Thermal Bridging – How Microscopic Details Cost Thousands in Energy Losses, and How to Eliminate Them at Design Phase

Here's something shocking: in modern buildings, tiny construction details you can barely see can waste up to 60% of your heating energy. Most building owners have no idea it's happening.

Welcome to Episode 2 of Beyond the Glass, where we dive deep into thermal bridging—the invisible enemy of building efficiency. These aren't dramatic structural failures. They're millimeter-scale decisions made during design and construction that create shortcuts for heat to escape around your insulation.

In this conversation, we uncover:

•        Why thermal bridges are like wearing a winter coat with metal buttons—the coat is warm, but those metal spots create cold points right against your body

•        The four types of thermal bridges plaguing modern construction: geometry, material, junction, and repeating bridges

•        How to measure the problem with psi-values—and why Passive House sets the bar at less than 0.01 W/mK

•        The connection between cold spots, condensation, and those mysterious mold problems that appear in corners and around windows

•        Why you absolutely cannot retrofit your way out of thermal bridging—it must be eliminated at the design phase

•        The breakthrough concept of continuous insulation—being able to trace the insulation layer around an entire building without lifting your finger

•        How eliminating thermal bridges in commercial buildings could reduce heating energy use by up to 30%—a massive win for climate goals

What makes this episode especially eye-opening is the realization that in super well-insulated modern buildings, thermal bridges become even more critical. It's like plugging all the big holes in a bucket only to realize there are dozens of pinpricks still draining away your investment.

Whether you're an architect planning your next project, a contractor executing critical details, or a building owner wondering why your energy bills are higher than expected, this episode reveals the invisible details that separate good buildings with efficient pvc windows from great ones.