A Busy Year for Codes, Chemicals and Compliance

If 2025 was the year states set policy in motion, 2026 is when much of it becomes enforceable for the fenestration market. Manufacturers, dealers and installers should expect a more fragmented compliance map: tighter energy performance in some states, aggressive resilience rules in hazard zones, and environmental requirements reaching deeper into coatings, components, and packaging.

Energy codes: higher baselines, uneven adoption

The core energy story is not one national shift but a widening state-by-state split. The 2024 IECC raises fenestration expectations in multiple climate zones, including stricter U-factor limits and tighter tradeoff pathways for residential windows and skylights. As more states move to adopt IECC 2024 (often with amendments), the performance “floor” rises in those markets, while others lag on earlier code editions.

What that means in 2026:

• More adoptions taking effect: states that voted in 2024–25 will see effective dates land in 2026.
• More variation: expect hybrids and state overrides that complicate multi-state product planning.
• More conservative specs: specifiers and builders lean on NFRC ratings earlier to avoid permit friction in stricter states.

Colorado is an early example of state-level performance mandates going beyond model code. HB 23-1161 requires residential windows, doors, and skylights sold in the state to meet Energy Star Version 7 criteria effective January 1, 2026. Fortunately, WDMA convinced regulators to allow an alternative compliance pathway tied to IECC-aligned metrics. In 2026, watch for other cold-climate states to explore similar approaches—whether via code, incentives, or procurement rules.

California remains the market that resets national expectations. The state’s 2025 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24) became mandatory for permits applied for on or after January 1, 2026, tightening electrification and building-envelope pathways that indirectly push higher-performance fenestration. Even outside California, these cycles tend to ripple through western specs, big-builder standards, and national product portfolios.

Resilience: wildfire and high-wind policy keep expanding

States are treating resilience as core infrastructure, not optional upgrades. In the West, wildfire rules are the near-term driver. California’s 2025 Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI)

Code took effect January 1, 2026, bringing updated requirements for construction in WUI zones—where openings and glazing assemblies are a key part of ember-resistance strategies. Expect local jurisdictions to expand mapped WUI areas after each fire season, widening the customer base for compliant assemblies. Other western states are increasingly pressured to align to WUI-style opening protection as wildfire risk grows.

In coastal and storm-exposed states, high-wind and impact standards remain a steady tailwind. Florida’s code and approval ecosystem continues evolving around windborne-debris protection, reinforcing demand for impact-rated windows and doors in designated zones. On top of code, incentives are now shaping demand: Florida’s revived My Safe Florida Home program is funded into the 2025–26 budget cycle and provides matching grants up to $10,000 for wind-mitigation upgrades, including impact fenestration. In 2026, expect more state-run “home hardening” programs in disaster-prone regions, creating sharp, incentive-driven regional surges.

Environmental compliance: PFAS and packaging EPR move from abstract to operational

Two environmental trends are getting close to our supply chain.

First, PFAS regulation is accelerating at the state level. Hundreds of PFAS bills were introduced across dozens of states in 2025, with enacted laws and active proposals targeting product categories that can overlap our world—coatings, sealants, surface treatments, and manufacturing uses. Even where building products aren’t explicitly called out, specifiers and purchasers are beginning to ask PFAS questions pre-emptively. In 2026, expect more disclosure requirements, category bans, and “PFAS-as-a-class” rules that put pressure on suppliers of weather-resistant coatings, adhesives, and gaskets.
Second, packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is becoming a real cost center.

Seven states now have packaging EPR laws on the books—California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington—with compliance milestones and fee structures rolling out through 2026. Producers must register with Producer Responsibility Organizations, report packaging volumes, and pay program fees. For fenestration, bulky protective packaging means high exposure. In 2026, companies that reduce packaging weight, increase recycled content, or redesign for reuse will start seeing measurable fee advantages.

Housing policy: more units, faster timelines, different mixes

Finally, state housing legislation is creating market pull. Multiple states passed streamlining and infill-enabling laws in 2024–25 (ADU legalization, approval time limits, density bonuses, and preemption of local barriers). In 2026, that should translate into more multi-family and small-lot starts in reform states—meaning different fenestration mixes (egress, common-area glazing, standardized unit window packages) and tighter cost/performance balancing.

What to do now

1. Build a 2026 code pipeline map by sales region (IECC adoption timing, Energy Star v7 mandates, Title 24 states).
2. Stock resilience-ready offerings with clear labeling and install guidance for WUI and impact zones.
3. Audit coatings and packaging for PFAS exposure and EPR fee risk.Train the channel to sell compliance: energy, wildfire, wind, and environmental narratives will matter more at the point of spec.

The takeaway: 2026 won’t deliver a single regulatory shock. Instead, it’s a convergence year—energy baselines rising in some states, resilience rules expanding in hazard zones, and environmental compliance reaching deeper into the product ecosystem. The winners will treat state policy tracking as a product and market-strategy function, not just a legal one.