Rethinking Ballistic Framing for a Tighter Energy Code

LEED certification continued to grow globally last year, with more than 7,500 LEED-certified commercial projects in 2025, equating to more than 147 million gross square meters.

That growth hasn't happened in a vacuum. It's tracked alongside energy codes growing stricter with each cycle, and together the two are pushing a new question into the ballistic conversation.

For years, ballistic framing has had one job: protect people. Now, there’s a second layer: Can it keep the building running efficiently?

Ballistic barriers are increasingly being asked to do both at once, and the two aren't always compatible. That tension is part of why thermally broken ballistic framing, a design that interrupts heat and cold transfer through the frame itself, has become a common specification.

The baseline for building performance keeps rising

The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) governs building envelope performance and thermal bridging through exterior windows and doors. Several states have adopted versions that go further than the base model code, and each recent cycle has gotten stricter:

• Washington: State law requires the energy code to show a substantial reduction in energy use with every cycle, and its commercial code requires a posted thermal envelope certificate documenting U-factors, solar heat gain coefficients, and building air leakage test results.
• Oregon: Its 2025 Energy Efficiency Specialty Code is now based on ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2022 and became mandatory statewide after a six-month phase-in period.
• New York: The state’s 2025 Energy Conservation Code requires a third-party building envelope certificate documenting U-factors, solar heat gain coefficients, and the results of any building thermal envelope air leakage testing performed on the building.
• Massachusetts: Its updated stretch and specialized code, also based on the IECC, now requires architects to calculate and document thermal bridging through metal frames, fenestration, and U-factors on larger buildings.
• Illinois: The state’s commercial stretch energy code requires a permanent building thermal envelope certificate on every project, and the state most recently raised that code's baseline in 2025.

Federal projects sit in a category of their own. New and majorly renovated federal buildings must meet ASHRAE Standard 90.1 as a baseline. According tot Section 305 of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, where it's life-cycle cost-effective, builders must also cut energy consumption at least 30 percent below that baseline. That standard applies to courthouses and hospitals.

The climate behind changing energy codes

Several of the states leading LEED certification in 2025 are the same states pushing their energy codes hardest. That overlap points to something beyond policy. In states like Massachusetts and New York, for instance, winters bring extreme cold that makes frost buildup and condensation a persistent concern for exterior envelopes, bullet-resistant glazing included.

That cold-climate pressure has a hot-climate counterpart. California, Arizona, and the Southwest are facing the opposite extreme, with California layering its own state-specific energy efficiency targets on top of federal and model code requirements. The Environmental Protection Agency projects the number of days above 95° degrees Fahrenheit will continue to increase nationwide, and heat waves are expected to grow longer and more severe in the decades ahead.

While a ballistic frame can perform exactly as rated against a ballistic threat, it can undercut a building's energy compliance simply because it's transferring heat and cold through the metal. On a courthouse in a cold climate or a school in the desert Southwest, that's the difference between a design that passes envelope review and one that’s sent back to the drawing board.

A thermally broken frame engineered to do both jobs

Thermally broken ballistic framing sits at the point where security and energy requirements overlap. The frame has to hold its UL rating while supporting LEED documentation, meeting tightening energy codes, and standing up to frost and condensation in demanding climates.

A thermally broken ballistic frame is a bullet-resistant frame built with a nonconductive strut, typically a polyamide or similar material, set into the frame between its interior and exterior sections. That strut interrupts the path heat and cold would otherwise take straight through the metal.

A conventional aluminum ballistic frame doesn’t have this break. It’s essentially one continuous piece of metal running from the exterior face to the interior face, conducting temperature straight through—the same way a metal spoon left in a hot pot gets hot at the handle.

A thermally broken frame can be tested and rated to the same UL 752 protection levels as a conventional frame, while performing notably better on U-factor and condensation resistance.

In a school entry vestibule, that means the same glazing system standing between a threat and the students inside is also carrying the U-factor number the district's energy consultant needs for the building's envelope certificate. In a corporate lobby, it means the frame behind the reception desk doesn't get flagged separately from the rest of the building's energy submittal.

Security doesn't have to mean a trade-off

It’s been said that protecting a building doesn't have to mean sacrificing its design. A bullet-resistant reception desk can look like any other checkpoint, and a secure vestibule doesn't have to look like a bunker. The same sentiment applies to thermal performance.

A frame that meets a ballistic rating doesn't have to be the frame that drags down a building's energy performance, any more than it has to be the frame that looks out of place in the lobby. Meeting a ballistic rating shouldn't mean accepting a frame that fights a building's energy goals.

In short, get the frame right, and nothing has to bend.