Update on the Thermal Performance of Steel Framing

With one round of testing completed, there is growing consensus on how to measure the thermal performance of steel-framed walls. In spite of the increasing data, however, steel component manufacturers and builders continue to market steel-framed homes with inferior thermal performance.

There is even an effort afoot within the ASHRAE 90.2 Committee (the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers committee responsible for recommending thermal performance levels for buildings) to specifically recommend lesser insulation values for steel walls in situations where achieving comparable R-values to those of wood-framed walls is deemed “not cost-effective.”