The Australian cyclone rating system, explained
Australian cyclone performance is set by two standards working together: AS 1170.2 names the wind zone — N1 through N4, from the site wind speed and the exposure class — and AS 2208 names the impact rating for positions in the cyclone impact region. The window proves both at a NATA-accredited laboratory on the configured unit, and the report ships in the document pack with the first container. On our schedule that is the IR-80 AU configuration: the AS 2208 cyclone build on laminated AS 1288 glass.
The wind zone, from the site — not the suburb
AS 1170.2 starts from the regional wind speed and multiplies it by the exposure class: how much the site is shielded or open, from the terrain and the neighbours. The result is the site wind zone — the N1 to N4 band that drives the structural case — and it can change across one street, because a rise in the ground or a line of tall neighbours moves the exposure class. That is why the specification asks for the site report rather than the postcode: two lots 200 m apart can carry different wind zones, and the frame depth and the gasket schedule follow the zone, not the address.
What the window has to prove
- AS 2047: the unit test — air penetration, water penetration and the structural load case at the site wind zone. This is the performance the building code checks.
- AS 1288: the safety glass logic — the lamination that keeps a broken lite in place, which the cyclone build carries as its glazing standard.
- AS 2208: the impact rating for the cyclone impact region — the projectile criteria that separate the small and the large exposure, applied to the configured lite.
- The laboratory: NATA-accredited, testing the unit as it will ship — the configuration is locked before the test, and the report references that build.
The IR-80 AU configuration
On the schedule the cyclone case is the IR-80 AU line: the laminated AS 1288 glass logic, the impact-rated multi-point engagement and the continuous gasket, on the frame the wind zone sets. Salt-fog hardware is standard for the coastal sites, matching the powder-coat schedule on the visible face. The lead time runs 35–50 days depending on the wind zone — the deeper structural case and the laboratory step sit inside that window, and the document pack carries the test report and the certificate together.
How the document pack travels
The report and the certificate ship with the first container, referenced against the configured models on that order — not a general capability statement. The drawing office keeps the configuration locked from the test through the production run, so the unit on the crane is the unit the laboratory tested, and the certifier can match the report to the crate without a second question.
Questions
No — the AS 2208 impact criteria apply to positions in the cyclone impact region and to the exposure the code sets. The wind-zone structural case (AS 2047) applies everywhere; the impact rating applies where the region says so.