BFRC window rating scheme WER

BFRC stands for the British Fenestration Rating Council. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the glazing industry’s trade association, the Glass and Glazing Federation.

The BFRC scheme is an Window Energy Rating (WER) scheme. It is based on a traffic-light style A-G ratings system for energy efficiency similar to that used for fridges, washing machines, cookers and so on. An A rating indicates a good level of energy efficiency, whilst G is the lowest possible rating.

Rated windows are provided with labels that include information about:

• The rating level of the window, from A-G.
• The energy loss rating in kilowatt hours per square metre per year.
• A U-value, indicating the thermal conductivity of the window.
• The effective heat loss due to air infiltration in W/m²K.
• Solar heat gain as a ratio of incident to transmitted solar radiation.

Windows rated A to C also carry the Energy Saving Recommended logo issued by the Energy Saving Trust. There is also now an A+ rating for the very highest performing windows.

The label gives an overall indication of how energy efficient the window is, how much air it will allow to penetrate into a building, the likelihood of condensation and the level of acoustic insulation and so on. It can also be used to demonstrate building regulations compliance for replacement windows.

The efficiency of windows is improved by double glazing, treble glazing, low-e coatings, the construction of the frame, the type of glass, the gas used to fill the sealed unit and so on. Generally, more efficient windows are more expensive, but the capital cost may be recovered during the life of the window life through lower energy bills. In addition, the conditions within the enclosed space are likely to be more comfortable.

BFRC claim that changing the windows on an average house from single glazing to energy efficient windows can save 18% in energy use (ref BFRC FAQ’s).

In September 2011, BFRC launched a Door Energy Ratings Scheme (DER).

[edit] Find out more

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Domestic windows.
• Door energy rating.
• Double glazing.
• Emissivity.
• Energy certificates.
• g-value.
• Glass manifestation.
• Low-e glass.
• Pelmet.
• Secondary glazing.
• Shading coefficient.
• Solar heat gain coefficient.
• Sustainability.
• Thermal bridge.
• U value.
• Window parts.

[edit] External references

• BFRC.