Component Modeling Approach Program
For the past 20 years, the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) has provided a fair, accurate, and credible rating and labeling system for windows, doors, and skylights used in residential construction. Now NFRC is providing the non-residential market with a powerful and exciting online program known as the Component Modeling Approach (CMA).
What is CMA?
CMA is a groundbreaking concept in the non-residential fenestration industry. It offers performance information on fenestration
components through an online database. This is essentially a library that houses data on a wide variety of fenestration components
and is available all of the time from anywhere in the world.
CMA shows how changing one component affects overall energy efficiency and provides information on which components can be combined. Ultimately, the information obtained from CMA can be used to determine a whole product energy performance rating for a fenestration system.
This rating information is incorporated into a CMA Label Certificate for product validation. The label certificate lists the performance for all fenestration systems for a given building project.
Furthermore, any products certified for a particular project can be used in subsequent projects without recertification. Finally, components and certified products are maintained indefinitely in CMA.
How is CMA Organized?
CMA is organized into three primary components:
Glazing |
Frame |
Spacer |
Optical/spectral data from the International Glazing Database |
Thermal performance data of frame cross-sections |
Thermal performance of spacer component materials |
Why did NFRC create CMA?
NFRC developed CMA to:
- Ease market transformation in the commercial fenestration industry by encouraging broad access and use of CMA
- Provide a fair, level playing field among competitors for marketing energy-efficient fenestration products and components
- Assist the building code community through the use of the CMA for determining the compliance of fenestration products to state and local energy codes
What’s in it for me?
Architects and builders:
- Designing envelope/fenestration systems for maximum energy efficiency – whether solar control, energy efficiency, daylighting, or passive solar design
- Comparing the energy performance of different fenestration components and products, and making more informed choices
- Enforcing – related specified performance to installed performance
Building officials, state government employees, and other involved in code development and enforcement:
- Establishing realistic prescriptive energy codes for fenestration products (windows, doors, curtain walls, skylights)
- Determining if fenestration products meet local energy codes
Government- and utility-run energy-efficiency programs:
- Promoting advanced building technology
- Establishing demand-side management programs based on fenestration product performance
- Determining if the products installed meet the performance requirements of those voluntary programs
Manufacturers/contractors:
- Standardizing bid reports, showing that your products meet both the building specification and the local energy code requirements
- Determining and reporting the energy benefits of new designs or technology accurately
- Utilizing the most efficient components using a reliable design tool
How can I learn more about CMA?
Enter your contact information in the CMA Interest form. You will hear back from NFRC staff
within a few days.
Utah Valley Convention Center Finds Right Tool for the Job in NFRC’s CMA Program
“CMA was integral in streamlining the selection, certification, and code compliance processes for the fenestration on this project. It’s the kind of tool you can rely on to get things done easier than ever before.” --Todd Reynolds
Todd Reynolds wanted to simplify the process for achieving building energy code compliance and providing third-party certification for the glazed curtain wall surrounding the Utah Convention Center. He found just what he was looking for in the National Fenestration Rating Council’s (NFRC) Component Modeling Approach (CMA) Program. Click here for the full story