SFA offers updated thermal design guide

An updated version of the Thermal Design Guide for Exterior Walls, originally published in 1995 by the American Iron and Steel Institute, Washington, D.C., is available from the Steel Framing Alliance, Washington. Support for the update was provided by the SFA; the Steel Stud Manufacturer’s Association, Glen Ellyn, Ill.; and AISI. The author was Mark Nowak of Newport Partners LLC, Davidsonville, Md. Nowak is now SFA’s interim president. The document, “Thermal Design and Code Compliance For Cold-Formed Steel Walls,” is designed to be of interest and benefit to users with differing needs, and it is thus arranged into five sections. Section 1 is a quick reference section for those looking for the thermal properties of commonly used cold-formed steel wall sections. Section 2 describes the two main approaches codes use for compliance the Performance and Prescriptive Options. Section 3 addresses the Simulated Performance Approach, an option in most energy codes for evaluating an entire building’s energy use. Section 4 describes the prescriptive requirements in codes and how to meet or exceed them. Finally, section 5 discusses innovative methods evolving to increase the efficiency of CFS wall assemblies.