An AERC Accepted Simulator works for an Accepted Calculation Entity (ACE). The simulator performs modeling and simulation services on behalf of attachment manufacturers to generate window attachment ratings for AERC certification. Accepted Calculation Entities review the work of their simulators and attest to the accuracy of the simulations and ratings.
ACE Enrollment Procedure
#1. Prerequisites. To be approved, an ACE applicant must employ at least one AERC Accepted Simulator.
#2. Get to know AERC and the role of ACEs. Familiarize yourself with AERC’s certification program by reviewing the technical and certification standards relevant to AERC simulators.
a. Review AERC 1, 1.3 (Simulation Manual), 2, 302, and 400 documents
b. Review the AERC Membership and Certification Program Fees
c. (Optional) Complete and submit AERC Membership Application
#3. Submit enrollment application and pay enrollment fee. Complete and submit an ACE enrollment application to the AERC Program Administrator. Upon confirmation of applicant qualifications (which may include a competency exercise), the Program Administrator will issue an invoice to the ACE applicant in the amount of annual ACE participation fees. Upon payment, the Program Administrator will issue an Acceptance Agreement to the applicant for signature. Once the Acceptance Agreement is signed by both parties, the ACE is approved.
#4. Start working with window attachment manufacturers. Contact information for ACEs and Accepted simulators will be listed on the AERC website for manufacturer reference. ACEs may also use the AERC logo in accordance with the AERC Label & Logo Requirements for Use to indicate their acceptance and participation in the AERC Certification Program.
Simulator Enrollment Procedure
#1. Prerequisites. Applicants must possess a current simulator certification from NFRC, Passivehaus, or another approved program. Check with Program Administrator for clarification about approved programs.
#2. Get to know AERC and the role of Accepted Simulators. Familiarize yourself with AERC’s certification program by reviewing the technical and certification standards relevant to AERC simulators.
a. Review AERC 1, 1.3 (Simulation Manual), 2, 302, and 400 documents
b. Review the AERC Membership and Certification Program Fees
c. (Optional) Complete and submit AERC Membership Application
#3. Submit enrollment application and participate in simulation training and exercise. Complete and submit an Accepted Simulator enrollment application to the Program Administrator (Intertek) and attend an AERC-sponsored simulator training. After the training, applicants must complete the assigned simulation exercise, unless exempted by the Program Administrator.
#4. Pay enrollment fee. Upon passing the simulation exercise, the Program Administrator will issue an invoice to the simulator applicant for annual participation fees. Upon payment, the Program Administrator will issue an Acceptance Agreement to the applicant for signature. Once the Acceptance Agreement is signed by both parties, the simulator is approved. Contact information for ACEs and Accepted simulators will be listed on the AERC website for manufacturer reference.
Submitting Products for Certification
The following flowchart explains the general process for product certification. Detailed steps for an ACE/ Simulator to prepare and submit products for certification in the AERC Certification Program are included in the sections below. Note that there are different submission requirements for primary listings and secondary listings.
Primary Listing Submission
- Collect information from the manufacturer about products they would like to certify.
- Verify with the manufacturer that they have been added to the CPD as a participant. If not, direct them to contact the Program Administrator.
- Verify that material(s) are already listed in the Materials Library of the CGDB or IGDB. If not, notify the manufacturer and have them reach out to their supplier to get the material(s) listed in the relevant database.
- (Optional) Group products and determine Group Leaders based on AERC 1 rules (see Grouping Cheat Sheet).
- Complete all models and simulations based on manufacturer-supplied product documentation per AERC 1 and AERC 1.3.
- Input simulations into AERCalc and run to generate ratings.
- Export results from AERCalc into CSV format and review exported file for potential errors.
- Prepare the CPD upload spreadsheet by either translating data from the AERCalc export or uploading the AERCalc export to the CPD (see CPD User Guide for Simulators)to generate a prepopulated CPD upload spreadsheet.
- Latest version of the CPD upload spreadsheet is available on the CPD website.
- Send the CPD upload spreadsheet to the manufacturer to review the data and verify marketing input fields.
- After the manufacturer has confirmed the data and marketing inputs, review the CPD upload spreadsheet once more and then upload to the CPD (see CPD User Guide for Simulators) and submit for review.
- Prepare the ARC.300.CPLR form and include the batch number generated from the CPD upload.
- ACE Responsible-in-Charge and the Accepted Simulator sign the CPLR.
- Send remaining submission materials to the Program Administrator via email.
- Review the CPLR Submission Checklist for Simulators and make sure all of the steps are complete.
- Upon completion of Independent Validation and acceptance of submitted products, submit shading layers for listing in the CGDB Shading Layer Library. See the CGDB page for more information.
Secondary Listing Submission
- Collect information from primary and secondary manufacturer about secondary listings.
- Verify with the secondary manufacturer that they have been added to the CPD as a participant. If not, direct them to contact the Program Administrator.
- Prepare the CPD upload spreadsheet by translating data from the CPD (primary listing information) and adding corresponding secondary listing information.
- Latest version of the CPD upload spreadsheet is available on the CPD website.
- Prepare the 300.SLA form.
- Send the CPD upload spreadsheet and ARC.300.SLA to the Primary and Secondary Manufacturers to review the data, verify marketing input fields, and have the Responsible-in-Charge sign the ARC.300.SLA form.
- After the manufacturers have confirmed the data and marketing inputs, review the CPD upload spreadsheet once more and then upload to the CPD (see CPD User Guide for Simulators) and confirm upload.
- Prepare the 300.CPLR form and include the batch number generated from the CPD upload.
- ACE Responsible-in-Charge and the Accepted Simulator sign the CPLR.
- Send remaining submission materials to the Program Administrator via email.
- Review the CPLR Submission Checklist for Simulators and make sure all of the steps are complete.
Other Resources
LBNL’s WINDOW, THERM, and AERCalc software tools
CGDB
AERC Technical and Certification Standards (Available at no cost to AERC Members)
Questions? Contact AERC staff