How long have you been involved with NFRC? And In what capacity have you been involved?

I have been involved with NFRC as a member of ANS Committee in 2012 - 2014 and from 2017 to date. Subsequently, I had a short stint as a member of the Board of Directors at NFRC in 2015 - 2016. During this time, I was a member of NFRC Audit Committee. I was elected to the Board again in 2019. Currently, I serve as the Secretary of the Executive Board at NFRC as well as a member of NFRC Governance Committee.

What do you hope to accomplish while in a leadership position on the board?

As a leader, my first and foremost goal is to uphold NFRC’s fair, uniform, and independent fenestration energy efficiency rating and labeling programs that aid customers to make informed purchase decisions. During my tenure at NFRC’s Board, I would like to accomplish the following: (1) increase innovation through active participation and continued encouragement and support to fenestration industry and U.S. national laboratories; (2) improve the visibility and dissemination of NFRC’s contribution to sustainability; and (3) inspire young minds to actively participate in NFRC’s vision.

How has your membership and involvement with NFRC helped you professionally?

As a current University of Florida Faculty Senator and a future faculty administrator, I see many parallels in my administrative responsibility and duties as the Secretary of NFRC Executive Board. My membership and involvement with NFRC in past and current roles have continuously shaped my decision-making for the greater good.

What do you see as some of the biggest changes with NFRC?

Some of the biggest changes with NFRC I see are encouraging and adapting new innovative fenestration technologies toward achieving superior energy efficiency. Yet, these innovations, although complex in science, needs to be brought down to already established energy performance ratings for widespread use. That said, NFRC continuously encourages complex innovation, yet provides customers to make informed decisions. In this regard, I would say that NFRC exemplifies the dynamicity of the fenestration industry. One technology in particular is VIG (Vacuum-Insulating Glazing).

How has the industry evolved in that same time period?

The American fenestration industry is an active ensemble cast with a common goal of, among others, improving energy efficiency. In this sense, NFRC and the fenestration industry have mutually evolved toward achieving sustainable harmony. An example of the fenestration industry improving energy efficiency in buildings and homes has been implementing new codes that increase efficiencies in these areas.

What lessons have you learned from being involved in NFRC that you would share with young professionals just getting started in the fenestration industry?

Being involved with NFRC, I have gained a balanced knowledge of fenestration science and market opportunities. I have noticed scores of young, diverse professionals attending NFRC’s Spring and Fall membership meetings. NFRC needs the active participation of these beautiful minds with real-world problem-solving skills. “Every drop makes an ocean,” an old saying, is self-explanatory. I find that my students do have an interest in the industry. In Fall 2019, two University of Florida graduate students, Farah Akiely and Vikram Ganesan, presented at NFRC’s September 23 Green Track meeting in Charlotte on drones accelerating the future of fenestration testing. I am working with Jessica Finn at NFRC on a new student membership. Architecture-Engineering-Construction Students are motivated to work towards efficiency and fenestration being one of the most important components.

How would you describe NFRC to someone who doesn’t know about the organization?

I would emphatically say that NFRC is the Standard Bearer of American Fenestration Energy Efficiency and Innovation.

Where do you think the fenestration industry will be in 10 years? 20 years?

As an active researcher in building energy and sustainability, I follow developments in building envelope and fenestration technologies that improve overall energy efficiency. I anticipate the fenestration industry taking an active, commanding role in creating novel components of fenestration that when combined with other building systems would aid in hyper energy-efficient buildings in 10 years.

Nonetheless, in 20 years, I envisage no clear demarcation between individual components of a building, but rather a unified coalesce of multiple components in a very few finite components or innovations that would achieve ten-fold increase in energy efficiencies! Essentially, it becomes a shared goal not just one industry anymore. That said, it is critical that the American fenestration industry, now, breaks the silos and collaborates with other stakeholders in construction to jointly create innovative systems. Embracing radical change is the call of the day.

