Four Clear-Cut Steps Lead to CMA Certification in California

An online article recently posted on the American Architectural Manufacturers Association’s (AAMA) Website discusses the four primary steps involved in the certification process for the National Fenestration Rating Council's (NFRC) Component Modeling Approach (CMA) Program in California.

The CMA Product Certification Program (PCP) enables whole product energy performance ratings for commercial (non-residential) fenestration.

CMA accomplishes this by using online performance data for the three primary components of a fenestration product – glazing, frames, and spacers – to generate overall product performance ratings for U-factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) and Visible Transmittance (VT). This information is incorporated into a CMA Label Certificate for code compliance.

According to a study conducted by the Heschong Mahone Group (HMG), and released in October 2010 by NFRC, the use of CMA provided an increase of 11.7 percent in energy compliance margins compared to default fenestration rating values in California buildings.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has incorporated CMA as one of three standard approaches to prove compliance with the state's 2008 Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards for non-residential buildings.

The CMA PCP consists of four primary steps, which are described in detail here.

Please contact Tom Herron for more information about this posting.