In the energy efficiency and retrofit arena, we speak reverentially of “low-hanging fruit.” This typically refers to actions or measures that are easy to implement, pay immediate and long-term dividends, and provide rewards that are so apparent, it’s a no-brainer to make the decision.

When it comes to a building’s windows, doors, and skylights, an excellent example of low-hanging fruit is the specification and selection of National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC)certified products. It’s a choice that should be front-of-mind for architects, designers, sustainability officers, CFOs, and building owners as they engage in new construction or retrofit projects. 

NFRC certification provides an assurance that the product you choose has been rated by the world’s foremost expert in window, door, and skylight performance. In fact, the NFRC label provides the only reliable way to determine the window energy properties and compare products.

The NFRC brand is universally recognized. For example, ENERGY STAR® relies on NFRC ratings to determine product eligibility, and the ratings are found on all ENERGY STAR-qualified window, door, and skylight products. They are also used to determine if the products meet strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Further, all major standards and programs for window energy efficiency, such as building energy codes, tax credits, and utility incentives, establish criteria based on certified ratings by the NFRC. The NFRC’s role as the United States’ official organization for rating and labeling energy performance of fenestration products, was codified by Congress in the National Energy Policy Act 1992.

Why NFRC Certification and Ratings Matters to Designers and Building Managers

In the big picture, this is of immense importance in the pursuit of reducing energy consumption. The buildings sector accounts for about 76 percent of electricity use and 40 percent of all U. S. primary energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Studies suggest that advanced window technologies, as part of integrated building designs that incorporate dimmable lighting, have the potential to save as much as four quadrillion BTUs of energy annually. That translates to over $50 billion a year in savings for building owners.

The need for reliable and readily accessible data relating to sustainability and energy efficiency in the built environment has never been more in demand, as evidenced in a recent report published by the American Institute of Architects, “The Architect’s Journey to Specification.”

“Although 80 percent of architects want to specify more sustainable materials, only one in three feels they are meeting that responsibility today. They’re looking for knowledge and information that will help them design for sustainability and performance while communicating the value to clients.”

Edward “Ed” Armstrong is consultant serving clients in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors with a full range of public relations, marketing, and analytical services. He has worked extensively throughout his career on a variety of energy and natural resource conservation issues. This includes senior level positions at the Energy Management Association, The Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates®, and Porter Novelli. Mr. Armstrong Serves on the Editorial Board of the Distributed Generation & Alternative Energy Journal and was elected to the Vestry of the Gaithersburg Ascension Church in January 2021, where he is active on environmental and social justice issues. 

Women’s voices are not often heard in executive suites or in boardrooms but bring tremendous value to the opinions and decision-making for organizations. This greater diversity of viewpoints improves board discussions because different perspectives can bring more information to the table. In addition, a person in the executive suite gains insight and skills for dealing with board members by serving on the boards of other organizations. 

At NFRC, the organization that rates the energy performance of windows, doors, and skylights, they have women in the executive office and serving on its board. And, in her free time, NFRC’s Chief Executive Officer Deb Callahan volunteers as an Association Board member at her alma mater Wells College and serves on other charitable organizations’ boards of directors.

Serving on a nonprofit board and sharing your professional knowledge, energy, and expertise not only benefits the organization but also you as well, especially women. Research has found that female directors tend to be less conformist and more likely to express their independent views than male directors because they’re not part of old-boy networks.

Through her board experience, Callahan said she believes she’s has built a better relationship with NFRC’s own board of directors.

The time she spends on nonprofit boards while being the CEO of NFRC is what enables her to be successful in both roles, Callahan said. Often leaders of organizations don’t take the time to serve on boards or see the value of board service to their leadership development. Callahan uses her experience as a board member to refine her approach to relationship-building and communication with NFRC’s board. 

“To have a really effective engagement with your board as a CEO, you’ve got to understand where they are coming from and they have to understand where you’re coming from. That can be challenging if you don’t have the benefit of serving in both of those roles, but most don’t,” Callahan said. “Most folks who are CEOs don’t serve on a board and I think if there’s the opportunity to do that, you absolutely need to put yourself out there and do it.”

In addition to understanding the board’s perspective, Callahan said that communicating the challenges she faces and areas where she’s focusing reassures the board that she is a good steward of the organization. These efforts develop an understanding and an appreciation of the roles as CEO and board member. Through that journey together, they create a well-functioning, dynamic partnership. 

“I’ve taken that experience and actually, now that I sit on a nonprofit board, try and look at what that organization is doing. I look at the work that we’re doing, and I look at it through two lenses, that as a CEO and then that as a board member. It’s really neat.”

