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Passive House Windows Cost
There is a lot of buzz these days about passive house windows and how effective they are at creating an ultra energy efficient home. Passive We thought we'd take you through the basics of these windows and highlight the main features, costs, and consumer reviews associated with these high performing (and often expensive) home windows.
Dane - Site Editor - Original Publish Date - February 21, 2024
Page Last Updated: November 3, 2025
Page Sections
- Introduction
- Basics
- What Is The Cost Of Passive Homes
- What Does Passive House Windows Cost
- Additional Features
- Passive House Certified Windows
- Consumer Reviews
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Passive Home Basics
For the most part, passive homes are much more popular in many European countries, however, they are beginning to find some small roots here in the United States as well. The simplest definition for a passive house is this - a home that uses 1/10th the amount of energy as an average home. This accomplishmnet is pretty impressive and is achieved by using a number of different methods and products (although there are no requirements for what the products must be.)
In order to be deemed a passive home, a building must pass the Passive House Standard. It gets pretty technical, but as a general rule of thumb, the home or building essentially maximizes heat gain and minimizes heat loss. In order to do this, the home needs a very high level of insulation and a very low level of air leakage.
Passive House Costs
Most experts say that the initial construction costs of a passive homes are 10% higher than the comparable home built to code. We were surprised (and a bit skeptical) of this relatively low number. The national average per square foot cost of a residential home is $125. Therefore, a 2000 square foot home would cost $250,000 to build, with an additional $25,000 in building costs to pass the Passive House Standard.
If the average monthly energy bill is $400 per month for gas and electric and and a PH achieves a 90% drop, that translates to a yearly energy savings of $4300 per year. This would take 5.8 years to recoup the initial costs, after which the home owner would save the $4300 every year for the life of the home. There are obviously alot of assumptions made in this calculations and they will vary based on the project specifics.
Passive House Windows Cost
The typical windows in a passive homes will be custom made, contain triple-pane glass vinyl or fiberglass frames, as well as include top quality hardware and components. Additionally, overall they will have high quality construction and design. Each window will be custom made based on the location relative to the home - i.e. which direction they face in order to maximize the solar heat gain. With windows facing more north, you want to minimize solar heat loss. Incredibly, windows can generate over half of the heat energy for a home.
Related Topic: Vinyl vs Fiberglass Windows
Additional Passive Home Features
HVAC - Many passive houses use special types of ventilator that captures heat from exhaust air and recycle it through the home with incoming fresh air. Passive homes often use an electric heat pump instead of a furnace or boiler. The resulting heating use is at least 50% less than the cooling and heating consumption of a comparable home in a comaparable climate.
Walls - Passive houses use much thicker walls than a normal home. Many PH have walls that are over 1 foot in thickness. The thickness will depend on the climate of the area.
Insulation - The insulation used on a passive houses will be a much more than a normal home. Common passive house insulation options include blown-in fiberglass, blown-in cellulose, and rigid insulation. The result is a virtually airtight home that, when tested using a blower door test, is easily 90% more efficient than a normal home.
Passive House Certified Windows
American window manufacturers who manufacture windows that should satisfy passive house requirements include Alpen High Performance Products, the Kensington Windows, Inline, and KHPP. Additionally, Canadian manufacturers include Intus and Klearwall - which may or may not be available in certain parts of the U.S. through local dealers.
Passive House Windows Reviews
Below you'll find real world customer reviews, thoughts, comparisons, kudos, and complaints related to passive home windows. If you have a question for us, shoot us an email using the contact link near the top of this page.
Dane - Site Editor
Are Home Windows Eco Friendly
Hello! We are looking to replace a bunch of windows that are originals from our 1950s home. We are trying to find a sustainable option so that 20 years from now when these windows are replaced they don't end up in a landfill forever. Vinyl window series seem to be the 'worst' option in terms of biodegradability. We got a contractor that can do Fibrex for a reasonable price - 32k for the following. (I am not sure where to measure a window but the installer said all our windows are standard sizes when installed in the 1950s...)
10 Reverse Cottage double hung - 70 x 30, 2 casements 29 x 21, 2 fiberglass awning 17 by 30, and 8 double hung - 29 x 36. Price is 32.3k - all windows are Fibrex except the 2 fiberglass that are in the bathrooms. Thoughts on fibrex as a sustainable material once the windows are garbage ~25 years from now? Are there other more sustainable options? Thank you!
Joe - Homeowner - from 2021
[Site Editor's Answer]
Joe, I am not the guy to talk to in terms of the eco friendly properties of home windows. Personally, I would say finding replacements that lasted for as long a period as possible is probably the best way to "help" the environment. Fibrex is a combination of vinyl and sawdust so I don't think they are any more or less eco friendly than standard vinyl -- they just use less vinyl, but not that much really. For more info, our Fibrex vs Vinyl Windows page is a great place to start.
I found an article, but I'm not sure I buy the idea that vinyl windows are somehow okay for the environment. They really aren't unless someone takes the time to actually recycle the material. Maybe in 30 years we will all be more eco-friendly, but most builders will remove the windows and chuck them in a landfill because it is the cheapest way to get rid of the windows. (Contractors and installers have reputations for not really caring a ton about the environment, but this is of course a stereotype.)
My honest opinion is to buy a really high quality vinyl window that will last 40 or 50 years -- wood clad will only last 20 years and uses a vinyl vs fiberglass cladding on the outside. A top vinyl window will give you better energy efficiency than any fibrex window out there.
Dane - Site Editor - from 2021
Passive Ranch Windows
We are in the planning stage of building a Passive Ranch here in IL. For this we need Vinyl windows with the best U value possible but without breaking the bank. What would you recommend?
Joe - Homeowner - from 2016
[Site Editor's Response]
Joe, getting super high efficiency windows and not breaking the bank isn't the easiest of propositions. High quality vinyl windows are not necessarily cheap, although they will be less expensive than wood or even fiberglass windows. The four best made windows on the market in my opinion that offer excellent performance and air infiltration include the Soft-Lite Elements, the Okna 800 EnviroStar, the Alpen 925, and the Sunrise Restorations.
In terms of highest SHGC, you can work with whoever you purchase the windows from and explain the fact that you are building a passive home and thus need a higher SHGC than might normally come with a certain window. They should be able to order the windows with the highest SHGC available from that manufacturer. If the cost of the four windows that I mentioned is outside of your price range, each of the four manufacturers that I mentioned offers a step down window series that is still very good and will offer similar performance, without some of the features or upgrades.
Dane - Site Editor - from 2016
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