ENERGY RATINGS AND BFRC ACCREDITATION

Changes to Building Regulations: During April or May 2009 there will be a revision to current Building Regulations. This is a document that invites comments prior to final publication. It is known that it will have major implications for Window Frame and IGU manufacturers with U values of these products being reduced to help the government meet its obligations on greenhouse emissions.

Although it is not know exactly the content of this document it is widely rumoured that the minimum rating of a fully glazed window will be a "C" under the BFRC Window Energy Rating scheme. It is unsure if centre pane U Values will remain. It is essential that all those manufacturers in the Fenestration Industry seek advice from their suppliers and CENSolutions Ltd are extremely well placed to advise you.

CENSolutions are extremely pleased to announce that we now have two Approved Simulators listed on the BFRC web site. These are Brendan Ruddy covering Northern Ireland and Eire, with Dave Frost covering the rest of the UK. Our aim is to be able to provide a full system to achieve Window Energy Ratings and smooth the way for clients to attain BFRC Registration without the need for involving a large number of separate agencies.

As such we have applied to become an Independent Agency to enable us to carry out assessments and audits at the manufacturers' premises. In order to satisfy the conditions for becoming an Independent Agency, we have applied for UKAS Accreditation for Product Certification under EN 45011. A completely separate new company is to be launched to handle this and demonstrate impartiality away from our FPC implementation. Bill Keating is now a qualified Lead Auditor and as such will oversee all the assessments and audits required by the new company.

We can also offer ISO 9001.2000 Certification in the UK in conjunction with TNO Quality Services BV, our Notified Body testing partner in the Netherlands. Bill Keating will be taking a lead role in this venture.

*EN 14351 – The route to Compliance (doc 20k)
*Routes to BFRC (doc 20k)

The route to attaining BFRC Energy Rating approval.

Firstly the window manufacturer will have to get a BFRC approved assessment of the performance of the window range in question. The window range is assessed by using a standard window configuration which is 1480mm high x 1230mm wide, with a central divider, and one opening light and one fixed light.

Once the BFRC approved report is issued the Independent Agent (IA) can then start the process of the factory production control audit. Firstly this involves the window manufacturer creating a detailed scope of the window configurations that the BFRC energy rating scheme will cover and so what windows can be labelled with the A-G label. Additionally if the BFRC approved assessment confirms the energy rating at C or above then the Energy Savings Trust (EST) Energy saving recommended label can be used. An audit is then conducted at the manufacturer's premises to ensure the manufactured product relates to the particular technical specifications and that the manufacturer is operating an effective Quality Management System.

Upon a satisfactory audit, the IA will put forward the window manufacturers scope of energy rated windows to the BFRC who will process the application and put the information onto the BFRC website. At this point the window manufacturer can start to label there products for sale into the market place.
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