Energy was the topic of discussion this morning when Energy Division committees convened today in Chicago as part of the Glass Association of North America's(GANA)Fall Conference.Both the technical committee and advocacy committee met to discuss a number of topics,ranging from educational opportunities to government affairs.
Members of the technical committee,which met first today,covered areas such as some of the activities of the solar products and applications subcommittee.While the group is working on developing a glass informational bulletin(GIB),there are other areas of potential activity in which members are involved.These include educational"101"webinars as well as involvement with ASTM and other groups and how GANA can work with them in areas such as standards development.
Mark Meshulam,with Chicago Window Expert,pointed out that it may be beneficial for GANA to be visible to groups/organizations involved in the solar industry.This could include having a presence at various solar conferences,trade shows,etc.
"There will be more and more solar applications integrated into windows and curtainwall and that's a big area to get in front of,"said Meshulam."There will be more of this in the future;these technologies will be on our buildings in the near future."
During the sustainability subcommittee meeting members talked about creating a study group for members interested in becoming LEED Green Associates.The group discussed that as architects ask more about LEED it will be increasingly important to have that knowledge base.
"We want to help people understand what a sustainability group is about,"said Marc Deschamps with Walker Glass,who chairs the subcommittee.
Next on the agenda was the division's advocacy committee.Rob Joyce with Guardian Industries chairs the government and regulatory affairs subcommittee and he said there are three core activities on which the group wants to focus.These include quarterly policy updates that will be included in Glass Reflections,the GANA member newsletter.These updates will be designed to inform membership about relevant legislation,etc.,being debated that affects the industry.Another focus for the group is to work on some type of structured fly-in into Washington,D.C.,to use the"political footprint of the industry in an effective way."And third,the group wants to focus on web-based tools,for example,that could allow members to weigh in through their own advocacy,helping them contact congressional members,etc.
Joyce said the members have had a number of calls to flesh out the core role of group and these key central activities to undertake and looking forward to what the next steps will be."Those are[the]discussions[we're having]today to make sure there is industry support for this type of engagement in D.C.…,"said Joyce.
Helen Sanders with Sage Electrochromics updated the members about the work of the Life-Cycle Analysis task group,which includes four groups:GANA,AAMA,IGMA and WDMA).She reviewed the draft of the product category rule.
She also pointed out that while codes do not at this time mandate LCAs,long-term it will be needed."[LCA]has been likened to the next NFRC labeling program;it could be that big,"she said,pointing out that it's already being used in Europe.And members agreed that the trend toward LCA is becoming more important and will be something on which they continue to focus.
