Building in a cold climate
In a heating-dominated climate the envelope is almost the whole story. Insulation, air tightness and the avoidance of cold spots decide both the bills and whether the building stays dry.
Where cold climates punish
The temperature difference across the wall is large for most of the year, so conduction and air leakage both cost more than they would further south. Thermal bridges become cold spots, and cold spots inside a warm humid building become condensation.
Construction season is short, which puts a premium on closing a building in quickly.
What works
Continuous insulation with no bridge, an air barrier that is actually tested, ventilation with heat recovery so the fresh air does not throw the heat away, and a wall that can dry inward or outward when it needs to.
Panelised shells suit short seasons: the components are made under cover while the site work proceeds, and the shell goes up in days rather than weeks.
What Guardian publishes
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Guardian's climate guidance states that Shield™ panel cost savings optimise gains and losses based on climate.
Source · Products page, climate section
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Muldoon Garden in Anchorage, Alaska was built with the Shield™ system.
Source · Muldoon Garden case study
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On the aloft Airport Hotel in Buffalo, New York, Shield™ curtain walls of 6 inch solid EPS and cold-formed steel closed the building in quickly so sub-trades could work sheltered through a Buffalo winter, and the project opened on schedule despite the weather.
Source · aloft Airport Hotel case study
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Written by Data Subsystems, for Guardian Structural Technologies. Last updated .
Drafted from Guardian Structural product literature and published building-science sources. Awaiting Guardian technical review. Confirm any figure against the current product documents or ask us before you rely on it in a design.