Where will NFRC be during that same time frame?

NFRC, with inputs from the American fenestration industry, will not only continue to establish and maintain objective fenestration energy performance ratings but will also lead any such transitions through larger collaborative initiatives, tools, and educational resources. 

If you could do anything now (outside your current profession or role), what would you do?

I see myself, in Gandhi’s own words, “ … be the change I wish to see in the world.” In concert with my intellectual growth, I see teaching and scholarship as opportunities to instill the necessary mindset, and mental faculties, in the young minds that will face and shape the ever-changing, complex environment.

What hobbies or outside activities are you involved in?                                                   

I love to spend time with my wife and son (the two most influential people in my life). My near-term goal is to become an FAA Certified Private Pilot which will allow me to fly measurement instruments to gather data related to building structure and to develop measures to reduce overall energy use in this changing climate. One of the largest challenges in building science research is how do you collect the properties and conditions of building envelope of a cluster of existing buildings or, say, the entire city? And how do we collect the data for those buildings within a short timeframe and acceptable accuracy? Currently, we have commenced testing using drones and, once we have learned the process better, the next step is to use small aircraft so that we can do this data collection in an efficient manner and at large scale such that we can use the data to suggest building energy policy changes to city or county officials.

By Jeremy Browning

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) strives to empower people to create better buildings, increasing public awareness of energy efficiency and environmental responsibility. As good stewards of the environment, NFRC donates to an environmental nonprofit in the location of our annual spring and fall meetings.  This spring, prior to the COVID-19 crisis, our meeting was scheduled to be held in College Park, Maryland. 

Even though the spring meeting was moved online, NFRC still made a cash donation to support the mission of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF).  Since 1967, CBF has advocated to “Save the Bay” through environmental restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which is a 64,000 square-mile area that includes College Park and NFRC headquarters and stretches from Virginia to New York. CBF is dedicated to reducing pollution, improving water quality, educating the next generation of environmental stewards and creating a healthier environment for the 18 million people and 3,600 species of wildlife who call the region home.

In addition to the support of CBF, on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, NFRC will observe Earth Day, a day where the world unites to reduce the environmental impact of human activity.  This year marks the 50^th anniversary of Earth Day and the theme this year is climate action.

According to Earthday.org, climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world inhabitable.  The built environment accounts for more than 40 percent of energy use and 70 percent of electricity use.  NFRC is building a sustainable future through its commitment to the continuous improvements of windows, doors, and skylights that make buildings more comfortable and energy efficient.

In the last 30 years, since NFRC’s inception, energy-efficient fenestration industry products have reduced an estimated 547 million metric tons of CO2 emissions and saved 774 gigawatt hours of energy, equivalent to:

•  About 118 million passenger cars NOT driven for one year
•  One year of electricity use by about 70 million U.S. households
•  The energy savings in one year from replacing about 7 trillion standard light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps
•  About 455 million acres of pine or fir forests absorbing CO2 for one year

Learn more about NFRC’s sustainability efforts by visiting our new sustainability webpage or contacting our sustainability manager, Jeremy Browning, at jbrowning@nfrc.org. 

Municipal leaders in Baltimore recently unveiled a sustainability plan with a framework for certification.

By Tom Herron

With growing urbanization creating new challenges, the City of Baltimore is pursuing certification in the new, expanded LEED v4.1 for Cities and Communities. Seeking to establish the city as an engine of economic growth, environmental health and prosperity, municipal leaders in Baltimore recently unveiled a new sustainability plan that provides a framework for certification. City officials describe the plan as an ambitious endeavor to attain their primary goal for Baltimore’s future—creating an environment where everyone thrives.

“Certification will support the city’s efforts to track and benchmark progress on the goals established in their sustainability plan,” said Hilari Varnadore, Director of LEED for Cities and Communities at USGBC. “LEED for Cities and Communities provides a clear, data-driven approach to assessing conditions and evaluating progress across social, economic and environmental areas.”

