Course Description
This comprehensive technical CPD course gives façade engineers and building envelope specialists a complete, practical framework for calculating the thermal performance of a curtain wall façade — the aluminium-and-glass systems that make up much of the modern building envelope — and checking it against a real energy code limit.
The course takes one real stick curtain wall — thermally broken aluminium mullions and transoms, double glazing in the clear zones, and spandrel panels running both vertically and horizontally — and follows the complete workflow: choosing between the two standard calculation methods, selecting a repeating cross-section fragment, preparing a manufacturer's DXF, assigning every material including the hollow aluminium chambers, setting boundary conditions, verifying the model, running the calculation, and assembling the individual results into one wall U-value.
A curtain wall repeats along every bar and every transom, so a flat, two-dimensional cross-section stands in for the whole run — no full three-dimensional model needed for the typical joint. The course shows exactly where that shortcut holds, and where it does not.
It is unusually direct about where curtain wall calculation goes wrong. A DXF import never warns you about an open outline or a unit mismatch; a hollow chamber left as "plain air" quietly drifts the result the wrong way. You will learn the checks that catch these errors before they reach an assembly table or a client report.
Presented by Eugene Korch (façade engineer and IAST Programme Director), the course shows both standard methods side by side — the single assessment method and the component assessment method — so you can choose the one that fits your project.
Designed for professionals working across multiple markets, the course is built around ISO 12631 methodology, with UK, US, and Australian reporting and compliance conventions — giving you a framework that applies regardless of which regulatory system your project sits under.
Included in Facade Intelligence Professional Membership (FI PRO)
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
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Recognise why a curtain wall's repeating bar-and-glass geometry can be represented by a single 2D cross-section rather than a full 3D model
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Select a repeating calculation fragment correctly, applying the line-of-symmetry rule and capturing every bracket type present
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Understand how a curtain wall's overall U-value (Ucw) is built up from bar values, centre-of-glass and spandrel panel U-values, and the linear bridge at every joint
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Select a repeating calculation fragment correctly, applying the three cutting rules: safe cut lines, both infill types, and the correct depth boundary
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Assemble the four groups of input data a curtain wall calculation needs: standards, geometry, material conductivities, and boundary conditions
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Prepare a manufacturer's DXF cross-section for import, cleaning the radii, small holes, and open line segments that would otherwise break the model
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Assign materials correctly to every closed region, including the hollow aluminium chambers, the pressure-plate screw, and the glazing edge spacer
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Set correct boundary conditions for a curtain wall cross-section, and understand why internal corners are always the coldest, most condensation-prone points
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Verify a curtain wall model before calculating, catching the errors the software itself never flags
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Run a calculation with either method, confirm it has converged and passed the three post-calculation checks, and read a plausible cross-section U-value
What's Covered
Part 1 — Why a Flat Cross-Section Works, and How the Curtain Wall U-Value Is Built Up
Why a repeating curtain wall geometry does not need a full 3D model, and where genuine three-dimensional junctions still apply.
Key terms in plain language: stick curtain wall, mullion, transom, thermal break, spandrel panel, DXF.
How the curtain wall U-value (Ucw) is assembled from bar, glazing, spandrel, and linear-joint contributions.
Which values come from the modelling programme and which come from the manufacturer's own documents.
Part 2 — Choosing a Method and Selecting the Fragment
The two standard curtain wall calculation methods: single assessment (Utj) and component assessment (ψtj) — and why they reach the same answer by different routes.
When each method suits the job: one fixed project versus a system catalogue with several glazing options.
The three rules for cutting a repeating calculation fragment: safe cut lines, capturing both infill types, and the correct depth boundary.
Building a full set of cross-sections for a real façade: bar and transom, corner, edge, head, and sill.
Part 3 — Collecting Data and Preparing the Model
The four data groups every curtain wall calculation needs, and the region-specific standards that supply them.
Sourcing cross-section geometry from a manufacturer's DXF or DWG.
Cleaning a DXF for calculation: corner radii, small holes, and open line segments that break an import.
Catching the scale and unit errors that a DXF import never flags on its own.
Part 4 — Materials, Boundary Conditions, and Verification
Assigning materials to every region, including the hollow aluminium chambers and the pressure-plate screw.
Choosing the right glazing edge spacer, and why it changes the glass-edge performance.
Setting boundary conditions correctly for each method, and why internal corners are always the coldest point.
Verifying a model before calculating: what the programme catches on its own, and what only an eyeball check will find.
Part 5 — Calculating, Assembling Ucw, Reporting, and Avoiding Errors
Running the calculation for either method, and the three checks that confirm a trustworthy result.
Building the length- and area-weighted assembly table, and checking compliance against the applicable energy code.
Finding and fixing the dominant contributor when a curtain wall fails to comply.
What a defensible calculation report must contain, and the most common invisible errors to guard against.
Your Instructor
Programme Director, IAST Eugene Korch
Eugene is a façade engineer and educator with extensive experience in building envelope design and technical specification. Through the Institute for Architectural Science and Technology (IAST) and Facade Intelligence, he delivers CPD training to architects and construction professionals across the UK. His teaching approach emphasizes practical application and accessibility, making complex technical subjects understandable for design professionals.
Course Schedule
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Course Overview
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Course Objectives
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How to Navigate the Learning Materials
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Introduction Video
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Lecture
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Technical Seminar with Q&A
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Post-Lecture Reading List
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Knowledge Check
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Certificate: Download & Share
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About this course
- £120.00
- Practice test questions
- CPD Certificate: 2 hrs
Who Should Enrol
This course is designed for:
Façade Engineers building foundational and practical skill in curtain wall thermal calculation.
Junior Façade Engineers developing hands-on modelling competence, start to finish.
Architectural Technologists and Envelope Designers specifying curtain wall systems.
Façade Specialist Contractors requiring technical knowledge of calculation methods and verification.
Building Envelope Consultants reviewing or producing curtain wall thermal calculations for regulatory submission.
Thermal and Building Physics Consultants working across multiple markets and modelling programmes.
CAD/BIM Technicians preparing the DXF geometry that feeds a thermal model.
Project Managers and Design Managers overseeing façade packages where curtain wall thermal compliance is a deliverable.
Course Details
Format: Self-paced online course with video lectures.
Duration: Approximately 100 minutes.
CPD Points: 2 hours structured CPD / 2 Learning Units.
Access: 12 months from enrolment.
Certificate: CPD certificate issued upon completion.
Prerequisites: Recommended — a working understanding of basic U-value calculation and cavity classification (covered in our foundational thermal analysis course).
What Makes This Course Different
Both methods, side by side: the single assessment method and the component assessment method shown on the same model, so you can see exactly how and where they differ.
Honest about the traps: the invisible errors in DXF preparation and material assignment that a modelling programme never warns you about.
Built-in verification at every stage: a checklist after every workflow step, so an error is caught where it is cheapest to fix.
International scope: worked using ISO 12631 methodology, with UK, US, and Australian reporting and compliance conventions.
A result you can defend: ends with a full curtain wall U-value assembly and a compliance check, not just a single cross-section number.
Join the Facade Intelligence Professional Membership (FI PRO)
Membership fees start from £320 per year
Gain access to all upcoming seminars and a wide range of the most sought-after short courses.
Corporate discounts are available for teams of 10 or more.
For a bespoke quote, please contact our team at [email protected].
