Windows are obvious critical components of building enclosures, especially those designed for the highest performance of Net Zero and Passive House. Select manufacturers and suppliers are meeting the demands of the high-performance building market which they see as only growing in the coming years.
Innotech Windows + Doors in Langley, BC shares the views of most select window suppliers that building codes throughout Canada, such as the BC Energy Step Code, is giving rise to a surge in buildings, including single-family homes and multi-family high-rise buildings, designed and built to achieve high energy efficiency, if not the Passive House Standard.
Innotech serves the high-performance market and recently introduced its Defender 88PH+ XI, the first Passive House Institute cold climate certified window manufactured in North America and the first uPVC Passive House Institute cold climate certified window in the world. Both are significant achievements for the North American fenestration industry and long-awaited performance milestones for the North American Passive House building industry.
The Defender 88PH+ XI exceeds the criteria for the cold climate region (or climate zone 2) as defined by the Passive House Institute. The fixed window has a Uw of 0.59 W/(m²K), Uw,inst of 0.60 W/(m²K) and temperature factor of 0.77, while the operable (turn and turn) window has a Uw of 0.60 W/(m²K), Uw,inst of 0.64 W/(m²K) and temperature factor of 0.78. Both the fixed window and the operable window achieve a Passive House efficiency class of phA for the cold climate region, while providing air tightness, water resistance and structural performance.
Inline Fiberglass in Toronto is a pioneer in the Canadian fiberglass window and door industry with the distinct advantage of controlling all aspects of design, production and quality. Beginning with the manufacturing of lineals, using the pultrusion process, to design and final assembly of windows and doors, Inline has earned its reputation for producing high performing windows and doors. The company was an early adopter of fiberglass because the material resists swelling, rotting, and warping for long-lasting durability. Its fiberglass frames are as strong as low carbon steel and eight times stronger than vinyl.
Inline’s Larry Bidner says that its advanced pultrusion technology allows the production of lineals/frames with a higher glass loading than traditional fiberglass frames. This higher glass loading provides a higher strength and a lower thermal expansion rate. Its fiberglass frames expand at virtually the same rate as glass to maintain a tight seal and maintain resistance to leaks and window failures that can compromise energy efficiency and long-term performance. More recently, Inline has introduced its line of fiberglass Passive House-certified windows.
The FiberWall™ series by Duxton Windows & Doors in Winnipeg has been used in Net Zero buildings, both in commercial and residential settings. The fiberglass lineals in combination with triple-pane double low-e glass and a warm edge Endur spacer result in u-values down to 0.79 W/m2K. Duxton is working toward ever lower u-values for thermal performance, especially as the high-performance building market becomes more important and, as it believes, the BC Step Code gradually takes effect and spreads to other jurisdictions. The company will focus on the casement/awning category which have excellent air-tightness and are familiar to Canadians.
Cascadia Windows & Doors—based in Langley, BC—designs and manufactures commercial grade, high-performance fiberglass windows, doors, and window wall, plus the Cascadia Clip fiberglass cladding attachment.
Its standard window products—the Universal Series™—boast up to 250% improved thermal performance compared to traditional aluminum windows, making them suited to commercial and residential Passive House projects. In 2023, Cascadia launched a Juliet Balcony product to reduce thermal bridging associated with balconies and is working on an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its windows.
JELD-WEN has a platform of high-performance casement, awning and fixed windows that can reach beyond Tier 5 of the NBC 2020 and that can reach a 0.79 U Value with a variety of glass options offering both medium and low solar gain. The JWC 8500 series is well positioned, with a 26% slimmer frame that allows more natural light while maintaining window strength, to help builders improve their building envelopes and contribute to a lower operational carbon output.
KALWALL in Manchester, NH has developed highly unique translucent daylighting systems which it says are the most highly insulating in the world. It offers museum-quality daylighting™ to improve indoor environmental quality, reduce a building’s carbon footprint, and bring measurable energy savings to owners and tenants. The company has recently launched KALWALL® 175CW, the first in a series of new translucent insulated glazing units (TIGUs) which allows mixing and matching with other infill glazings and claddings for various façade design possibilities. KALWALL 175CW TIGUs are nominally 1-3/4” and fully thermally broken.
Toronto-based VETTA Windows and Doors offers high-quality European triple-glazed windows and doors, all made from sustainably harvested wood and specifically designed for high performance Passive House and Net Zero buildings. This includes PHI certified windows and doors.
According to Carolyn Sedgwick, VP at VETTA Windows & Doors, its products use only wood harvested from sustainably managed forests, a leading method of carbon capture critical for climate resiliency as recommended by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It notes the embodied carbon of its wood windows and doors, when factoring in their carbon sink benefit, at about 0 kg/CO2e per m².
In 2023 the company introduced the Summit C108, a PHI Cold Climate Certified operable alu-clad wood window. With an overall Uw value of 0.65 w/m²K, it delivers exceptional performance and refined modern design.
NZP Fenestration in Longueuil, QC specializes in providing high-performance fenestration solutions for Passive House, Net Zero Energy, and Zero Carbon projects. Its Passivhaus-certified windows significantly exceed current standards with its multipoint locking system for optimal sealing, while its triple glazing achieves performance levels of up to R11.4. NZP also offers lift and slide doors available in sizes up to 21 feet with R11.4 glazing; insulated glass swing doors with a multipoint lock system and customizable sizes; triple glazing systems; insulated frames to minimize heat loss; and customizable design to integrate into any project.
Varsa Windows & Doors in Surrey, BC offers the Passive House-certified Rehau Geneo tilt-turn windows and doors (UPVC) composed of RAU-FIPRO®, a proprietary fibre composite material similar to that employed in aeronautic construction and racing vehicles, making it the first fully-reinforced polymer window profile system that doesn’t rely on steel for its strength. RAU-FIPRO also provides excellent acoustical and thermal performance, especially given the absence of steel which can cause thermal bridging. Available as tilt-turn, hopper and fixed configurations, with centre seal and optional thermo-modules, Geneo achieves thermal insulation values up to the stringent passive house standard.
Varsa also offers ALUMIL S91 consisting of the hinged insulated system SMARTIA s91, an alternative for frames with concealed sash and fittings. Its significantly reduced visible aluminum face width maximizes natural light along with high thermal insulation and watertightness. And finally, it is one of the few companies to have a Passive House-certified curtain wall: ALUMIL M7.
- Cascadia Windows & Doors
- Duxton Windows & Doors
- INLINE Fiberglass
- Innotech Windows + Doors
- NZP Fenestration
- Phoenix Glass
- Varsa Windows & Doors
- VETTA Windows & Doors
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