The Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance (IGMA) kicked off its 2013 Summer Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on Wednesday. The large gathering of many of the top minds from the insulating glass (IG) industry began the three-day event by discussing current active projects, says Tracy Rogers, the director of industry relations and advanced technology for Quanex Building Products.
Among the many issues on the agenda were:
*A Gas Permeability Task Group discussed a proposed request for proposal (RFP) to be solicited for developing a test method to measure the ability of insulating glass edge construction systems to prevent the movement of argon gas out of an insulating glass unit. The RFP was approved and will be sent to industry laboratories for quotation.
*The Vacuum Insulated Glazing Task Group reviewed a draft white paper intended to provide broad scope education on the history, performance and use of vacuum insulating glass. Work continues in the development of this document.
*A significant amount of time was spent reviewing the 11th Draft of the Window Product Category Rule (PCR) being jointly developed by IGMA, the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the Glass Association of North America (GANA) and the Window and Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA). The PCR will be the basis for performing Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) of window systems that can lead to a representative Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Target completion date for the PCR is October 2013.
*In support of the window PCR and LCA process, a committee approved a recommendation to be forwarded to the IGMA Board to form a joint IGMA/GANA task group to develop a PCR for insulating glass.
Following Wednesday’s lunch, Dan Braun of Architectural Testing Inc. (ATI) presented an in-depth analysis of the relative performance of tested IGU since the adoption of ASTM E 2190 and the mandatory requirement for IG certification by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). Braun’s summary pointed out the significant increase in the average number and type of failures of tested IGU and served to give notice regarding the challenges of passing the relatively new specification, Rogers says.
