indoors, such as the conditions experienced in the winter, there is a risk of condensation in the building envelope due to the cooler temperature on the interior surface at thermal bridge locations. Condensation can ultimately result in mold growth with consequent poor indoor air quality and insulation degradation, reducing the insulation performance and causing insulation to perform inconsistently throughout the thermal envelope Design Methods to Reduce Thermal Bridges There are several methods that have been proven to reduce or eliminate thermal bridging depending on the cause, location, and the construction type. The objective of these methods is to either create a thermal break where a building component would span from exterior to interior otherwise, or to reduce the number of building components spanning from exterior to interior. These strategies include: A continuous thermal insulation layer in the thermal envelope, such as with rigid foam board insulation Lapping of insulation where direct continuity is not possible Double and staggered wall assemblies Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) Reducing framing factor by eliminating unnecessary framing members, such as implemented with advanced framing Raised heel trusses at wall-to-roof junctions to increase insulation depth Quality insulation installation without voids or compressed insulation Installing double or triple pane windows with gas filler and low-emissivity coating Installing windows with thermally broken frames made of low conductivity material Analysis Methods and Challenges Due to their significant impacts on heat transfer, correctly modeling the impacts of thermal bridges is important to estimate overall energy use. Thermal bridges are characterized by multi-dimensional heat transfer, and therefore they cannot be adequately approximated by steady-state one-dimensional (1D) models of calculation typically used to estimate the thermal performance of buildings in most building energy simulation tools. Steady state heat transfer models are based on simple heat flow where heat is driven by a temperature difference that does not fluctuate over time so that heat flow is always in one direction. This type of 1D model can substantially underestimate heat transfer through the envelope when thermal bridges are present, resulting in lower predicted building energy use. The currently available solutions are to enable two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) heat transfer capabilities in modeling software or, more commonly, to use a method that translates multi-dimensional heat transfer into an equivalent 1D component to use in building simulation software. This latter method can be accomplished through the equivalent wall method in which