Certification Program

AERC’s rating and certification program, developed with support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has been designed to offer independent and accurate information about the energy performance of residential window attachment products.

AERC’s mission is to ensure that the performance information provided to consumers via the AERC Energy Improvement label and website (currently available for residential products) is accurate, reliable and consistent. Each AERC certified product has been measured according to stringent standards and has been reviewed and accepted by AERC.

Eligible Participants

Window Attachment Manufacturers
Window attachment manufacturers can rate, certify, and label the energy performance of residential window attachment products through the AERC Certification Program.

Material Manufacturers
Material manufacturers participate in the AERC Certification Program by having an approved test lab measure the performance properties of their materials and submitting the performance data for listing in the Complex Glazing Database (CGDB) Materials Library. Materials used in window attachment products must have material properties data listed in the CGDB or International Glazing Database (IGDB) prior to simulation and certification of the window attachment product.

ACEs/ Simulators
An AERC Accepted Simulator works for an Accepted Calculation Entity (ACE). The simulator performs modeling and simulation services on behalf of window attachment manufacturers to generate window attachment ratings for AERC certification. ACEs review the work of their simulators and attest to the accuracy of the work product.

Test Laboratories
Test labs can participate in the AERC Certification Program in two ways – either through testing material properties or by testing performance properties of window attachments. In order to test and submit thermal and optical properties for the CGDB Material Properties Library, test labs must participate in the most recent inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) managed by LBNL. Test laboratories can also participate in the AERC rating and certification program by physically testing the performance properties of window attachments. Test labs must submit documentation supporting their ISO 17025 accreditation to conduct this testing.

Independent Inspection Agencies
AERC Accepted Independent Inspection Agencies perform annual inspections of AERC program participants, which may include Window Attachment Manufacturer Participants and Accepted Calculation Entities.

Eligible Products

Rating and certification procedures for eligible window attachment categories are being developed in three phases.

Phase 1
Products include cellular shades, blinds, roller shades, storm windows, solar screens and pleated shades.

Phase 2
Products include awnings, roller shutters and window quilts.

Phase 3
Products include drapes, louvered shutters, applied window films, roman shades and sheer shades.

Learn more about window attachment product types

The Certification Process

The process flow below outlines the basic certification process for window attachment manufacturers (click to enlarge). Material manufacturers have a different process – see Material Manufacturer page for more information.

Certification Cost

For manufacturers, simulators, ACEs, and Independent Inspection Agencies there are annual participation fees to help cover the costs of administering the certification program. Manufacturers also have scaled fees for listing products in the Certified Products Database. One of the benefits of being an AERC member is discounted fees for AERC certification.

Window Attachment Product Certification Participation Fees

Participant Type	Fee Type	Member	Non-Member
Accepted Calculation Entity	Annual Participation Fee	$1,750	$1,750
Accepted Simulator	Annual Participation Fee	$1,000	$1,000
Accepted Simulator	Training Registration Fee	TBD	TBD
Accepted Independent Inspection Agency	Annual Participation Fee	$1,000	$1,000
Type 3 Category Manufacturer Participant (In-Plant Inspection)*	Annual Per-plant Fee†	$4,300	$5,500
	Per-sample testing fee	$970	$1,300
Type 2 Category Manufacturer Participant (Verification Testing)*	Annual Participation Fee	$4,500	$6,000
	Per-sample testing fee	$970	$1,300
Secondary Listing Participants	Annual Participation Fee	$2,200	$3,200

*Subsidiary companies with separate manufacturing locations are considered individual Manufacturer Participants and must pay separate fees based on their Participation Category (Type 2 or Type 3).

†Fee includes cost of annual inspection.

Window Attachment Certified Products Database (CPD) Listing Fees

Type	Number of Listings‡	Member	Non-Member
Primary Listing	1-75	$170	$260
	76-150	$140	$260
	151+	$110	$260
Secondary Listing	1-75	$70	$130
	76-150	$40	$130
	151+	$30	$130
CPLR Revision		$125/hour

Complex Glazing Database (CGDB) Listing Program Fees

Fee Type	Sub-type	Member	Non-Member
Annual Manufacturer Participation Fee#		$1,000	$4,000
New Submission Per Product Listing Feeǁ	1-50 Listings	$210	$300
	51-150 Listings	$170	$300
	151+ Listings	$90	$300
Annual Per Product Listing Fee∆	1-50 Listings	$70	$200
	51-150 Listings	$55	$200
	151+ Listings	$30	$200
Editorial change fee		$50	$135

#May be prorated if enrolled in second half of calendar year.

ǁListing fee excludes cost of material testing. Covers first year listing costs.

∆Covers annual per product listing fee after the first year and until a listing has to be updated with new performance information at which point a new submission fee would need to be paid.

CGDB Early Adopter Discount

Effective August 1, 2018, AERC is offering its members a significant discount in CGDB submission fees to encourage participation in the program. Discounted fees will remain in effect for listings submitted six months from the final approval of grouping rules in AERC 1.1 (date TBD). To access the discounted fees listed in the table below, AERC members must meet the following requirements:

Be an AERC member in good standing.
By November 30, 2018, submit a signed letter using the AERC template committing to a number of listings that the manufacturer will submit under the early adopter discount.
1. Manufacturer will only be eligible to receive the early adopter discount for the amount of listings committed to in this letter.
Pay a non-refundable deposit in the amount of half the cost of the total number of listings committed.
1. As listings are submitted, AERC will track the number of listings for which it has already received a deposit and will invoice for the balance due on the listings submitted in excess of the deposit until either:
  1. The manufacturer reaches the number of listings to which they committed; OR
  2. The early adopter discount period ends. At which point AERC will begin to charge at the normal submission and listing fee rates.

Fee Type	Sub-type	Member	Non-Member
New Submission Per Product Listing Fee (early adopter rate)	1-50 Listings	$25	Not eligible for early adopter discount
	51-150 Listings	$20
	151+ Listings	$10

Locating Accepted Calculation Entities, Simulators, Independent Inspection Agencies, and Approved Test Labs

Visit the Approved Program Contacts page for contact information.