Used by building component manufacturers, engineers, educators, students, architects, and others interested in heat transfer. It models two-dimensional heat-transfer effects in building components such as windows, walls, foundations, roofs, and doors. It is useful where thermal bridges are of concern.
Two-Dimensional Building Heat-Transfer Modeling
THERM is a state-of-the-art computer program developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for use by building component manufacturers, engineers, educators, students, architects, and others interested in heat transfer. Using THERM, you can model two-dimensional heat-transfer effects in building components such as windows, walls, foundations, roofs, and doors; appliances; and other products where thermal bridges are of concern. THERM’s heat-transfer analysis allows you to evaluate a product’s energy efficiency and local temperature patterns, which may relate directly to problems with condensation, moisture damage, and structural integrity.
THERM’s two-dimensional conduction heat-transfer analysis is based on the finite-element method, which can model the complicated geometries of building products. See Components for more details.
THERM can be used with the Berkeley Lab WINDOW program. THERM’s results can be used with WINDOW’s center-of-glass optical and thermal models to determine total window product U-factors and Solar Heat Gain Coefficients. These values can be used, in turn, with the RESFEN program, which calculates total annual energy requirements in typical residences throughout the United States.