An updated version of the North American Fenestration Standard (NAFS) is now available for public review via the CSA Group (formerly the Canadian Standards Association). The proposed changes can be reviewed until Sept. 4, 2022.

Both the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) and Window & Door Manufacturers Association (WDMA) have already approved the proposed changes. If no further changes are made, NAFS-22 should be published sometime in fall 2022. The NAFS is published by the FGIA, WDMA and CSA.

The NAFS is a fenestration standard to test and evaluate the performance of windows, doors and skylights. The NAFS requires testing and the proper labeling of windows and doors by the standard. It also ensures that doors and windows are rated to perform in the area installed. The standard is used both in Canada and the U.S.

The NAFS was previously updated in 2017, which replaced the 2011 edition.

At WDMA’s Technical + Manufacturing Conference in June 2022, Brad Fevold, director of regulatory affairs at Marvin, discussed the substantive changes to NAFS-22 that the association reviewed and approved.

These changes include, among many, increasing the maximum height for transoms, allowing a limited water (LW) rating for sliding doors, folding doors, side hinged doors and dual-action doors, along with adding language to say that side-hinged door systems shall comply with American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) 920 for Operation Cycle Performance and AAMA 925 for Vertical Loading Resistance.

Additional substantive changes include:

According to Fevold’s presentation, NAFS-22 will offer fewer complex tables, greater harmonization between the U.S. and Canada – such as air filtration, exfiltration and operating forces – no minimum test size for Performance Class R, a reduction in detail in material and component requirements, added limited water for sliding doors and no redundant definitions.

NAFS-22 compromises include the retention of four Performance Classes, minimum test sizes remaining for three of the four Performance Classes, only modest reductions in material, component and auxiliary testing requirements and the exclusion of the Canadian screen load test, among others.