IGDB Submitting Data

IGDB

Related Resources

How to Provide Data to the IGDB

Step 1: Overview of Requirements for the IGDB

Overview of Requirements for the IGDB

Before reading further, the potential provider of data to the IGDB should consider whether they can meet the following basic conditions:

  1. Material types: Samples must be flat and specular without patterns (patterns aimed at bird safety are currently being exempt and reviewed on a case by case basis, contact [email protected] for more details). If the samples are diffusing or light redirecting rather than specular they are excluded from the IGDB and cannot be properly treated in WINDOW. Diffusing or light redirecting materials may be acceptable however under the new experimental procedures for the CGDB and WINDOW. Specular materials may be monolithic or have a thin-film coating such as a low-emittance or solar-control coating. They may consist of multiple layers as in a laminate or flexible film applied to a glass substrate.
  2. For measured data only: The database is for measured data only. Data calculated using software tools such as Optics is not allowed in the database.
  3. Properties to be measured: Measurement of transmittance and reflectance must be made over the solar spectrum from 300-2500 nm wavelength using a commercial spectroradiometer equipped with a suitable integrating sphere in accordance with NFRC 300. The reflectance in the thermal infrared must also be measured from at least 5-25 micron in accordance with NFRC 301. If the material is of a known type such as clear (i.e., uncoated) window glass, a default value may be used for the emissivity.
  4. Who can measure: The submitter is typically the glazing manufacturer or independent, third party measurement lab. In either case, the measuring entity must participate in an inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) to qualify. LBNL is not a commercial measurement lab and does not perform routine, service type measurements. LBNL has a research grade instruments and will perform measurements for research purposes or for questionable data resolution purposes or to establish baseline for an ILC. See the list of qualified measurement labs.
  5. Additional information: The submitter must provide the name, appearance, structure and thermal conductivity of the sample.
  6. Formatting the data: The submitter must be able to put the data into the proper format for review and eventual inclusion in the IGDB. Some test labs can provide this service if the primary source of material is not able or not inclined to do it themselves.
  7. Composite products: Properties of a composite material such as a laminate have been calculated from component data using the Optics5 program when all the properties of all the component materials are in the IGDB.

If you think that you can provide data under the above conditions then you should read further and familiarize yourself with the details of the process. Questions about these requirements and all other IGDB related matters should be addressed to [email protected]

Step 2: Qualify to Measure

Qualify to Measure

Before the submission process can begin, the laboratory producing the data must successfully participate in an inter-laboratory comparison (ILC) conducted by LBNL. The participating laboratory may be a commercial measurement laboratory or the manufacturer's own in-house lab. If a participant obtains new equipment, assigns a new operator, or simply desires to check compliance, the ILC may be repeated at any time.

Step 3: Choose Your Sample

Choose Your Sample

The manufacturer is responsible to select and measure a representative sample for the product. Properties of a representative sample:

  • A random sampling of the sold product should have properties equal to, or both higher and lower, compared to the representative sample.
  • The selected sample must be stored for at least four years.
  • Applied film and laminate manufacturers should submit their products on clear glass substrates, preferably 3 mm low-iron, to minimize any influence the substrate has on the submitted data. If the substrate has Tvis =<0.89 and/or Tsol <= 0.83, the product cannot be deconstructed according to NFRC 303 and NFRC 304.
  • Note on deconstructable laminates. The model used in Optics was developed for clear laminates and assumes there is no reflectance from the interlayer. This result in that reconstructed laminates are not much higher reflectance than the substrate properties. Some colored/white laminates have a reflective component that  is not handled by the model, and as this reflectance is not handled by Optics, these products will not be allowed on the NFRC approved interlayer list. The long term solution to this is under  internal discussion.

There is no specified method to choose your sample, but the burden of proof would be on the submitter in the case of a question during peer review or later, so it pays to make a careful choice to avoid more work later. Perhaps for a particular product confidence in quality control is so high that any sample would be as good as any other. On the other hand, the safest and most scientific method would be to do a statistical survey or average over many samples from different factories and different production runs. It is considered prudent to measure several samples and average the properties from the measurements.

Step 4: Product Properties

Product Properties

The product must be flat and the surfaces must be parallel.

