When you’re looking for new replacement windows, you’ll find a black and white label with various numbers and NFRC ratings on them. What do these numbers mean and why are they important for your new window purchase?
Choosing NFRC certified products means getting the most out of your investment, bringing you impeccable performance through every season here in New England.
What is National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) Certification?
The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) is an independent, non-profit organization that provides accurate and reliable energy performance ratings for windows, doors, and skylights. NFRC-certified products are independently tested, certified, and labeled to help you understand their energy performance across multiple categories.
The NFRC Certified Products Directory lists detailed energy performance ratings, including U-values, solar heat gain coefficients (SHGC), and visual transmittance (VT) for commercial and residential window, glass door, and skylight assemblies. This transparency empowers you to choose the best products for your needs, optimizing your home’s energy efficiency.
It breaks down a window’s energy performance into several categories to help you make informed decisions.
The NFRC label looks like this example below:
NFRC label example
Is the NFRC Label the Same as Energy Star Label?
No. The Energy Star label is certified by Energy Star. It’s a blue label; otherwise, it is a seal of approval from the Department of Energy. It looks like the photo below.
Energy Star Label
This label can be found on all kinds of products, ranging from windows and doors to washers and dryers.
Furthermore, Energy Star also offers a Climate Zone map which can help you determine the type of ratings to look for with the NFRC label. New England is considered the northern zone.
How is the NFRC Label Different from the ENERGY STAR Label?
Think of it this way: the ENERGY STAR label tells you that a product is energy-efficient. The NFRC label, on the other hand, helps you compare between energy-efficient products. While both labels provide valuable information, they serve different purposes:
- ENERGY STAR Label: This label indicates that a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It’s a quick way to identify products that are generally more energy-efficient than standard options.
- NFRC Label: This label offers a detailed breakdown of a product’s energy performance in several key categories, such as U-factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC), Visible Transmittance (VT), and Air Leakage (AL). It allows you to compare different energy-efficient products to find the best fit for your needs and climate. The NFRC Certified Products Directory can also be used to compare detailed energy performance ratings of different products.
By using both labels together, you can ensure that you are choosing high-performing, energy-efficient products while also understanding how they compare to other options on the market.
Explaining NFRC Ratings
Now that you know the difference between the Energy Star and NFRC Label, let’s talk about the NFRC ratings.
There are four quadrants that display different ratings for energy efficient products, which include the following.
2024 Revised NFRC Ratings
On May 6, 2024, the NFRC added two new fenestration documents to rate the condensation index rating for windows without the need of using Linear Energy analysis. The latest revisions are identified as ANSI/NFRC 200-2023 [E0A2] and ANSI/NFRC 500-2024 [E0A2]. The main documents and addendum log or redline version may be found on the Technical Documents page of the NFRC website.
U-Factor
The top left quadrant is U-Factor. U-Factor is a measure of heat loss. With 25% of your home’s energy being lost through drafty windows, this is one area where you don’t want to overlook.
This rating will help inform you of how much heat inside your home is escaping to the outside. The lower the number, the better the window will be for keeping energy contained inside your home.
Low U-factor ratings are important for homeowners in the New England region as we are concerned about heat loss.
When it comes to U-Factor, you’ll want to look for low numbers. Good numbers in the range are within .20-1.2.
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
The top right quadrant is for the dollar heat gain coefficient. SHGC is a measurement of heat entering your windows from the sun
Good quality replacement windows are able to resist a large amount of unwanted solar heat gain. This is important during the summer months in New England.
Low solar heat gain numbers can help you spend less money on cooling costs in the summer.
For SHGC, lower numbers are best. A good range to consider is between 0-1.
Visible Transmittance
The bottom left quadrant is for Visible Transmittance. VT tells you how much natural light is entering your home from the sun.
Higher numbers mean that more light enters your home. Keep in mind that light does not mean that heat is entering your home as long as you have the right windows.
Natural light can help you rely less on artificial lighting, which in turn can lower your energy bills. Higher numbers are best with a range of 0-1. Low VT ratings require natural light, even during the daytime.
Our windows offer 27% more glass, which helps bring in a maximum amount of sunlight so your home feels light, airy, and happy.
Air Leakage
The last quadrant is air leakage. Air leakage rating is incredibly important because it relates to energy loss through your windows. While no windows can give you the same seal as a solid wall, you’ll want to choose windows with a rating as close to 0.3 as possible.
Think of air leakage in terms of soda cans. The average ratings range from .12 to .30 CFM in brands such as Pella and Anderson.
However, Coastal Windows & Exteriors has one of the highest air infiltration ratings in the industry at .01 CFM. This is the difference between windows leaking 24 air cans of soda per minute vs. .8 air cans of soda per minute.
Coastal Windows & Exteriors offers windows with some of the highest ratings for AI on the market. You can count on our windows to help save energy all year long, even in a climate like we have in New England.
Get High-Performance NFRC Certified Products from Coastal Windows & Exteriors
Coastal Windows & Exteriors ensures that our windows are engineered for maximized performance and energy savings. Switching from outdated single pane windows with rotted frames can give you a big boost in comfort levels for your home. Our windows are NRFC certified products, constructed from quality vinyl and made to last for decades.
Contact us now for a free quote on new window installation.
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