Ancon Fire-Tested Thermal Breaks

Proven through thermal modelling to reduce heat loss

Brick support systems from Ancon can be supplied with Thermal Breaks to minimise heat loss through cold bridging, and improve the energy efficiency of your building project.

Thermal bridging occurs where the insulation layer is penetrated by a material with a relatively high thermal conductivity. Although heat transfer through a stainless steel support bracket may not be significant - just 17W/mK compared to 50W/mK for carbon steel - it should be considered as part of the overall thermal performance of the building.

Ancon Thermal Breaks work by inserting a material with a lower thermal conductivity between the brackets and the frame. They are proven through thermal modelling to reduce heat loss and can typically enable details to comply with BRE IP1/06 floor junction. They have a thermal conductivity of just 0.3W/mK.

In the document SCI P380 ‘Avoidance of Thermal Bridging in Steel Construction', the Steel Construction Institute suggests "for bracket spacings less than 600mm, thermal spacers between and the edge beam may need to be considered".

Shaped like a standard Ancon key-hole shim, these Thermal Breaks are designed to locate quickly and easily. They have been independently tested and verified as "A2-s1,d0 reaction-to fire classification" which is fully compliant with the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2018 - the Government's ban on combustible materials in external walls of high-rise residential buildings.

Annabelle Wilson, Ancon’s Head of Marketing and Innovation said,

In an amendment to Building Regulations, the Government banned the use of combustible materials in the external walls of high-rise residential buildings following a review of fire safety.

Whilst thermal breaks were exempt from this ban, Ancon committed to finding a suitable thermal break material that would also meet the stringent Reaction-to Fire classification featured in the new regulations. We did this because we appreciate that specifiers, building owners and most importantly tenants would prefer all construction materials used to be non-combustible, rather than simply exempt from the requirements.

We are pleased to advise that Ancon thermal breaks are now manufactured from a fire-tested ‘Class A2-s1,d0’ material which provides assurance they will not contribute to any stage of a fire.

A standard sized Thermal Break is available ex-stock to suit the majority of Ancon masonry support brackets; bespoke shapes can be machined to order. Thermal Breaks for Ancon Frame Cramps are also available.