“Layton Consulting Fenestration Nerds” By Taylor Wight: A fruitful activity: a potential grocery list for picking the right product
I wasn’t in this industry long before someone asked me, “Are European windows better than North American windows?”. Everyone wants a single straight answer, but that is like asking, “Are apples better than oranges?”. Just like that comparison, it all really depends on what you’re looking for. Yes, they are both fruit, but if all you know to ask for is fruit, then it’s pretty much a toss-up whether you’ll get an apple or an orange, let alone a grape or cantaloupe! Before this analogy gets too fruity, let's take a look at some of the right questions to qualify the product for your needs.
1. Who is buying and who is selling the windows? I guarantee if you pit an apple orchard owner against an orange grove owner and told them to debate which fruit was better, they would each raise several compelling arguments to support their own fruit and industry, yet neither would convince the other to uproot their trees and plant the different type of tree on their land. Obviously, importers will feel their product is superior, and North Americans won’t quietly back down in defending their own product either. Similarly, owners and architects have their own preferences based on their outlook and experience about which type of window they prefer. Check out the quiz below to see what category you may fall into.
Quiz: Do I prefer European or North American Windows?
1. Bug screens are…
a. Unnecessary and only hamper the view through the window.
b. Very necessary. I like the bugs to stay outside. Thank you.
2. I like my windows to open…
a. Inwards, and I like the option to open them in two ways, hinged on the side or the bottom
b. Outwards so that it doesn’t interfere with my shades or furniture in my house.
3. The position of the window in the wall (how far in or out the window is placed) should be determined by…
a. The position that will yield the optimal thermal performance and minimize any thermal bridging between the window frame and the wall.
b. The position that will most complement the aesthetic of the building and give a
clean outside appearance.
4. Heating and cooling vents should be placed…
a. On the side of the room closest to the heating and cooling units to minimize the cost of ducting and fan force to push through that ducting.
b. Below most windows, near the outer wall to minimize the risk of condensation accumulating on the windows and to best mix the warm/cold air in the room.
5. If I paid the same total amount over the window's life cycle, I would rather…
a. Pay more upfront to minimize the heating and cooling costs in the long term.
b. Pay less upfront and a little more long-term on heating and cooling.
Answers: A’s are generally a more European mindset, while B’s are a more typical North American mindset. Of course, this a very simplified outlook on the different design mindsets, and there is plenty of cross over between these different design priorities, so this exercise is meant as an introspective exercise to shed light on the values we prioritize in our window choices.
2. What standard are the windows going to be held to? Before produce is placed on the store shelf, it is evaluated to ensure it meets the proper standards that consumers expect. Characteristics such as color, shape, firmness, and texture are all checked, and only the best are sorted for sale. That said, if an orange slipped in with the apples, it would certainly be identified as a bad apple! Similarly, North American windows are designed and optimized for the North American (NFRC) standard, whereas the European windows perform best under their own (EN ISO 10077) standard. Therefore, windows optimized for European standards may not perform as well under North American standards, and vice versa. That doesn't mean they aren't good (arguably, an orange can be just as good as an apple), but rather the performance it states under one standard can’t be expected under another. Our research has shown that when imported systems are re-analyzed to the North American standards, the performance values often worsen in comparison to the rating under the European standard.
3. Where is the project located? This may be the leading factor in what standard should be considered. Just as fruits that are grown locally are typically highlighted as part of the region’s most common cuisine, the window rating standard followed is typically the one closest to where the standard originated. Usually, North American projects require North American ratings. However, some instances (such as within the City of Vancouver) allow passive house-rated windows to be used if, and only if, the entire project is being designed as a passive house project. Even in North America, the allowance for Passive House rated window and door products is not united, as Passive House Canada follows the EU standard, but the Passive House Institute US (PHIUS) is mixture of the EU standard and the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC)… perhaps that is a discussion for another day. Turning back to North American Standards the major two are NFRC (accepted in the US and Canada) and CSA A440.2 which is the Canadian equivalent and uses the same simulating methods as NFRC, but it is typically not recognized as valid in the US because the validation test for CSA A440.2 is not as rigorous as the NFRC procedure, therefore, products rated under CSA A440.2 can be sold in Canada, but to sell in both Canada and the US, NFRC is the preferred standard to follow for windows.
4. When do you need to get your window certified? Ideally, you would get all your products certified for every possible combination before you start selling them. The fruit that is sold in a grocery store is expected to meet certain requirements, and the producers put in the time to maintain their quality up to the grocers’ standards to keep their product on the shelf. The grocery store isn’t the only place to get fruit, however, sometimes there are farmers markets or roadside stands selling fruit, in those cases the buyer still purchases the fruit with some expectation of the quality of the fruit or its process, and relies on their own assumptions or other provided proof at that point of sale to make an informed decision. In the same sense, most fenestration products can and should be certified in advance. However, there are always exceptions to the rule. In the world of seemingly endless options for the consumer sometimes an odd glass and frame combination may be requested which you don’t have certified, or a particular product may be selected that is not yet certified, or sometimes building energy modelers want a more site specific calculation done even if all your frames are already certified. In those special cases, some site-specific simulations can be done, satisfying code compliance and providing assurance to the purchaser that the products that have not been certified for that particular situation will still perform to an expected result.
5. Who can help you through certifying your products. If you are looking for fruit ratings, we can only really tell you what fruits we think taste the best, but those ratings will be very opinion-based. BUT, if you are looking for window ratings and performance analysis, then we can help walk you through the process, free of subjective, opinion-based metrics. To ensure that all fenestration in North America is held to the same standards, the NFRC upholds a training program for all certifiers and an inspection program for all labs who will be assisting in the certification process. Layton Consulting is an NFRC-certified simulation laboratory, which permits us to calculate the thermal ratings for fenestration products throughout North America. A standard without enforcement is only a guideline. As such, we support the consistent efforts to ensure that the fenestration ratings produced in North America can be trusted and that the imported products are not mistaken as better simply because the methods and differing standards are not understood.
All in all, there are fantastic windows and doors available from all over the world, so no consumer should ever feel like they can’t get what they want in their home, office or facility. That said, the more the buyer is informed on what is being sold, the better the fenestration industry can meet expectations while still promoting equal quality competition. There may be nothing worse than biting into an apple that is rotten from the inside, but imagine how confused and unsatisfied you would be if it tasted like an orange! Let us help you if you have any questions, concerns or confused consumers...and remind me next time not to write a blog before I eat my lunch!
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