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Posted By Adriana Vargas, National Fenestration Rating Council,
Monday, June 7, 2021
Updated: Tuesday, June 8, 2021
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Since its initial release in 2009, the NGBS has offered builders and developers a comprehensive and rigorous residential green rating system for homes to be certified by an independent third-party. Home Innovation’s NGBS Green Certification Home Innovation Research Labs’ NGBS Green Certification program is the Number1 green certification for residential construction in the U.S. Nearly 300,000 homes have been NGBS Green Certified, and more than 160,000 homes and apartments are currently in-process. Builders and developers the NGBS because of its rigor, flexibility, and affordability. With required third-party testing and on-site verification by independent inspectors, NGBS Green Certification provides a reliable measure of building performance and quality. The NGBS Green program understands the pace of the construction industry, with quick response times and certification processing. The 2020 NGBS introduced changes to expand the rating system and Home Innovation’s NGBS Green certification program. These include: - new commercial space certification for mixed-use buildings;
- expanded scope for hotels, assisted living, dormitories, and buildings;
- new energy and water efficiency pathways;
- added flexibility for renovated buildings to demonstrate compliance; and
- a new streamlined certification pathway for single-family homes and townhomes.
Windows and Door Requirements in the 2020 NGBS
Window and door products can help a residential project earn up to 37 points under the Resource Efficiency chapter, if they are prefinished, contain recycled content, or are made of bio based products (e.g., certified solid wood, engineered wood). Under the Energy Efficiency practice area, window and door products can help buildings meet air leakage and -factor requirements. For many of these practices, an NFRC certificate that shows U-factor and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) values would be sufficient for an NGBS Green Verifier to award points. When installed in commercial portions of mixed-use buildings, well-sealed and gasketed doors may meet mandatory Indoor Air Quality requirements of the Commercial Spaces pathway. Green Certified Products
Building materials and furnishings that comply with the NGBS can earn third-party certification. Home Innovation’s NGBS Green Certified Product program bridges the gap between manufacturers that produce green products and the architects, builders, and designers who want to use them in homes. Manufacturers of certified products are eligible to leverage the third-party NGBS Green Certified mark in their marketing. Certified products are included in Home Innovations' online directory and promoted to the more than 16,000 NGBS Green Partners including builders, developers, architects, and third-party verifiers through its newsletter and website. Learn More
The 2020 NGBS changes provide a great opportunity for window and door manufacturers to train or re-train their team, vendors, or partners about the NGBS’ new rating system and certification opportunities. Join the upcoming NFRC webinar on June 9 to hear from Cindy Wasser, Home Innovation’s Senior Manager of Green Building Programs, to review the fenestration requirements within the 2020 NGBS, as well as and distinguished from competitors.
Tags:
buildings
energy efficiency
Green building
manufacturers
SHGC
u-factor
windows
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Posted By Adriana Vargas, National Fenestration Rating Council,
Monday, August 31, 2020
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By Jessica Finn
“If you don’t create a system for testing and reporting fair, accurate, and credible energy performance information for windows, doors, and skylights, we will.”
-U.S. Federal government
In 1989, 25 industry leaders attending an
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers
(ASHRAE)
meeting in Vancouver,
got together to
discuss the need
to
establish a new organization focused on a national, uniform fenestration energy
-rating system. Since there was no official meeting space available in the hotel, the group eventually settled in the hotel bar. It was in this humble setting that
the National Fenestration Rating Council (
NFRC) was born, and its original logo sketched out on a bar napkin. By unanimous vote,
these pioneers agreed to form the
NFRC we know today.
The dedication of NFRC members mattered then, and 31 years later, membership matters just as much, if not more
today. We are facing new challenges that need to be address
ed as an organization and as an industry, including helping designers meet increasingly stringent energy codes, a changing
global climate that requires higher performance from fenestration products, and the need
to harmonize
international standards.
In the early years, no matter how much NFRC
members
disagreed, everyone knew that the forces that
brought them together still
existed. If they couldn’t
agree on
setting energy-performance standards, the federal government would
do it for them with its own system.
Another risk was states opt
ing
to set
their own standard,
potentially
adding onerous
delays and
expense to product testing and certification.
The challenges ahead of us are big, but the opportunities
for advancement and innovation are bigger
. NFRC staff works diligently to
increase
the organization’s capacity to meet these challenges head on. I
t’s
also important to highlight the
contributions of members
for past milestones, as well as the
positive effect they
have on the future of NFRC.
NFRC members have been instrumental in leading
and implementing:
-
Testing of the whole product v
s. center of glass testing,
-
NFRC becoming the recognized administrator of the
ENERGY STAR®
for fenestration
products,
-
One
-
size testing,
-
Condensation Index rating, and
-
LEAFF, among others.