Furthermore the product must be specular in the solar (300-2500 nm) wavelength range. Specular glazings scatter very little light on transmission as well as reflection in the full range.

The easiest way to determine if a product is specular is by using visible inspection, if it looks milky or hazy it is not specular. If you can see a clear and undistorted image through it the product is specular. For the UV and near infrared range a spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere can be used assuming the sphere has a specular exit port. If the ratio between diffuse and total transmittance is less than 0.05 it can be considered specular. The same procedure holds for reflectance.

Step 5: Measure the Properties

Measure the Properties

The solar optical properties (300-2500 nm) shall be characterized in accordance with NFRC 300. Data should be recorded at every 5 nm in the solar range.

The thermal infrared properties (5-25 micron) shall be characterized in accordance with NFRC 301. Data should be recorded at least every 1 micrometer. Ideally the infrared properties should be measured from 2.5 up to 40 micron. Measurement of thermal IR properties is not required for uncoated glass but it is still necessary to provide spectral data for the uncoated surface if the other surfece has an applied film or a coating.

Those documents are available from https://nfrc.org/

Step 6: Format the Data

Format the Data

After measuring the spectral transmittance and the spectral reflectance from both sides of the sample, as specified above, all three datasets are combined into a single file for submission. The format of the data file is well defined and conforms to the long-standing WINDOW text file format. Templates are provided for each type of accepted glazing material -- please see 'IGDB Data Format' section on this page, below.

Please do not submit files with names containing more than 30 characters (including the extension) File extensions — at this time, it is not possible to change the file extensions. We plan to implement this capability in the future, but for now, it is necessary to continue to use the file extensions originally assigned

Caution: There are many instances in these examples which contain the word "reference" in the title. The first- time data submitter is advised to avoid these data types for now. They refer to cases which can be "deconstructed" in Optics5 and then recombined with other components to calculate the properties of a variant on the original glazing. See the general warning on calculated data. This entire section will be rewritten here with proper instructions for safe use of "reference" files.

First time submitters have to request an ID block for their manufacturer name, as well a deciding which 3 letter suffix their files shall have. This is done by contacting the [email protected] email address.

Step 7: Submit for Review

Submit for Review

First time data submitters should provide the following information:

  • A file extension for your files. This extension cannot be changed at this time. All your data files should be submitted with this file extension.
  • The number of products you intend to include in IGDB. We assign a block of ID numbers to each manufacturer. This block cannot be expanded at this time so please choose this number very carefully.

Data Submission Spreadsheet is required with each data submission.

The preferred method is to email the files of the submission. The address to use depends on the regional data aggregator (RDA), currently everyone but European submitters should email LBNL with the address [email protected]. European manufacturers should email the European RDA, where the contact person is Helen Rose Wilson at Fraunhofer ISE, using the address  [email protected].  There are forms that need to be provided with the data. The LBNL data submission form is also attached to this page and the NFRC glass measurement location and glass supplier contact form is on the NFRC site.

If a manufacturer’s data is to be submitted by a third party, and the third party will be listed as the Manufacturer in the IGDB, in essence “re-branding” the product, the third party must have the product measured and submit it to the normal IGDB review process independent of any submittals under the original manufacturer’s name. The submittal must indicate, for each product submitted, the original product manufacturer.

In addition, the third party must obtain permission from the original manufacturer for both submitting the data and for re-branding the product. This permission must be submitted to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) in the form of a letter from the original manufacturer, on their company letterhead, listing the products that will be re-branded. If the manufacturer has submitted data to the IGDB under their own name, this letter must come from the manufacturer’s IGDB contact. This letter (or letters if the products are from multiple manufacturers) must accompany the data submission forms. In the case where the manufacturer wishes to discontinue having the re-branded product in the IGDB, another letter from the manufacturer must be submitted to LBNL.

Step 8: Pay Fees to NFRC

Pay Fees to NFRC

At this time NFRC requires payment of fees for all products in the IGDB. If data is submitted directly to LBNL, the intent of the data provider to obtain NFRC ratings will be determined and NFRC will be so informed. NFRC approved files will be so marked in the IGDB. The fee schedule is available on the NFRC website, see document NFRC 704 in the Operational documents area (search for IGDB in the document). This policy may be changed at any time at the sole discretion of NFRC.

