Five Takeaways from the FGIA Virtual Summer Summit

The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance’s Virtual Summer Summit in June spanned a gamut of topics in panels, presentations and discussions. Here are a few of my top takeaways from the event: 

1. Black vinyl continues to develop. 
   In “25 Years of Black Vinyl: Evolution, Engineering and Performance” subject matter experts discussed the history of dark colors, the technologies to achieve dark extrusions and today’s primary challenges of heat build-up and weathering. The Vinyl Material Council is launching a formal research project about the black color space and will host an interactive session at FGIA’s fall conference where attendees can help shape the research direction.  
    

2. The regulatory and legislative landscape is busy—as always. 
   Canada is prioritizing housing, manufacturing investment and energy efficiency in its 2025 budget, including $25 billion for Build Canada Homes initiative, manufacturing incentives and SR&ED enhancements. Federal budgets can be an early indicator of where regulation is headed, said Amy Roberts, FGIA’s Canadian Codes and Advocacy Director. 
   
   In the U.S., deregulation is aggressive and accelerating thanks to Executive Order 14192 that says 10 regulations must be eliminated per every one new one. EPA claimed it deregulated more in one year than nay agency I history, which sets the tone for the whole U.S. regulatory environment right now, said FGIA’s Kathy Krafka Harkema, U.S. Codes and Advocacy Director. 
    

3. Homes are expensive. 
   In an unusual inversion, existing home prices exceed new home prices, said Robert Dietz, NAHB chief economist. Builders are discounting new construction to induce sales; resale sellers have not followed suit. Dietz anticipates resale price weakness ahead as this corrects. Accelerating construction costs also place upward pressure on prices. Aggregate residential construction price growth jumped from 4% to 6% while Canadian softwood lumber tariffs are now about 30%. 
   
   Despite a soft single-family market, bright spots remain. Custom building is up 3%, townhouse construction share doubled over the decade and tear-down construction is projected to grow. 
    

4. Daylight is critical to health. Glass is a huge player. 
   Lisa Heschong, author of “Visual Delight in Architecture,” returned to discuss daylighting research. She covered chronobiology, epidemiology, embryology/myopia and microbiology/mitochondria. For example, UK Biobank studies showed brighter daytime light exposure correlated with fewer psychiatric diagnoses, less cardiovascular disease, lower cancer rates and 17% lower mortality. She recommends the fenestration industry push for building codes to address daylight as a public health factor and advocate for indoor daylight research funding. 
    

5. NAFS updates are minimally disruptive. 
   The North American Fenestration Standard update now dictates the previously optional secondary designator is mandatory. Labels and reports must now include positive and negative design pressure values and water penetration resistance test pressure. Water test pressure must meet or exceed the PG rating equivalent to positive design pressure. Most other changes revolved around corrections, restorations and clarifications rather than substantive new requirements.