Quote:
Originally Posted by colemonkee
That's a great article. So do all window wall highrises with exposed slabs have the same problem, or is this unique to Aqua because of the balconies? There are a ton of window wall buildings with balconies in cold-weather markets like Toronto, and I've never heard of this (maybe I'm not reading the right news). Maybe they know to put those thermal layers in the slabs to prevent the heat loss. Fascinating stuff!
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Aqua has exposed concrete slabs right on the end, so it's especially bad for it. most condos typically insulates the ends of the slabs to help it, including in Toronto.
Ontario changed it's building code a few years ago to require thermal breaks around balconies however as the same phenomenon was occurring with them. The entire floor slab was poured as one slab, including balconies, and heat would transfer through the concrete and escape via the uninsulated balcony slabs. New buildings in Toronto how have to put "thermal breaks", which is essentially a chunk of insulation, to separate the balcony slab from the main building slab to prevent this. It adds a fair bit of cost but is far, far more energy efficient.