Meeting New Demands Without Compromise

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I’ve written a lot in recent months about the ongoing influence energy performance has on the commercial fenestration space. We can’t ignore it. Delivering on the needs of our evolving market will require our collective innovation, advocacy and commitment to delivering quality commercial glass and window systems.

Of course, we’re not pursuing this mission in a vacuum. A confluence of unique circumstances continues to challenge the traditional ways we’re used to doing business. Many commercial glass professionals are focused on dealing with labor and supply chain issues, and it can seem difficult if not impossible to focus on other areas of the business.

How are you dealing with these challenges? How are you responding to lengthy lead times? Product shortages? Demand for systems that meet new building codes? Price increases? These are the questions I’ve been trying to help my customers answer in recent months, and in those discussions, some common themes have arisen. Here are a couple of them:

Choose the right components for the right reason. In the face of longer lead times, shortages or rising prices on critical components, a simple solution presents itself: Look for alternatives.

The reality of that decision, however, can be anything but simple. If you’ve been building your glass systems a certain way for a long time, a different component can potentially throw a monkey wrench into your process. Perhaps it isn’t handled or applied the same way and may require retraining your plant floor staff. Or, say you’ve switched to a component for pricing reasons. It’s important to consider whether your alternative supplier’s product has a reputation you can trust, and whether that supplier will support your team should any type of issues occur. After all, your reputation is at stake.

The point is this: The way you design and construct your glass systems should be intentional. It can be tempting to let pricing or availability guide your hand (and in some cases, it may be a short-term necessity) but it can’t be at the cost of sacrificing the quality of your systems. This is particularly true as the glazing industry contends with rising thermal performance demands. Not only must our products meet high standards for performance, but they also must demonstrate the ability to be durable.

Find a helping hand. While you’re making decisions about sourcing critical components, another consideration to make about the suppliers you choose to work with is the value they can provide beyond just the components themselves.

The new thermal efficiency demands provide a good example. Let’s say you’ve bid on a project where local codes (or perhaps the project’s architect) dictate the window systems in the structure achieve a certain thermal performance minimum. It’s a more challenging target than a lot of your recent work—but it’s a project worth pursuing, and if it’s accomplished successfully, can grant your business some extra clout.
Design assistance can be valuable here, and your supplier maybe able to help. For example, a high-performing spacer provider has likely been involved with numerous projects requiring top levels of performance and may be able to provide ideas that can help you hit the required performance numbers in a more efficient manner. They may also be able to provide training or quality assurance services to ensure every unit meets the quality levels your customer expects.

Meeting the challenges of today’s industry requires collaboration. Working with vendors and suppliers who are willing to share ideas along with quality products can be a recipe for success.

Getting in Front of Energy Penalties

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Can you put a specific price on a building’s energy emissions? In New York City, starting in 2024, you can: $268.

That’s the penalty building owners will be charged for every metric ton of CO2 generated above an established limit beginning in two short years. Local Law 97, passed in 2019, will apply these limits for buildings in excess of 25,000 square feet from 2024–2029 before they become even more stringent (and with harsher penalties) from 2030–2034. While there are some additional complexities to the law—limits vary depending upon the type of building and its current emissions—the message is clear. Inefficiency now comes with a cost, and it can add up quickly.

New York City isn’t the only major city deploying these measures to reduce carbon emissions and promote greater sustainability. Washington, D.C., recently proposed a similar law that would take effect in 2025. Surely other cities aren’t far behind.

These measures are part of a more widespread push toward sustainability, but they strike me as a fairly distinct shift from how the industry has traditionally thought about a building’s efficiency. Energy efficiency is typically framed around the benefits—lower energy bills, occupancy comfort and, yes, reduced emissions. And it’s true that reaping these benefits requires an investment that some building and property owners may have previously not deemed necessarily worthwhile. But major municipalities instituting financial penalties for poorly performing buildings is a new kind of motivator for building owners and managers.

The commercial glass and glazing industry has some opportunity here, because high-performance window and glass systems are a great way to improve a building’s energy efficiency without sacrificing too much of the window-to-wall ratio. And I think this kind of financial imperative to improve energy efficiency in all buildings—new and old—will continue to drive greater acceptance of progressive window technologies.

