck):-
The total resistance of the floor deck is the average of the upper and lower resistance
limits
This gives a U-value (U f) for the floor deck of 0.294 W/m²K. It should be borne in
mind that Uf includes the surface resistances for the upper and lower sides of the
deck.
For determining the resistance of the remaining part of the floor, Table 4 of the
Appendix is used. This table gives the U-value of an uninsulated suspended floor,
U0, where the U-value of the floor deck has been calculated using standard
assumptions about the thermal resistance of the floor deck and the surface
resistances at the upper and lower sides of the deck. Since Uf, calculated above,
already includes surface resistances the surface resistances need to be subtracted
from U0.
The overall U-value of the suspended floor is then calculated using the following:
1
U=
1 1
+ − R si,upper − R deck,uninsulated − R si,lower
Uf U0
where Rsi,upper is the surface resistance of the upper side of the floor deck, equal to
0.17 m²K/W (see Table 1 of this document), R deck,uninsulated is the thermal resistance of
a notional uninsulated floor deck, equal to 0.20 m²K/W (see CIBSE Guide A3, part
3.5.5.2), and Rsi,lower is the surface resistance of the lower side of the floor deck,
equal to 0.17 m²K/W (see Table 1 of this document).
The remaining calculation is now carried out below, showing how the resistance of
the remaining part of the floor is combined with the U-value of the floor deck
calculated above.
1
U=
1 1
+ − (R si,upper + R deck,uninsulated + R si,lower )
Uf U0
1
=
1 1
+ − (0.17 + 0.2 + 0.17 )
0.294 0.76
= 0.24 W / m²K
Explanatory note:
The value of 0.2 used in the above equation is based on the CIBSE Guide A3
(3.5.5.2) and represents the thermal resistance of a notional uninsulated floor deck.
Rsi,upper and Rsi,lower, which represent the surface resistances of the upper and lower
surface resistances of the (notional) floor deck are obtained from Table 1.
12. Suspended timber ground floor
*The internal surface resistance is taken from Table 1 of this document. The surface
resistance for the lower side of the floor deck is taken to be 0.17 m²K/W, as this is the
value that applies for downwards heat flow in a non-external environment.
The methods of calculating the upper and lower limits of resistance are illustrated
conceptually below:-
upper
surface
upper
surface
chipboard
chipboard
mineral joists mineral joists
wool wool
lower
surface lower
surface
underfloor underfloor
space and soil space and soil
Figure 12.2 : Conceptual illustration of the methods of calculating the upper and
lower limits of thermal resistance
Upper resistance limit (for floor deck):-
1 1
R upper = = = 3.560 m²K/W
F1 F 0.88 0.12
+ 2 +
R1 R2 4.236 1.640
The resistance of the floor deck is the average of the upper and lower resistance
limits
Since the insulation layer is entirely between joists a correction should be applied to
the floor deck U-value in order to account for air gaps. The overall U-value of the
floor deck should be adjusted by adding a term ∆Ug, where
and where ∆U’’ = 0.01 (referred to in BS EN ISO 6946 as correction level 1), RI is the
thermal resistance of the layer containing the gaps and RT is the total resistance of
the element. ∆Ug is therefore
The effect of air gaps or mechanical fixings should be included in the U-value unless
they lead to an adjustment in the U-value of less than 3%.
In this case ∆Ug = 0.007 W/m²K and 1 / RT = 0.286 W/m²K. Since ∆Ug is less
than 1 / RT the U-value of the floor deck is
Since the floor perimeter is 40 m, the area 100 m, and the ground of clay soil, the
U-value of the floor ignoring insulation is
1 1
U= =
1 1 1 1
+ − (0.17 + 0.2 + 0.17) + − (0.17 + 0.2 + 0.17)
Uf U0 0.286 0.65
= 0.22 W/m²K
Note
The value of 0.2 used in the above equation is based on the CIBSE Guide A3
(part 3.5.5.2 of the 1999 edition) and represents the thermal resistance of a notional
uninsulated floor deck. The figures 0.17 and 0.17 represent the surface resistances
of the upper and lower surface resistances for the same notional floor deck (taken
from Table 1 of this document).
Appendix : Data tables
Table 1 Surface resistances for roofs, walls and exposed floors (m²K/W)
from BS EN ISO 6946
Table 2 Air space resistances for roofs, walls and exposed floors (m²K/W)
from BS EN ISO 6946
Thickness of air Direction of heat flow
layer (mm) Upwards Horizontal Downwards
0 0.00 0.00 0.00
5 0.11 0.11 0.11
7 0.13 0.13 0.13
10 0.15 0.15 0.15
15 0.16 0.17 0.17
25 0.16 0.18 0.19
50 0.16 0.18 0.21
100 0.16 0.18 0.22
300 0.16 0.18 0.23
Density Conductivity
(kg/m³) (W/m·K)
Walls
Brickwork (outer leaf) 1700 0.77
Brickwork (inner leaf) 1700 0.56
Surface finishes
External rendering 1300 0.57
Plaster (dense) 1300 0.57
Plaster (lightweight) 600 0.18
Roofs
Aerated concrete slab 500 0.16
Asphalt 2100 0.70
Felt/bitumen layers 1100 0.23
Screed 1200 0.41
Stone chippings 2000 2.0
Tiles (clay) 2000 1.0
Tiles (concrete) 2100 1.5
Wood wool slab 500 0.10
Floors
Cast concrete 2000 1.35
Metal tray (steel) 7800 50.0
Screed 1200 0.41
Hardwood timber 700 0.18
Softwod timber, plywood, chipboard 500 0.13
1000 0.24
Insulation
Expanded polystyrene (EPS) board 15 0.040
Mineral wool quilt 12 0.042
Mineral wool batt 25 0.038
Phenolic foam board 30 0.025
Polyurethane board 30 0.025
Note: If available, certified test values should be used in preference to those in the
table.