The plan is organized around five categories: Community, Human-Made Systems, Climate and Resilience, Nature in the City, and Economy. There are 23 topics, 78 strategies and 244 action items. A few examples of actions prioritized in the plan include

• Support for the Baltimore Green Network, which envisions transforming vacant properties into green community assets, connecting these spaces to schools, homes, retail districts and other activity centers.
• Updating the Baltimore Climate Action Plan using an equity lens.
• Implementing the Food Waste and Recovery Strategy to build community, create jobs and increase resilience.

Thriving through certification

For Baltimore, advancing its 2019 plan requires more than a commitment to act; it requires a commitment to be held accountable. One of the most valuable aspects of the LEED for Cities and Communities program is that data collected and reported by the city is verified, ensuring that the work they are doing is making a difference. Through certification, cities are able to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and identify future areas for investment and improvement.

Anne Draddy, Sustainability Coordinator for the Baltimore Sustainability Office, is already taking action on this front. “We’re engaging thousands of people to better understand how they view a more sustainable and equitable city,” she said. “Prioritizing inclusive public engagement and ensuring people are heard across all of Baltimore’s neighborhoods is key to our success.”

In agreement is Amy Gilder-Busatti, Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner for the Baltimore Sustainability Office. “Every story counts, and there are lots of people here doing great work,” she concluded. “People are making a difference all across our city.”

Baltimore was one of the recipients of the 2019 Bank of America grants to assist with places seeking LEED v4.1 for Cities and Communities certification, awarded by USGBC in May. Developing more sustainable cities is no longer viewed as the cost of doing business, but rather, as a catalyst for innovation, creating new markets and prosperity.

This summer, the 22nd Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum convened 30-40 businesses, trade associations, and government agencies to showcase renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. In every state across the country, these technologies are having a significant impact in business development and job creation in the manufacturing, transmission, power, transportation and building sectors. Michelle Scism, manager of quality and compliance, represented the National Fenestration Council on a panel about energy efficient buildings and the benefits of NFRC’s fair, accurate and credible ratings.

Over the past 30 years, NFRC has been a go-to resource on energy efficiency and green building for policy makers. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 established NFRC as the official rating council for windows, doors, and skylights. Windows, just like a home appliance, can be ENERGY STAR certified, and our ratings are what determines Energy Star certification.

During this energy efficient buildings panel, Michelle discussed NRFC’s impact on the following:

·         Reducing waste: Inefficient windows can cost $50 billion annually in energy waste. NFRC’s mission is to continue to bring that number down through ratings that secure the entire building envelope. For instance, HVAC efficiency is counterproductive if windows let too much heat in during the summer or leak heat during the winter.

·         Green building is in high demand: New York, D.C. and other cities are putting mandates in place because consumers want energy efficient buildings. NFRC has the data and science to help consumers and policymakers during this transition.

·         Independence and accuracy: Just like your car's MPG is measured NFRC ratings help you understand how your windows will perform.

As high-demand as energy efficient products have become, everyone also wants to know that what they buy works the way it’s supposed to. Just like the label on food tells you about how many calories you’re taking in, NFRC’s label tells you how the window will perform in the heat and the cold. It takes away the guesswork and instills confidence that NFRC-certified windows are compliant and tested by the best science and engineering standards out there.

Energy efficient buildings are a fast-growing part of the green economy and offer tremendous opportunity. Commercial and residential customers want to reduce their carbon footprint while using high-quality products. As more municipalities implement mandates and look to capitalize on the economic opportunity offered by green buildings, NRFC’s rating system provides visibility into the efficiency savings of certified windows, doors and skylights. 

For 30 years, NRFC has worked with local, state and federal policy stakeholders to educate them and provide resources to inform their decisions. With the recent push by cities across the country to establish mandates for energy efficient buildings, NRFC looks forward to contributing to this momentum and facilitating the transition to energy efficient and green buildings.