One example is high-performing vinyl window systems, which can deliver outstanding energy benefits in a variety of applications where metallic systems have traditionally held the majority of market share. Not only are the energy benefits striking (especially when combined with warm-edge spacer systems), but there is also more evidence of their ability to deliver long-term performance. Last month I wrote about project-specific mock-up testing and why it’s becoming increasingly important to help validate the expected energy and structural performance of new, efficient building technologies. Vinyl systems, when installed with the right technique and care, absolutely have the potential to meet and exceed expectations.

For commercial glass professionals, we can advocate for technologies like these for our customers. For building owners in New York City and potentially other major municipalities, it’s decision time—invest in bolstering the efficiency of your properties today, or pay the price tomorrow.

 

The Increasing Importance of Mock-up Testing

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Not long ago I wrote about the importance of long-term performance once commercial glass products have been installed in a new building. Major investments are being made in new technologies, and in order for those products to meet their potential (and to protect our industry’s reputation), validating performance and sound installation practices are increasingly important.

I found this to be true during some of my recent travels over the past few weeks. In March, I and one of my technical services colleagues spent time at a test lab for project-specific mock-up performance testing on a commercial vinyl window system that is to be installed in a large mid-rise development project. The testing was necessitated by the project architect—some of the largest multi-lite openings needed to hit a certain criteria to keep the project moving. Windows were installed in a full-size representation of the proposed exterior wall system. Structural integrity, air tightness and water performance were all validated through the process, helping to grant confidence that the systems will deliver long-term performance.

While this is not standard procedure for every project, I think we’ll begin seeing an increase in required mock-up testing in large new commercial jobs. More evidence: The Building Envelope Contractors Conference (BEC) returned to Nashville for the first time in two years in March. There was plenty of chatter about how the industry has navigated the past few years, but a particular panel discussion on field and laboratory performance mock-ups caught my attention, correlating with my experience a week or so earlier. Presented by Jose Colon, regional sales director, Intertek; Szymon Zienkiewicz, president, Larsen Zienkiewicz; and Vic McConnell, Smith Cashion & Orr, PLC, the panel served to highlight the importance of performing physical mock-up testing to validate that the system as designed will be fit for use following sound installation.

Why an increasing emphasis on mock-up testing? I think there are a few drivers here:

Risk mitigation. First and foremost, testing helps validate performance—and that’s important for building owners in today’s environment. For many, making the investment in mock-up testing is a worthwhile venture to be more certain of long-term performance. System failures following completion of construction can be major liabilities. Especially as the construction space continues to face labor and skills challenges, a robust testing protocol can help reveal any weaknesses before the job is fully complete, allowing rework if necessary.

Quality assurance for new technologies. Building owners are further looking to new building and fenestration technologies for higher energy performance (more on that in a second). And as these new technologies are deployed, owners want assurance their selection can provide those benefits without sacrificing any of the reliability of legacy technologies. That testing I mentioned earlier was for Quanex’s commercial-grade vinyl window system, and structural performance was a critical part of the evaluation. I’ve noted before how commercial vinyl technologies can offer a wide range of benefits in punched opening and multi lite applications, and I believe that successful testing to commercial performance criteria like this will help broaden the acceptance of these types of options and further validate their place in the commercial market.

Efficiency and sustainability. Building codes and other measures will continue to drive the need for more thermally efficient glass and window systems, a trend that I don’t think we’ll see go in reverse any time soon. For example, last month I wrote about the burgeoning growth of passive house-certified buildings, which seek to drive energy consumption to the lowest possible point. Mock-up testing can help validate that the chosen window systems will provide the kind of air tightness required by passive house standards, for instance. As emphasis increases on making buildings more sustainable, I think it’s reasonable to expect testing will help contribute to those goals.

All in all, I think this kind of mock-up testing is a good thing for our industry. It’s an effective way that we can help grow trust and acceptance of new and emerging commercial glass and glazing technologies that can help make better buildings.