1.1This test method covers requirements and guidelines and specifies calibration procedures required for the measurement of the steady-state thermal transmittance of fenestration systems installed vertically in the test chamber. This test method specifies the necessary measurements to be made using measurement systems conforming to Test Method C1363 for determination of fenestration system thermal transmittance.

1.2This test method refers to the thermal transmittance, U of a fenestration system installed vertically in the absence of solar radiation and air leakage effects.

1.3This test method describes how to determine the thermal transmittance, U_S of a fenestration product (also called test specimen) at well-defined environmental conditions. The thermal transmittance is also a reported test result from Test Method C1363. If only the thermal transmittance is reported using this test method, the test report must also include a detailed description of the environmental conditions in the thermal chamber during the test as outlined in 10.1.14.

1.4For rating purposes, this test method also describes how to calculate a standardized thermal transmittance, U_ST, which can be used to compare test results from laboratories with vastly different thermal chamber configurations, and facilitates the comparison to results from computer programs that use standard heat transfer coefficients to determine the thermal transmittance of fenestration products. Although this test method specifies two methods of calculating the standardized thermal transmittance, only the standardized thermal transmittance result from one method is reported for each test. One standardized thermal transmittance calculation procedure is the Calibration Transfer Standard (CTS) Method and another is the Area Weighting (AW) Method (see Section 9 for further descriptions of these two methods). The Area Weighting method requires that the surface temperatures on both sides of the test specimen be directly measured as specified in Practice E1423 in order to determine the surface heat transfer coefficients on the fenestration product during the test. The CTS Method does not use the measured surface temperatures on the test specimen and instead utilizes the calculation of equivalent surface temperatures from calibration data to determine the test specimen surface heat transfer coefficients. The AW shall be used whenever the thermal transmittance, U_S, is greater than 3.4 W/(m²·K) [0.6 Btu/(hr·ft ²·°F)], or when the ratio of test specimen projected surface area to wetted (that is, total heat transfer or developed) surface area on either side of the test specimen is less than 0.80. Otherwise the CTS Method shall be used to standardize the thermal transmittance results.

1.5A discussion of the terminology and underlying assumptions for measuring the thermal transmittance are included.

1.6The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are provided for information purposes only.

1.7This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.