Duane Jonlin is Seattle’s Energy Code Advisor, and his job is to push change on a building industry famously resistant to anything that even smells like it. Jonlin’s a winner in almost all these building-code battles thanks to a not-so-secret weapon: he works for politicians who believe in energy efficiency. “Across the country the energy code is a flashpoint that draws intense antagonism,” Jonlin said. “But if you have top-down support, you can use it to drive innovation.”

It’s important to consider windows, doors, and skylights because good choices in new structures make efficient energy use possible, Jonlin said. Efficiency is important, he said, because it is increasingly the cheapest and least-risky way to meet future growth in demand for power in his part of the country – Jonlin cited a forecasting exercise from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, a regional energy-planning body for Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, which considered numerous future scenarios, and found that in 90 percent of them, there would be no need to build new power plants for a decade if efficiency measures were used instead. The report found in more than 50 percent of situations an efficiency drive would mean no new power plants required to 2040. 

Jonlin’s political bosses are convinced too. One example of Seattle’s commitment to efficiency, Jonlin says, is that the city requires windows and glass for storefronts and the exteriors of high-rise buildings to be rated by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) and enforces this requirement. 

At the state level, Washington passed a law in 2009 mandating that by the year 2030 new buildings offer an energy savings of 70 percent compared with 2006 levels. The law mandates that standards improve gradually with every update to Seattle’s and Washington’s building codes, to ensure steady progress toward the 2030 deadline. 

As more states, cities, and communities enact emissions’ reduction targets, the sense of possibility Jonlin enjoys will go from notable to normal, and his experience will become more relevant for code officials across the country. Washington’s state legislature enacted its efficiency law in response to the American Institute of Architects’ Architecture 2030 challenge, which according to the Architecture 2030 website, only California and Washington have adopted as mandatory for all buildings. Some states have made it voluntary, but Jonlin said that’s not enough. 

“People say you just need the right way to encourage the construction industry, but that’s a happy fantasy,” Jonlin said. “The market can adjust and innovate, but it only happens on that magical level when it’s absolutely required.”

When he meets resistance, Jonlin said he reminds product manufacturers and builders that he’s merely enforcing a law. And, often enough, he’s rewarded with innovation. In the last few code updates, he said, he’s pushed to make windows more efficient by boosting the standard for how much heat they must block from escaping a building’s interior. He thought he could trigger a move from double-pane windows to triple-pane ones, which insulate better but are more expensive to install because they are thicker. But it hasn’t happened. “The industry just keeps innovating better double-paned glass.”  

Examples of that new technology include ``thin triples,’’ which were developed together with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. They feature a thin layer of glass similar to the material used for computer screens between the two panes. That avoids the thickness problem. In large spaces such as airports and skyscraper lobbies, using thin triples eliminates the need for heating along the perimeter.

The knowledge that innovation replaces resistance is something Jonlin said he learned from his old boss and mentor, John Hogan, who 20 years ago mandated all new windows have a low-emissions coating on them that blocks heat from entering homes without also blocking natural light. 

“Builders reacted like the world was going to end,” Jonlin recalled. “But instead they adjusted, and we got better buildings.”

We are looking forward to continuing the work of the Commercial Program Work Group with the development of the NFRC 715 PCP Review and the Commercial Technical Task Groups. These groups are open to everyone. To join the groups, click on the name of the group below. To join the groups you must be logged into the community to join, so if you need to create a log it, click here.

The details of the group are below:

NFRC 715 PCP Review Task Group

Scope: The task group is responsible for continuing with the development of the WG’s direction for a two-pathway (product directory path and project upload path) certification program and the maintaining of the NFRC 715 Product Certification Program document upon implementation.

Group Chair: Tom Culp

Staff Liaison- Kevin Louder

Commercial Technical Task Group

Scope: The task group is responsible for continuing with the development of the WG’s direction for both the project upload path to certification and for the product directory path which utilizes a modified LEAFF methodology for generating U-Factor, SHGC, VT, and CI rating.

Group Chair: Greg McKenna

Staff Liaison: Kevin Louder

We will be sending out a doodle poll on December 14th to schedule the first meeting in the new year.  To make sure that you can make the first meeting, please join the group by Friday, December 11, 2020.

This is open to everyone, but highly recommend for those who would like to be involved in the New Commercial Program.

Save the Date: In the new year, we will be hosting a Technical Commercial webinar that will review the two-pathways to certification for commercial fenestration with specific focus on the new Commercial Trendline Approach (CTA) Method.  This webinar is further being hosted to provide to a brief general overview of the status of the new commercial program, how the ratings are generated and what users should expect from the new program.  

Click here to register.  This is free to NFRC members and $15 for nonmembers. 

If you have any questions about the group, please email Kevin Louder.