THERM

Hello! We use THERM for our schools and multifamily housing projects. We just started last year and it has been really helpful for figuring out tricky details for how much insulation (and where) it is useful. The program itself is free (tho a bit buggy). We use version 7.6, which is a few versions back but works better. It is a simple program that is easy to learn. In simple terms this is how we use it: -Export a detail from revit
- trace in autocad in closed polylines, save as an R-12 acad format (the oldest one!)
- import as an underlay in to THERM and trace (here it can be finicky, but works if all lines are straight)
- run the calculations There are 2 main bits of data THERM is helpful for 1 - the the psi factor (Thermal bridge value) that we can then plug into the energy model (WUFI for us) and 2 - the surface temperature. Generally we use the surface temperature much more because that is what will tell us if there is a potential mold/condensation risk. To find the target surface temperature we pair it with a spreadsheet from PHIUS that tells us the critical temperature we must be above. This is using weather data from PHIUS. Overall it is great to be able to do this work in house because we can quickly test variations on details. I recommend it! Happy to answer questions.    Keihly

We use THERM at HKS to evaluate surface temperatures and condensation risk, primarily. I have developed a workflow that uses Rhino and Grasshopper so I can bystep the THERM issues (geometry building is tediuous and visualization is super finicky within the THERM platform). The presentation I gave on this workflow with the Integrated Design Lab can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_wixlP1Ysc. I would agree that having this skillset in house is invaluable for quicker turn around times as well as being able to run multiple iterattions without a consultant's add service requests.