b'THERMAL BRIDGINGTHE BUILDING ENVELOPE THERMAL BRIDGING GUIDE Updated changes and how to use itBy Ivan Lee, Morrison HershfieldS ince 2014, designers and builders looking toHowever, the most significant update to the BETB Guide is improve building energy performance throughthe development of the online database at thermalenvelope.ca. mitigating building envelope thermal bridgingThis site was developed by Morrison Hershfield, Evoke have often relied on the Building EnvelopeEngineering and OPEN Technologies with funding from BC Thermal Bridging Guide (BETB Guide) as aHousing, BC Hydro, the Canadian Wood Council, Manitoba valuable resource. While thermal bridging hasHydro, Energy Transition Quebec and the Canada Mortgage been something that the industry has been aware of for manyand Housing Corporation. In 2021, the site was recognized years, it was mostly unaccounted for due to a lack of resourcesby the industry with the Award of Excellence at the Canadian and tools to assess thermal bridging. The BETB Guide hasConsulting Engineering (CCE) Awards. Throughsuccessfully addressed this need in the industry by bringingthermalenvelope.ca, users can easily search through the details awareness to thermal bridging as well as providing tools,of the BETB Guide, compare details and calculate the overall including an extensive catalogue of thermal bridging details.building envelope thermal performance of their designs. This has not only shaped construction practices in B.C., but also throughout Canada and the U.S. as more codes and standards adopt stricter building energy performance require-ments that include accounting for and mitigating thermal bridging, often citing the BETB Guide as a resource. The initial focus of the BETB Guide was to help quantify heat loss from thermal bridging based on typical construction practices. Today it has expanded to include details for high-performance building assemblies, as well as more sophisti-cated thermal bridging mitigation strategies, to reflect stricter building energy codes and standards. Since its creation, the building details catalogue has grown from 300 to over 600 details, making it one of the largest thermal bridging cata-logues in North America. The BETB Guide continues to grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of the building industry. These changesThermalenvelope.ca is divided into two main sections: include new specialized details for high-performance buildingDatabase and Collections. The Database lists all thermal construction as well as a new online thermal bridging detailsbridging details in the BETB Guide catalogue. Users can catalogue, which includes a suite of tools to help simplifysearch through the Database via keywords in the search barthermal bridging calculations. Some of the new details in theor by filters for construction type, detail type orBETB Guide include new cladding support systems, intermit- thermal performance. tent support balconies for high-performance construction, mass timber details and double-frame assemblies.18 BCBEC ELEMENTSA BCBEC PUBLICATION'