NFRC Seats New BOD Members, Establishes New Executive Committee

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) has officially seated its newest Board members for the 2013 term and also approved the members of its new Executive Committee.

Each of the following Board members has been seated to serve a three-year term.

• Sneh Kumar, Kawneer, an Alcoa Company  - Fenestration Industry Category (Specified) A manufacturer who sells the majority of its fenestration products or systems for use in commercial construction.
• Jeff Baker, WESTLab Canada - Laboratory Category.
• Mahabir Bhandari, Oak Ridge National Laboratory - General Interest (non- specified).
• Gary Curtis, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance - General Interest (specified). A not-for-profit consumer, environmental, energy efficiency, or other public interest organization.

NFRC’s new Executive Committee will consist of the following members:

• Chair -- Steve Strawn, JELD-WEN
• Vice-Chair – Jeff Baker, WestLab Canada
• Secretary – Steve Farrar, Guardian Industries 
• Treasurer – Sneh Kumar, Kawneer, an Alcoa Company
• Previous Chair – Joe Hayden, Pella
• Ombudsman – Jim Krahn, Cardinal Glass

“NFRC is fortunate to have assembled such a talented group of professionals whose skills and contributions will make our organization even stronger,” said NFRC’s CEO, Jim Benney. “The individual commitment each one of them brings to our shared cause forms a distinguished group that positions NFRC to assist its stakeholders in reaching their goals during 2013 and beyond.” 

Update on NFRC's IVP Program

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) has been working for almost 3 years to create the NFRC 713 program document that will administer the IVP to verify ENERGY STAR® qualified products’ energy performance. NFRC used the results from the IVP pilot program and comments from the NFRC participants to modify the NFRC 713 and believes this draft provides a fair process for all NFRC entities.

NFRC participants are encouraged to download the NFRC 713 document for review from the IVP web page.

To assist with the review, the following are some of the modifications from the draft of the NFRC 713 distributed in March:

• The IVP is now completely separate from the NFRC 700.

• The IVP fee is separate from the NFRC participation fee per NFRC 704-2013.

• The IVP is for ENERGY STAR Partners only and use to verify ENERGY STAR qualified products.

• The only verification test is a thermal test performed in accordance with NFRC 102 and is the only value verification used for EPA evaluation.

• The destructive test has been removed as a verification test; however, it is still performed by the lab for comparison and evaluation purposes.

• ENERGY STAR Partners are required to inform NFRC which ENERGY STAR qualified product lines are sold as ENERGY STAR products. NFRC is developing an online tool for participants to use which will be available shortly.

• There is no grading against NFRC energy performance criteria and labeling. The grading and tolerances in the NFRC 713 are for EPA requirements only.

• The multi-tiered corrective actions and fines are no longer applicable to the program.

• Language was introduced for scenarios when results from the verification testing are questionable and may not be under the purview of the participant’s performance, but the Inspection Agency, laboratory, or other entity.

NFRC is requesting participants to forward any comments on the program document by November 26th to NFRC staff at ivp@nfrc.org.

NFRC continues to review the processes within the pilot program, and once these processes and the comments from NFRC participants are analyzed, the intent is for NFRC staff to present a final version (and implementation plan) to the NFRC Board of Directors for approval. It is our goal to begin implementing this phase of the IVP by January 1, 2013.

NFRC's Board of Directors Election Results

The National Fenestration Rating Council's (NFRC) Board of Directors election for the 2013 term is complete, and here are the results:

Each of the following members has been elected to a three-year term:

• Sneh Kumar, Traco - Fenestration Industry Category (Specified) A manufacturer who sells the majority of its fenestration products or systems for use in commercial construction.
• Jeff Baker, WESTLab Canada - Laboratory Category.
• Mahabir Bhandari, Oak Ridge National Laboratory - General Interest (non- specified).
• Gary Curtis, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance - General Interest (specified). A not-for-profit consumer, environmental, energy efficiency, or other public interest organization.

“I am pleased to welcome this accomplished, experienced group whose talent and enthusiasm will carry our organization forward," said NFRC’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jim Benney. “We've always had an effective and dynamic Board that brings people and ideas together to further the cause we are all passionate about, and I'm looking forward to working more closely with all of them.”

NFRC recommends checking your spam folder regularly for useful correspondence. Visit our website for quick and easy access to our newsletters and bulletins. 

NFRC Offers Volunteer Opportunities

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) offers a variety of volunteer opportunities. Current openings include the following:

• The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) American National Standards (ANS) Committee is in particular need of participation from those representing the “User” and “General Interest” categories. Information on this committee, the interest categories, and applications may be found here. Contact Robin Merrifield at 240-821-9513 with questions or to request an application. 

• The Bright Day Illuminance Task Group is seeking members. Contact Ray McGowan, NFRC's Senior Manager, Programs at 240-821-9510 for details.
   
• The Daylighting Potential Rating Procedure Task Group is seeking members. Contact Ray McGowan, NFRC's Senior Manager, Programs, at 240-821-9510 for details. 

Learn more about NFRC's pending deadlines and volunteer opportunities here. 

Access NFRC's Product Certification Program (PCP) bulletins here.