NFRC announces FenStar replacing the current Independent Verification Program

October 25, 2017

NFRC has announced the development of a new program named FenStar that will replace the current Independent Verification Program (IVP) for window products under the EPA’s Energy Star Program. The reason for the change is that the Energy Star program requires that Certification Bodies (CB) meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17065 standard and currently NFRC IVP program does not meet that requirement.

A presentation by NFRC at the recent meeting in San Diego stated that the requirements will essentially be the same as the current IVP with no additional costs to manufacturers through 2018. The FenStar program will launch in January 2018 as a pilot program in a staged rollout that will allow modifications if necessary.

How does this affect manufacturers?

A FAQ on the NFRC website that asks what type of information needs to be submitted by the manufacturer for the FenStar program states “Energy Star partners will need to update their product line information in PESI, update the Schedule II, and sign a new NFRC license agreement. In addition, manufacturers will need to provide copies of the installation instructions provided with ENERGY STAR products, air leakage certification information, and a sample of a products line’s ENERGY STAR and NFRC labels for verification. NFRC will be investigating ways to automate this information if possible (such as getting the air leakage data directly from the CPD) to ease the burden on the manufacturer.â€

More information on the FenStar program is available on the NFRC website.