The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published final specifications for Energy Star 7.0 Thursday, handing manufacturers their final marching orders if they’re to keep the program’s sticker on their door and window products. The news arrived amid the final hours of GlassBuild America—a week in which some companies said they were shopping new glass packages and […]

During the last week, many of us crafted a final response to the EPA concerning the Energy Star Version 7 for windows, doors and skylights. Our last letter to EPA in March ’22 asked for nine changes to be made to the proposal, and EPA accepted one. While it is unlikely that EPA will make […]

During the last few weeks, I have visited customers, and the topic of Energy Star has come up. Everyone wonders if the EPA will stick with the stringent requirements outlined in drafts 1 and 2 of Version 7.0 or move to some halfway point. This would give window and door fabricators extra time to adjust […]

The Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) and the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) unveiled their national policy agendas for 2022 and the items of utmost importance to its members. Energy policies, workforce development, and “easing of supply chain challenges” sit at the top of the list. Energy The NLBMDA opposes a […]

Well, dear readers, it’s almost November, and what a strange ride it’s been since we commenced this COVID-induced journey in March 2020. Journey/nightmare … whatever you want to call it—both words apply. Yes, sales are up—way up, but along with that comes supply chain nightmares, logistical challenges, and a non-existent labor pool, the likes of […]

“It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look farther than you can see.”—Winston Churchill After attending GlassBuild last week and reviewing innovations that can help improve thermal performance, I’m encouraged! The new low-E coatings and combinations of coatings, along with some new work on thin triples, advises us that we can achieve lower […]

Officials for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grabbed the mic Tuesday to explain how the agency arrived at the criteria proposed in Draft 1 of Energy Star 7.0 for residential windows, doors and skylights. In a more than hourlong webinar, program officials detailed the development cycle and how their agency calculated such things as […]

Officials for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released Draft 1 on July 7, 2021 for the upcoming Energy Star 7.0 revision, including currently proposed changes to performance requirements and details for how the program evaluated the impacts of various changes. All of the info may be found on the Energy Star website. In the current […]

I’m thrilled to share that the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) has joined a new public-private alliance called the Partnership for Advanced Windows Solutions (PAWS), to speed up the mass adoption of energy-efficient windows and attachments. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, the organization leading this initiative, convened a meeting with potential partners to discuss strategies […]

It’s exciting times for the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). As we closed the month of March with a successful Spring Committee Meeting, we heard about innovative, long-term technological progress for fenestration and short-term anticipation, as the U.S. economy begins to normalize after the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to carrying out committee business, our virtual […]