Knowing Your Labels

It is not easy to tell which product is best for you. Experts will tell you that although many windows look the same, they often have totally different performance characteristics. In Canada there are two independent bodies that run programs to help the consumer choose windows that have the best test results and will be the most energy efficient. Unfortunately these programs are voluntary and not all windows are tested!

Canadian Standards Association

CSA has set minimum standards for windows and doors, and has even created a Voluntary Auditing Program where reputable manufacturers agree to open their doors for independent inspections by CSA. The audits are intended to ensure that the product being manufactured on a day to day basis meets the same standard as the windows that were originally tested. Only if the manufacturer takes part in this voluntary auditing program can a manufacturer become CSA CERTIFIED. Even then, not all products or styles from a manufacturer have to be certified, so don’t just accept that a product has been CSA tested…to be sure you are getting what you are paying for, it has to be CERTIFIED. Insist on seeing an actual sample of the window and style that you are considering with a CSA CERTIFIED label on it!

ENERGY STAR

In general, all ENERGY STAR qualified products, not just windows, are amongst the top 20% for energy efficiency of all products of their kind in the marketplace. Using that philosophy, ENERGY STAR has set minimum standards for the energy efficiency of hundreds of products in Canada and the United States. As you can imagine with Canada’s extreme climate, standards for windows had to be much tougher, so the Canadian ENERGY STAR program is separate from the U.S. program and is managed by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). The Canadian program has divided Canada into regions according to climate and has four performance levels – A,B,C, and D. The better a window performs, the more regions of Canada a window will qualify for. A label that lists a “D” rating indicates the highest energy savings and can be installed anywhere in Canada. But once again manufacturers don’t necessarily get the same rating on all the products they make, so it pays to insist on seeing the ENERGY STAR label on an actual sample of the product and style you are considering.

You can check on both CSA and ENERGY STAR qualifying products at their respective web sites but it is not always easy to tell if the product you are looking at in the showroom is exactly the same, with the same options, as the one on the web site. Very few manufacturers have all of their windows CSA and ENERGY STAR qualified, so insist on seeing both labels on the sample before you buy and again ON YOUR ACTUAL WINDOW when it is installed.