FenStar® Certification Program

As a Partner in the ENERGY STAR® program, you have made a business choice to be part of a brand that communicates the message about the energy efficiency of windows, doors, and skylights to consumers. The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) is the leading expert in the certification and testing for windows, doors, and skylights, and is recognized by the EPA as a Certification Body (CB) for the ENERGY STAR program.

To ensure that ENERGY STAR products continue to perform in the marketplace as originally designed and certified, ENERGY STAR requires that all products bearing the logo be made available for ongoing verification testing.

The FenStar® Certification Program is NFRC’s program for ensuring compliance to the ENERGY STAR specifications. In addition to the ongoing verification testing, the FenStar Certification Program will provide manufacturers an evaluation of their installation instructions, air leakage certification information, and product lines’ ENERGY STAR and NFRC labels. Once all the information is evaluated, a certificate will be issued stating the product meets the requirements of the FenStar Program and the ENERGY STAR specifications.

Manufacturers will still 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 testing. 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.

These requirements will be accomplished in stages, beginning with a pilot program in January 2018 and gradually expanding to include all ENERGY STAR partners.

ENERGY STAR Partners Must:

FenStar Certification Program new documents – October 2019

PESI Manual

SharePoint Document Management Licensee User Manual

FenStar Certification Program Surveillance

Notices of selection for the verification testing portion of the certification program for 2018 have been sent. If you received a notice of selection for testing, please contact staff as soon as possible with an estimated delivery date for the verification test sample or if there are any questions or concerns regarding the verification test. The verification testing is taking the place of the now defunct Independent Verification Program (IVP). There will be no noticeable change in that program for everyone that passes the test.

Additional Program Information: