Tackling Thermal Bridging in Passive House Projects

Recorded live at our April 2024 PHMass Monthly event, this session features Paul Kuehnel, PE, Odeh Engineers, discussing thermal bridging issues in Passive House envelopes. As the building design and construction industry strives to keep up with decarbonization and net-zero action plans, the role of the structural engineer has broadened, especially around understanding and delivering Passive Building solutions. In this session we will focus on one of the key tenets of passive building design, thermal bridging mitigation. We will aim to identify common sources of thermal bridging at the intersection of the building structure and thermal envelope, while also presenting practical strategies for mitigating these thermal bridges. We will conclude by reviewing the current state of structural engineering practices and products related to thermally broken structures and exploring the presenter’s insights on future directions.

Speaker Bio

Paul Kuehnel, PE, has been with Odeh Engineers, a member of WSP, since 2012, and brings over twelve years of experience in the design of building structures, including numerous projects in the areas of manufacturing, high education, K-12 education, hospitality, housing, and life sciences. He is also a registered Professional Structural Engineer and a graduate of the Architectural Engineering program (BAE/MAE) at The Pennsylvania State University. In recent years, Paul has taken a particular interest in exploring the intricacies of the intersection between the building envelope and building structure. This interest has evolved into a strong awareness of passive building practices.