Earn 4.5 Learning Units During NFRC's Summer Membership Meeting

NFRC will offer a program during its Summer Membership Meeting. The course is called NFRC99.

The learning units you earn are for Health, Safety, and Welfare and Sustainable Design. You can earn them by participating in the program below:

NFRC's Luncheon & Allied Interest Information Block
When: Monday, July 20, 2009, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where: Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel
300 S. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 962-8300

To help make your job a little easier, we invite you to spend some time with the finest minds in the fenestration energy business as they gather for the National Fenestration Rating Council's Summer Meeting.

At no charge, you are welcome to join us for all or part of the following activities:
· A Buffet Lunch with all meeting participants
· The Meeting's Opening Session, which will include greetings from the Chairman of the

Board and Executive Director, and a special presentation by veteran and NFRC Member Tom Morrissey.

· The Regulatory Affairs and Marketing Committee Meeting, which will feature reports on the ENERGY STAR® Windows Program and other U.S. Department of Energy fenestration initiatives, the latest in national codes, the Component Modeling Approach (NFRC's new commercial rating program), and more.

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) is a non-profit organization that administers the only uniform, independent rating and labeling system for the energy performance of windows, doors, skylights, and attachment products.

The work we do at NFRC provides fair, accurate, and reliable energy performance ratings to serve the public. The group works diligently to improve and grow the NFRC's non-biased rating program and improve the standards created by the organization and referenced throughout the country in various codes and in the ENERGY STAR program.

The NFRC's ratings and codes are everywhere – come learn about how we can work together to serve our shared stakeholders.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Please contact me via e-mail, cgendron@nfrc.org, or phone, (240) 821-9501, for more information. Your RSVP is required.

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) will hold its Summer Membership Meeting for 2009 on Monday, July 20 – July 23, 2009, in Baltimore, Maryland at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel.

Those unable to make the trip to the meeting alike can get a jump on the week’s activities by reviewing/downloading meeting materials online at the NFRC Meeting Page.

The meeting’s detailed program booklet will be available on site but is also available for download. The booklet includes meetings agendas, draft meeting minutes from the Spring meeting, committee rosters, pre-registration listings, and much more.

Please note: Registration and prepayment are required for everyone planning to attend the meeting. Those who will decide whether to attend the meeting at the last-minute may check-in at the registration table – opening at 6:30 am on Monday.

All NFRC stakeholders are encouraged to continue to check this LIVE meeting update during the week for updates on the meeting’s progress.Safe travels to all who are headed to Baltimore. We look forward to seeing you for what promises to be a lively and productive meeting.

If you have any questions on the meeting please feel free to contact the NFRC staff: at your service!

Closing Thoughts from the NFRC Chairman

The NFRC Spring Membership Meeting came to a close at the conclusion of the morning's Board Meeting. As attendees packed up to head back to their various organizations the Live Meeting Update Staff requested final thoughts from the NFRC Chair of the Board, Joe Hayden with Pella Corporation.

"As the 2009 Spring Membership Meeting comes to a close, overall I’m pleased with what’s been accomplished. Although we may not have brought a large number of items to closure, we certainly made significant progress in a number of areas:

• There was good discussion and good direction established for advancing the rating of attachment products. I also appreciate Marc LaFrance of DOE lending his encouragement to move this forward expeditiously.



• The completion and implementing of CPD 2.0 was good news. There will continue to be improvements and enhancements going forward, as always. However it’s always satisfying to see positive results from our efforts.



• We continue to make incremental advancements to CMA as we proceed with the launch of the Pilot Program.



• I’m glad that the program for Participating IG Certification Programs is now in place and the initial listing of participating programs will be posted on March 20.



• The discussion at the Board meeting regarding illumination and, more generally, the type of ratings/information NFRC should provide in the future was very constructive and encouraging. The thoughts & comments offered will provide excellent input for the upcoming Board retreat.



• It seems that the time between now and the Summer Meeting in Baltimore will be busy as there are plans for a number of ballots to be prepared and issued between now and then.

Overall I remain enthused and excited about the future of NFRC. We certainly have a full plate of issues to address, but the desire and energy are clearly evident in both the membership and staff to tackle these issues head-on.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the stellar job done (once again) by NFRC Staff in making these meetings run as smoothly as they did. Their efforts behind the scenes often go unnoticed, but they are greatly appreciated.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone in Baltimore this summer. Until then and as always … THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO!!!"

