The U Factor

Modern environmental regulations require new buildings to be very energy efficient. In the design, engineers can predict the thermal performance of the materials in the walls, ceiling and floor.

Modern building materials, like these being unloaded here last week, have a high thermal performance, measured by the U-value of the material.

This chart shows how the heat loss through walls has changed with different construction methods (lower is better). Barden House will be 10 times better than buildings of 100 years ago, and 3 times better than a 25 year old building.

The U Factor is not as well known as The X Factor but plays an important part in our built environment.