Through the looking glass

The Benefits of CMA

CMA provides many benefits to the designer, builder, developer, and property owner. For example, CMA simplifies code compliance. Once the preliminary ratings generated by CMA have been certified, NFRC issues a single CMA Label Certificate listing the energy performance ratings for all NFRC-rated products on a given project. This document can be used to demonstrate that the ratings meet energy code requirements.

However, CMA’s benefits go beyond demonstrating code compliance. The program can be used to select high performance products to help meet energy efficiency or daylighting goals. During the bidding process, design and construction professionals can even use CMA to demonstrate that the selected fenestration meets energy code and project specifications.

CMA’s reliable ratings can even lead to more accurate whole-building energy calculations and can provide an increase in energy compliance margins. A 2010 study in California compared CMA’s values to the California Energy Commission’s default and equation-based values, running simulations on eight building models under conditions similar to each of California's 16 climate zones. The study found that fenestration modeled with CMA could provide an increase in energy compliance margins up to 11.7 percent over the default calculation methods.

A Trusted Source

NFRC consistently provides consumers and building professionals with fair, accurate, and credible fenestration ratings information. For more than 20 years, the organization has served as the nation’s leading energy ratings and certification program for windows, doors, skylights, and other fenestration. Both the International Energy Conservation Code and ASHRAE 90.1 reference NFRC procedures, and to qualify for the ENERGY STAR® Windows program, a window must first be certified by NFRC.To learn more about NFRC, please visit www.nfrc.org.

Tom Herron, LEED Green Associate, is NFRC’s senior manager, communications and marketing. You can reach him at therron@nfrc.org.

Images courtesy of NFRC and flickr user Gerry Balding.