Step 9: Review and Acceptance

Review and Acceptance

This final stage consists of waiting for the review to quietly conclude. Sometimes there are questions from the LBNL internal reviewers or the peer reviewers that require checking and resubmission of data. All data submitters automatically become members of the peer review group and will receive emails with data that is being considered for the next IGDB update. This is not meant to be a test or an impediment, but a cooperative process leading to proper submission of accurate data. The requirements on technical review and peer review are given in NFRC 302, Sections 3.5-3.8. Each submitter is given a reserved block of NFRC ID numbers, below.

 

Manufacturer Name File Extension Reserved
NFRC ID Block
Second
NFRC ID Block
Start ID End ID Start ID End ID
3M Corporation mmm 2700 2899 0 0
A & B Films Pte Ltd ABF 1700 1799 0 0
AGC ASAHI GLASS CO., LTD. AGC 15000 15499 0 0
AGC Flat Glass (Dalian) Co., Ltd AFD 7200 7249 0 0
AGC Flat Glass (Thailand) AFT 19000 19499 0 0
AGC Flat Glass Philippines, Inc. AFP 15500 15899 0 0
AGC Glass Co. N.A. afg 700 1099 0 0
AGC Glass Europe gvb 4200 4599 0 0
Allnex ALX 2400 2499 0 0
Architectural Glass and Aluminum AGA 600 649 0 0
arcon Arc 13000 13499 0 0
ARTSCAPE,INC ART 9550 9559 0 0
Asahi India Glass Limited AIS 17000 17099 0 0
Asahimas amg 1200 1299 0 0
ASG Architectural Solutions Glass Pty Ltd ASG 17945 17969 0 0
Assura Windows and Doors, LLC AWP 17680 17699 0 0
ATOFINA Chemicals, Inc. ato 2600 2699 0 0
AVIC (Hainan) Special Glass Materials Co., Ltd CAG 9560 9589 0 0
AVIC SANXIN CO.,LTD ASX 17530 17544 0 0
BEIJING WUHUATIANBAO GLASS CO.,LTD WHG 6815 6834 17450 17499
Bridgestone Corporation BRI 9100 9149 0 0
Cardinal Glass Industries cig 2000 2199 18000 18499
Cebrace CBR 17725 17824 0 0
Changzhou SYDS MFG Co., Ltd. SAY 20350 20374 0 0
CHINA GLASS HOLDINGS LIMITED CNG 16755 16774 0 0
China Southern Glass (CSG) CSG 1600 1699 19500 19699
Commonwealth Laminating and Coating, Inc. CLC 9300 9549 0 0
Covestro COV 9000 9099 0 0
CS ECO GLASS (M) SDN BHD ECO 16840 16849 0 0
Dalian Allied Nanotech Co., Ltd DAN 16585 16599 0 0
Dexerials Corporation DEX 17545 17569 0 0
DryWired, LLC DWD 20600 20699 0 0
DuPont dup 1100 1199 0 0
Eastman Chemical Company EMN 1800 1999 19700 20099
Erickson International LLC ERN 16550 16584 0 0
eTime Energy Inc. ETE 15900 15999 0 0
Fethers Architectural FAA 17700 17724 0 0
Flat Glass Group Co., Ltd. FGG 16735 16754 0 0
G.James Australia gja 5500 5999 0 0
General Electric Company gec 3500 3599 0 0
Generic dat 100 199 0 0
George Fether and Co FET 1400 1499 0 0
Glas Trösch AG GTS 14000 14999 0 0
GlassLam GLM 3700 3799 0 0
Global Window Films GWF 20500 20599 0 0
Grand Engineering Glass GRA 6900 6949 0 0
GSA GSA 3800 3849 0 0
G-Smatt America Co., Ltd. GSM 20450 20499 0 0
Guangdong Avic Special Glass Technology Co., Ltd SGT 6800 6814 17400 17434
Guardian grd 3000 3499 26000 26499
Guardian Asia grs 12500 12999 0 0
Guardian Brazil GBR 17825 17924 0 0
Guardian Europe gre 11500 11999 0 0
Guardian India gri 26500 26999 0 0
Guardian Latin America grl 12250 12499 0 0
Guardian Middle East grm 12000 12249 27000 27999
