NFRC Agrees to Complete its Component Modeling Program In Response to Request from the California Energy Commission

Silver Spring, Md. - February 15, 2006 - The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) Board of Directors has directed the organization to move forward with its Component Modeling Program with the goal of meeting the schedule and needs of the California Energy Commission (CEC). The Board reached its decision at a meeting held February 9-10, 2006.

The request comes as a result of recent changes to California's energy efficiency standards for buildings (Title 24, Part 6 of the California Code). The codes require an NFRC rating and certification program for site-built fenestration products in nonresidential buildings. NFRC is designated as the state's administrator of its certification program and responsible for providing the CEC a method to verify compliance.

"As the designated administrator of California's certification program, NFRC has an obligation to provide the state with the necessary tools for code compliance," said Jim Benney, NFRC's executive director. "California has consistently been a leader in the state energy performance codes arena. They recognize the need for this program and we are committed to meeting those needs."

"The changes in California's Title 24, Part 6 are designed to bring the benefits of independently certified, technically accurate energy performance ratings to the construction of nonresidential buildings as specified in the code," said Nelson Pena, at the California Energy Commission. "We strongly support NFRC's Component Modeling Program and appreciate the Board's decision to move forward based on our request."

NFRC's next step will be to identity the issues that must be addressed and their respective timelines; and establish various task groups to develop ways to meet those timelines.

The Component Modeling Program, which NFRC has been developing for three years, involves testing and rating individual components of a fenestration system and using computer simulations to rate the energy performance of the entire system. In addition to providing consistent and reliable thermal performance ratings, it more thoroughly addresses issues specific to the commercial market.

"We have a lot of work to do over the next two or three years to comply with the CEC's request, and we encourage all nonresidential stakeholders to provide input and feedback as the process unfolds," Benney said.

Interested parties can find more information about the Component Modeling Procedure (see Committee Information - non-residential task group activity) on the NFRC Web site at www.nfrc.org.