National Fenestration Rating Council

Many of our products carry the NFRC (National Fenestration Rating Council) label, assuring you significant savings in heating and cooling costs and numerous environmental benefits.

NFRC Tells the True Story

Until recently, consumers received energy performance information in a variety of ways. Some manufacturers described performance by showing R-values of the glass. While the glass might be a good performer, the rating did not include the effects of the unit's frame. Other manufacturers touted the insulating values of different window components, but these did not accurately reflect the total window system performance either.

Furthermore, when manufacturers rated the entire window or other fenestration product, some used measurements gathered from physical laboratory tests and others used computer calculations. Even among those using laboratory test reports, the test laboratories often tested the windows under different procedures, making an "apples-to-apples" comparison difficult.

The different rating methods confused builders and consumers. They also created headaches for manufacturers trying to differentiate their products' performance from their competitors'.

The National Fenestration Rating Council has developed a fenestration energy rating system based on whole product performance. This accurately accounts for the energy-related effects of all the product's component parts and prevents information about a single component from being compared in a misleading way to other whole-product properties. With energy ratings based on whole-product performance, NFRC helps builders, designers and consumers directly compare products with different construction details and attributes.

About the NFRC Label

Windows, doors and skylights should do more than let in the light. They should help keep your house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And they should help protect your drapes, carpets and other furnishings from fading.

NFRC labels can help you determine how well a product will perform these functions, because the labels provide fair, accurate and credible information about the energy performance of windows, doors and skylights. By using the label, builders and consumers can reliably compare one product with another and make informed decisions about the products they buy.

About the Program

NFRC has developed and operates a uniform national rating system for energy performance of fenestration products, including windows, doors, skylights, and similar products. The linchpin of the Rating System is a procedure for determining the thermal transmittance (U-Factor) of a product. The U-factor rating procedure is supplemented by procedures for rating products for solar heat gain coefficient, visible transmittance, air leakage, and annual energy performance. Together, these rating procedures, as set forth in documents published by NFRC, are known as the NFRC Rating System. The Rating System is expected to be supplemented by additional procedures for rating energy performance characteristics, including long term energy performance and condensation resistance.

The Rating System employs computer simulation and physical testing by NFRC-accredited laboratories to establish energy performance ratings for fenestration products and product lines. The Rating System is reinforced by a certification program under which a window and door manufacturer may label and certify its products to indicate those energy performance ratings.

Which Window Man Windows are NFRC Certified?

At this time, All of our windows are NFRC certified.

For more information about the NFRC Label and Rating System, please visit the NFRC Web site.