NFRC welcomes members from across the industry, including manufacturers and suppliers, laboratories, inspection agencies, education and research institutions, not
-for-
profit organizations, and industry associations.
Every member matters! Small or large manufacturer
, university or laboratory, architect or retailer, your time and expertise can make a difference for you and the industry
. Leading up to our 2020 membership meeting, we are launching a membership campaign to bring on new members and recognize our current members.
We hope that you will join us to take on the challenges and seize
the opportunities that are coming our way. For more information, or to get involved click here.
Jessica Finn is NFRC’s membership manager and has been with the
organization for nine years.
Tags:
fenestration
industry
manufacturers
members
membership
NFRC ratings
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Posted By Adriana Vargas, National Fenestration Rating Council,
Thursday, August 13, 2020
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By Robin Merrifield
Every robust certification program includes compliance and monitoring and
the
National Fenestration Rating Council’s Product Certification Program (PCP) is no exception.
The combined investment that the fenestration industry places in the NFRC label – not just in terms of getting products certified but also in the work to maintain and run the program – is remarkable.
Roughly 85 percent
the fenestration industry, including window, door, skylights, and window film manufacturers; associations; laboratories, and inspection agencies participate in NFRC labeling processes and systems
for residential buildings.
Based on this, it should come as no surprise that NFRC takes the integrity of the label
and how it
is
used
very seriously. Because reports about questionable behavior
that range
from simple non-compliance issues to outright fraud are
rare
and kept confidential, it is possible that
many people are unaware
that
a
compliance program
exists.
We can assure you
we’re always on the lookout
for improper use and
misappropriation of
the
label.
We want
consumers to know the NFRC label guarantees their fenestration product has fair, accurate, and credible ratings backed by science.
Why it Should Matter to You
In 1989, NFRC was founded
to
end the
inaccurate, inconsistent, and unverifiable claims within the industry.
Leaders in the
fenestration industry realized
they
need
ed
to
police
themselves
before
an
external entity
decided to do it
through regulations.
Now, with NFRC’s standardized testing and reporting, false and misleading energy efficiency claims are largely a thing of the past – but not entirely. NFRC’s compliance and monitoring program
(CAMP)
exists
to address
these
outliers.
NFRC receives two or three inquiries a month, on average,
from outside sources seeking
to verify that claims are true or
to
report
suspected
false claims. The types of inquiry that lead to investigation include:
- NFRC Certified claims on products that NFRC does not rate
,
such as pet door
s
and
other products
listed in Section 2.2 of ANSI/NFRC 100, and Sections 2.2.1 and 2.2.2 of ANSI/NFRC 200;
- Counterfeit products;
- Use of terms such as “NFRC Certified” or “Tested to NFRC Standards”
on websites or printed marketing material
that lead to consumer confusion
; and
- Questions from consumers when they are unable to verify products in the Certified Products Directory (CPD) and the name of the company isn’t in the CPD as a participant.
It is our hope that all
stakeholders
recognize NFRC attempts to maintain the integrity of the PCP, the NFRC Label, and the reputation of those who invest in both.
What to Do if You Suspect Shenanigans
NFRC
’s CAMP
is a
fully confidential
program
that
investigate
s
potential infractions of the NFRC
PCP. CAMP receives reports and questions from consumers, manufacturers, inspection agencies,
code officials
and others. Though the list of complaints above are the most common and generally
require some investigation, NFRC also receives notifications
to
clarify
what is allowed. For example:
- A manufacturer who is no longer certifying products
can’t
continue to use labels until they run out;
- A manufacturer can’t continue to use old label inventory
when
the label or ratings change and former versions have been
discontinued;
or
- Consumers call if they search the Certified Products Directory (CPD) and don’t find the company name listed – often because it is a private labeler.
One of the more serious infractions NFRC is seeing – and one that manufacturers need to be aware of – are foreign companies selling “counterfeit” products, named to intentionally mislead consumers about the actual manufacturer
and/or certification.
If you or one of your customers has concerns about improper labeling or any other questionable practice,
please
complete THIS FORM
. The more details provided
– including
images
,
photos, screenshots, descriptions, labels, CPD number -- the better.
Our name is on the line. So is yours.
We intend to protect both.
Resources
For more information, check out the
NFRC 707: Compliance and Monitoring Program
document
. To submit potential compliance concerns, use the
Compliance Investigation Form
Questions? Reach out to
Michelle Scism
, Quality and Compliance Manager
at
(240)
821-
9511
or mscism@nfrc.org.
Tags:
CAMP
certification
Compliance
CPD
industry
manufacturers
monitoring program
nfrc label
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