Hanita Coatings hct 9200 9299 0 0
Hankuk Glass Industries Inc. HGI 6950 6999 0 0
Imperial/Sicotherm IMP 3900 3999 0 0
INTERPANE GLAS INDUSTRIE AG ipe 7100 7199 0 0
Interpane U.S. int 7500 7999 0 0
Intex Glass ( Xiamen ) Co., Ltd ITX 6750 6779 0 0
Jinjing Group Co.Ltd JJG 17600 17679 0 0
Johnson Laminating & Coating, Inc. jwf 4800 4999 0 0
KCC CORPORATION KCC 13500 13999 0 0
Kinestral Technologies Inc. KIT 20230 20349 0 0
kristalbond Manufacturing KRI 9150 9199 0 0
Kuraray KUR 21500 22499 0 0
LG Hausys LGH 16850 16999 0 0
Luoyang NewJingrun Architectural Glass Co., Ltd NJR 6880 6899 0 0
Madico Inc. MWF 8600 8899 0 0
McCoy's Glass MGS 16530 16549 0 0
Midas Export USA Corp. MEU 9600 9699 0 0
NanoShield NAS 16775 16799 0 0
NEXFIL nex 7250 7299 0 0
Nitto Denko Corporation NIT 9590 9599 0 0
NOVUM NOV 1300 1399 0 0
NSG Nippon Sheet Glass NBP 20100 20229 0 0
OASIS NANOTECH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ONA 17570 17599 0 0
Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope™ OGI 300 349 0 0
PFG Building Glass PFG 16000 16299 0 0
PGT Industries pgt 2200 2399 0 0
Pilkington NSG 4000 4199 0 0
Pilkington Australia Limited bpa 9700 9703 0 0
Pilkington Glass Russia PGR 16660 16734 0 0
Pilkington North America LOF 9800 10499 10000 10499
Pleotint PLE 16500 16529 0 0
Qingdao AEON Glass Co., Ltd. AEG 17435 17449 0 0
Raining Threes LLC RTS 6700 6749 0 0
RavenBrick RAV 17300 17399 0 0
RCR International Inc. RCR 650 669 0 0
SAFTI FIRST Fire Rated Glazing Solutions SAF 16600 16649 0 0
SAGE Electrochromics, Inc. SAG 8900 8999 0 0
Saint Gobain Glass India SGI 17100 17299 0 0
Saint-Gobain Glass SGG 11000 11499 20750 21499
Saint-Gobain Solar Gard LLC bsf 200 299 0 0
Sanam Glass SAM 16300 16499 0 0
Sangbo Co.,Ltd. SBK 6835 6844 0 0
Seikisui S-LEC America sek 8100 8199 0 0
Serious Materials Inc. SMT 350 399 0 0
SHANDONG HUALIANG GLASS TECHNOLOGY LIMITED HLG 6845 6854 0 0
Shanghai Yao Hua Tempered Glass Co., Ltd. SYH 17925 17944 0 0
Sketch Incorporated of Japan SIJ 3600 3699 0 0
Solamatrix, Inc. FTI 7050 7099 0 0
Solutia Performance Films cpf 2500 2599 0 0
Southwall Technologies, Inc. swt 1500 1599 0 0
Specialty Coatings & Chemical scc 8000 8099 0 0
SYP GLASS GROUP CO.,LTD syp 8200 8599 0 0
Taiwan Glass Ind. Corp. TGI 6500 6699 0 0
TECNOGLASS SA TEG 18500 18999 0 0
TIANJIN NORTHGLASS INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL CO., LTD. TNG 17970 17999 0 0
Top-China Nano Science & Technology Co.,Ltd TNS 16650 16659 0 0
Toyohozai,Inc TOY 7300 7399 0 0
TROSIFOL TRO 10500 10999 0 0
Unitex Glass(Chengdu) Co.,Ltd UNT 6780 6799 0 0
View vdg 4600 4799 0 0
Viracon vir 6000 6499 0 0
Viridian VRD 9704 9799 0 0
Visionwall vti 7000 7049 0 0
Vitro vto 400 599 0 0
Vitro formerly PPG VTA 5000 5499 25000 25449
Vitrum Industries, Ltd. vit 7400 7499 0 0
XIAMEN SANYILI ENERGY-SAVING MATERIALS CO., LTD. SYL 6860 6879 0 0
XYG Glass XYG 2900 2999 0 0
Yantai Jialong Nano Industry Co., Ltd YJN 670 699 0 0
YUAN CHANG GLASS CO., LTD. YCG 17500 17529 0 0
Zhong Shan Grandglass Industrial Co., Ltd GLT 20375 20424 0 0
Zhuzhou Kibing Group Co.,Ltd KBG 16800 16839 0 0
ZNG Glass Co., Ltd. ZNG 3850 3899 0 0
Step 10: IGDB Schedule

