US inland vs coastal: two specifications, one factory
The same villa can quote two different products in the United States, and the address decides which. On the coast — the hurricane belt and the high-velocity hurricane zone bands — the specification is impact-driven: a large-missile glass build on the Miami-Dade or Florida listing path. Inland, the specification is energy-driven: an NFRC-rated thermal unit sized to the climate zone, with acoustic and budget doing the rest. One order can carry both, because the frame platform is shared and only the glazing, the hardware and the paperwork change.
The coastal column
Coastal means the hurricane belt: the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, and the HVHZ bands where the design wind speed reaches 130 mph and above. There the code drives the product — impact-rated glazing that passes the large-missile test, a listing path (Miami-Dade NOA or the Florida product approval), and the door and slider hardware rated for the laminated weight. The energy rating still applies, but it rides behind the impact requirement: an impact unit can carry low-E and argon, and its NFRC values follow the configured build.
The inland column
Inland, the impact requirement falls away and the energy code takes over: the IECC target for the climate zone sets the U-factor and the SHGC, and the unit is configured to hit them. Acoustic performance matters in the dense metros, where a road or rail frontage specifies the laminated build for sound rather than storm. Budget does the rest of the work, because without the impact test the unit is lighter and cheaper to produce and ship.
Where the two meet on one order
The frame platform is shared — the same 70 mm thermal-break profile carries both the impact build and the standard thermal build — so one order can ship a coastal facade and an inland facade to the same project, or two projects in the same region, without a second system. The difference is the glazing, the hardware and the paperwork: the impact positions carry the test report and the listing, the inland positions carry the NFRC label. The drawing office marks each position on the schedule so the two columns do not blur.
What to put on the schedule
- The address and the wind zone — the coastal column is set by the location, not a preference.
- The climate zone and the code year for the inland positions, with the target U-factor and SHGC.
- The listing per position: Miami-Dade NOA or Florida approval on the coast, NFRC on the energy positions.
- Acoustic where the position fronts a road or rail, on the same platform.
Questions
Only where the code places the position outside the impact requirement — typically above the debris zone on some elevations, or with the engineer taking the case. The drawing office marks each position.