Board Meeting Continues: NFRC Scope Change and Tax Credit Discussed

Dr. Ross McCluney of SunPine Consulting presented a challenge to the board of directors during the New Business Section of Thursday’s meeting. “I think it’s time for NFRC to talk about expanding the scope of the organization to include solar and daylighting systems,” he said.

McCluney addressed the board about the importance of daylighting and its proven energy savings and urged the board to take a look at expanding the group’s mission from strictly producing comparative ratings for thermal performance to a more energy focused scope. He received support from several attendees and Joe Hayden, Chair of the NFRC Board, assured him there was a strong interest in exploring this topic at the board level. Hayden went on to explain that the board had an expanded/modified mission statement on the agenda for a retreat scheduled in May.

During the Q&A section of the meeting, Marc LaFrance with the Department of Energy (DOE), approached the board stressing the importance of a timely attachment program. He urged the board to do everything within their power to expedite the process as the DOE’s priorities have been expanded to include HUD programming. This places a great emphasis on low income energy-efficient solutions –the kind the attachment program is hoping to deliver.

Richard Karney, also with the Department of Energy, ignited a whirlwind of discussion when he approached the mic to discuss the stimulus tax credit. He urged the group if they were to make any kind of plea to elected officials regarding modification to the recent bill to include the following items:

• Add into the amending language that any numbers must be NFRC Certified.


• Stipulate that ENERGY STAR© 2010 numbers be referenced.

The second portion of the meeting also included a financial report from Jim Benney, Executive Director of the NFRC. He presented the current state of the association’s financial well being and stated that although there was a small deficit in budget numbers the shortfall was less than expected.

Benney stated, “We are ahead of the game and in a good financial position heading into 2009.”

NFRC Board Meets Thursday Morning

Joe Hayden with Pella Corporation, NFRC’s Chairman of the Board, opened the NFRC’s Board meeting early on Friday in front of remaining meeting attendees. The group quickly moved into the first task at hand, to review and move on the many action items brought forward from the week’s committee meetings.

All items brought forward were approved with minimal discussion – a few specific items of interest include:

• Two new members (non-voting) for the APC committee: Michael Resech of ATI-MN and Jackie Campbell of WESTLab.


• IGC directory will be posted on the NFRC Web site on March 20, 2009.


• All certification programs have been contacted and applications are due to the NFRC offices by March 15th.


• Research and Technology had the largest group of motions for approval including Complex VT Rating Request for Services and an Awning Rating Feasibility RFP. It was noted that the latter will be fully funded by the Awning manufacturers.


• The group discussed the issue of reaffirmation of existing documents when no changes are made. There are no current guidelines in the NFRC Operating polices. Documents reaffirmed at this meeting include the NFRC 703-Research Program Manual, as well as the NFRC 301, 302, & 303. The board took comments from the membership and advised that while allowed at this meeting the legal committee will come up with language for future reference on this topic.

Who's New? NFRC New Member EcoSmart

Kim Eger with EcoSmart Shutters, LLC is attending his second NFRC Meeting here in Tucson and talked to the Live Update Staff about his goals for involvement and his first impressions of the busy, hard-working gathering.

EcoSmart has pioneered the first solar-powered rolling shutter and the company’s products are reported to drastically reduce solar heat gain. Eger is looking to NFRC to find a way to credibly rate his product. “I saw a dynamic shift happening in the marketplace and realize that NFRC is key to educating the consumer about the benefis and choices available to improve energy efficiency,” said Eger.

EcoSmart became NFRC’s first new member of 2009 and Eger says he looks forward to attending future meetings. He is encouraged by the positive momentum of the attachment group’s work over the last six months. Plus, he shared the personal connections he is making through networking onsite is positive on many levels.

“The talent pool of the people here is without equal; the connections I can make in five minutes in the hallway beats a year of email and phone correspondence,” Eger said. “That is big!”

Ratings Closes Committee Meetings in Tucson

The Ratings Committee, chaired by Steve Strawn of Jeld-Wen, brought the committee meetings in Tuscon to an end with reports from the Labeling, Certification and CMA Certification subcommittees.

The committee approved ballots brought forward by subcommitees on removing Res97 language from the PCP and approving the CMA PCP (NFRC 705-2009) and sent them on the Board of Directors for review and approval.