In a home, a thermal bridge is any connection between indoors and outdoors that bypasses insulation and conducts heat into or out of the building.
In this "Field Notes Blog," Zack Semke explains tests how tests by Hammer and Hand determined the overall effect on thermal performance of thermal breaks in wood and steel framing, and in concrete foundations.
The article goes on to detail a wall system the company developed to virtually eliminate thermal bridging.
Hammer and Hand has the full story.