IGDB Schedule

There are currently six IGDB releases per year. Data submitters should follow the schedule below for their data submission. Due to the short processing time, we will no longer accept more than 100 submissions or requests for modification/change from each manufacturer, in each cycle.

Release Number Submission Deadline Data Goes to Peer Review End of Peer Review Release Date
1 12/20 1/10 1/31 2/10
2 2/20 3/10 3/31 4/10
3 4/20 5/10 5/31 6/10
4 6/20 7/10 7/31 8/10
5 8/20 9/10 10/1 10/10
6 10/20 11/10 12/1 12/10

Related Downloads: 

   
Attachment Size
File Data Submissions Spreadsheet 18.83 KB
File Example Rebranding Letter 23.4 KB

More Information

IGDB Data Format

File Format Definition and Examples

File Format Specification

A complete and detailed specification of the general file format for IGDB data files can be found in this PDF document. Please note that some of the links in this document to other files have been superceded. Only the text of the document itself is current. For convenience the following files can be used as templates for specifc material types:

Monolithic Glazing

Coated Glazings

Applied Films

Note: It is common for an applied film to have a coating, and this can be submitted applied to uncoated glass as an applied film that can be deconstructed in Optics5. Applied films that are applied to the coated side of a substrate can only be submitted as a whole product, not as a film that can be deconstructed in Optics5.

Laminates

Interlayers

The following 2 files belong together as the example for submitting interlayer data

Coatings Embedded in Laminate

For laminates with embedded coatings (defined as glass with a coating that is touching the interlayer), we will accept measured data for products submitted as a whole product, but not for products that can be "deconstructed" by Optics to reuse individual components with other glass layers or interlayers.

Special Options

Related Downloads: 

   
Attachment Size
PDF icon Definition of the IGDB text file formats and related fields 983.26 KB
Test Laboratories

Test Laboratories

When a provider of product data is unable or uninterested in making their own measurements of optical properties, they may employ a test lab.

Below is a list of some laboratories that currently have passed the inter-laboratory comparison and are allowed to submit data.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is not liable for the services offered by these entities, nor does LBNL specifically endorse these over other providers of the same services.

United States

Dr. Michael Jacobson
Optical Data Associates
5237 East Seventh Street
Tucson, AZ 85711-2350

Tel: (520) 748-7333
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Page: http://www.opdata.com/

China

China Testing & Certification International Group Co., Ltd. (CTC)
Glass Test & Certification Department
Guanzhuang Dongli 1#,  Chaoyang District, Beijing 100024 P.R. China Tel: (+86) 10-51167161
Email: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.ctc.ac.cn/

Europe

Fraunhofer ISE TestLab Solar Façades
Email: [email protected]
Web site: https://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/rd-infrastructure/accredited-labs/testlab-solar-facades.html

Singapore

OTM Solutions Pte Ltd
Attn: Mr. Zheng Zhipeng
50 Tagore Lane
#04-11F, Entrepreneur Centre
Singapore 787494

Tel: (+65) 6372 8807
Fax: (+65) 6511 2969
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.otm.sg/

Aestec Testing Laboratory Pte Ltd
Attn: Mr Victor Sia
111 Neythal Road,
Singapore 628598

Tel: (+65) 6267 5909
Fax: (+65) 6264 3908