NFRC Board Moves Forward with IG Certification; Discussing CMA Product Certification Program in Closed Meeting

A number of issues are being taken under consideration by the National Fenestration Rating Council's (NFRC) board of directors, which met yesterday morning to conclude the group's summer meeting in Chicago. Some items were approved, while others will be reviewed further in a closed meeting.

One item that will move forward is the Certification Policy Committee's IG certification program. Roland Temple with AZS Consulting brought the revised proposal, which calls for an implementation date of July 2010, to the board where it was approved. This change will make IG certification mandatory in order for any window to be NFRC-certified.

However, sine NFRC parameters only address energy performance, some members pointed out that IG certification shouldn't necessarily be required for units that are not specifically energy efficient, such as those that are clear glass, air-filled.

John Lewis, technical director with the American Architectural Manufacturers Association, asked the board to note his statement that it "reconsider inclusion of factors that have no bearing on the energy performance of a window."

Need more info and analysis about the issues?In regards to the Component Modeling Approach (CMA), several items were also brought forward by the Technical Committee, which is chaired by Jeff Baker of WESTLab. The board approved CMA Frame Grouping Rules and CMA Spacer Grouping Rules language for NFRC 100. The board also agreed to provide guidance and "binding direction" regarding CMA Frame Values language for NFRC 100 and NFRC 200, and whether the document should include generic values.

The Ratings Committee, chaired by Steve Strawn of Jeld-Wen, requested the board's approval of the CMA label certification as approved by the labeling subcommittee. Garrett Stone of Brickfield, Burchette, Ritts & Stone P.C. spoke out against the motion, saying there was no rush to approve the label being that the rest of the document is not complete.

"The new label certificate contains a page of non-certified values. Do we want [this] to have a page of non-certified values," asked Stone. Stone moved and the board carried, to table the decision until the next board meeting.

"It's the board's responsibility to verify we're doing the right thing … we need time to think about the true impact of that document …" said board member Mike Thoman of Architectural Testing Inc. "We're not stalling the process; we're just evaluating our responsibility as directors."

Wednesday afternoon's hotly debated issue of reference documents mentioned in the CMA Product Certification Program was brought forward to the board for guidance. Joe Hayden with Pella Corp. and NFRC chair, said the issue would be discussed off line.

The NFRC will hold its next meeting November 3-6 in Jacksonville, Fla.

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