Casement Windows in Chicagoland: Energy Performance, Sizes, and Brand Options

Many Chicagoland homeowners start their window search by looking at style, but the way a window opens matters just as much. Casement windows are a strong option for rooms that need better airflow, easier operation, and a tighter seal. 

This guide explains how casement windows work, where they make the most sense, what sizes and costs to expect, and how to compare popular brands. 

What a Casement Window Actually Is

A casement window is hinged on the side and opens outward, usually with a crank you turn from inside the house. That single design choice changes almost everything about how the window performs.

Because the sash swings out and seals against the frame when you close it, the wind actually pushes it tighter shut. That’s the opposite of a double-hung, which slides up and down inside a track and relies on weatherstripping to do the sealing. If you’ve ever felt a draft around an old window in your house, there’s a decent chance it was a slider or a double-hung. Casement windows are among the tightest-sealing operable window styles available for Chicagoland homes. 

The trade-off is mechanical. There are moving parts. The crank, the hinges, the operator arm. Cheap casements fail at those parts within ten years. Good casements are still working smoothly at twenty-five.

Where Casements Make Sense in a Chicagoland Home

We try to steer customers toward casements when one of these things is true.

The room needs maximum airflow. A casement opens 90 degrees, so the entire opening becomes a vent. A double-hung of the same size only gives you half that. Kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms that need cross-ventilation are perfect candidates.

The window sits over a sink or counter you can’t reach across. The crank lets you open it from arm’s length. I’ve replaced a lot of stiff old double-hungs above kitchen sinks with casements, and the homeowner always wonders why they didn’t do it sooner.

You want a clean sightline. No horizontal rail across the middle of the glass means you get an uninterrupted view. In Chicagoland homes with lake views, ravine views, or a backyard you actually want to look at, that matters.

You’re chasing energy performance. More on this in a moment.

Where I push back on casements: tight egress requirements in a bedroom, very tall openings where a different style fits the architecture better, and historic North Shore homes where the original windows are double-hungs and the neighborhood expects that look. Style and architecture come first.

Sizes You’ll Actually See in a Chicagoland Home

Casement sizes are flexible because most brands manufacture them in roughly two-inch increments. That said, here are the ranges I quote most often.

Widths usually range from 14 to 36 inches for a single casement. Once you get past 36 inches wide, the sash starts to get heavy enough that the hinges and operator wear out faster, so I’d rather pair two casements side by side than push a single sash that far. Heights typically range from 24 to about 72 inches.

For larger openings, We spec a two-wide or three-wide configuration with a fixed picture window in the middle and operable casements flanking it. That combination is one of the most popular replacement layouts in older Chicagoland homes, especially in living and dining rooms, where the original window was a single-wide unit that no longer opens properly.

If you’re swapping out an existing window, the rough opening usually dictates the size. We measure carefully and order the closest manufactured size that will fit cleanly, then handle the small gap with proper insulation and trim work. There’s almost never a need to alter the framing of the house.

Energy Performance: Why Casements Beat Most Other Styles

Casements consistently deliver the best energy numbers of any operable window I install. That’s not marketing. It’s geometry.

The two ratings that matter for energy are U-factor and SHGC. U-factor measures how much heat passes through the window. Lower is better. Solar Heat Gain Coefficient measures how much of the sun’s heat the glass lets through. In Chicagoland, where you’re running the AC for much of the year, a lower SHGC reduces your cooling load.

A quality casement with a Low-E coating, argon gas fill, and a thermally broken frame typically hits a U-factor in the 0.26 to 0.30 range and an SHGC around 0.20 to 0.28. That’s well into ENERGY STAR territory for our climate zone. Compare that to a basic double-hung with the same glass package, which usually lands a bit higher on U-factor because of the extra air-leakage path through the meeting rail.

The other half of the energy story is air infiltration. The Window and Door Manufacturers Association tests this directly. Casements routinely rate at or under 0.05 cubic feet per minute per square foot, which is about as airtight as an operable window gets. That tighter seal is what you actually feel as comfort. Less draft. Less outside noise. Lower utility bills.

Popular Casement Window Brands to Compare 

Pella, Marvin, and Andersen are three common premium options for casement windows in the Chicagoland market. Each brand has different strengths depending on budget, style, frame material, and long-term performance expectations.  So I’ve put hundreds of casements from each brand into Chicagoland homes. Here’s how I think about them when a client asks which one to pick.

Pella’s casements have one of the smoothest operating mechanisms in the industry, and the fiberglass line (Impervia) holds up well against the weather extremes in our market. If you want refined fit and finish at a sensible price, Pella is usually where I start.

Marvin sits at the top of the wood and wood-clad market. The Elevate and Signature lines have a build quality that you can feel the moment you turn the crank. If you’re matching the architecture of a historic North Shore home or a custom build, Marvin is hard to beat. You pay more for it.

Andersen’s 400 Series casements are a workhorse. They’ve been a default choice in the Midwest for decades for good reason. Reliable, available, well-supported. If you want a brand that any local installer will recognize twenty years from now, Andersen is the safe pick.

There’s no universally correct answer. The right brand depends on the architecture of your home, your budget, and how long you plan to stay in it. We carry multiple brands on purpose so the recommendation fits the project rather than our shelf.

What Casement Windows Cost in Chicagoland

A clean cost number is impossible without seeing the home, but I can give you a useful range. For a standard-sized vinyl casement installed, you’re looking somewhere between $850 and $1,400 per window. Fiberglass and wood-clad units run higher, often $1,300 to $2,400 per window installed, depending on size and finish. Custom shapes, larger units, and specialty hardware push that higher still.

What moves the number up or down is the brand, the glass package, the frame material, the size of the opening, and the condition of what’s behind the existing window. If we open up a unit and find rotted framing, that’s added work. A good contractor will tell you up front, rather than waiting until install day to surprise you with a change order.

Glossary

Casement window: A window hinged on the side that opens outward with a crank.

U-factor: How well the window keeps heat from passing through. Lower numbers mean better insulation.

SHGC (Solar Heat Gain Coefficient): How much of the sun’s heat the glass lets into your home. Lower numbers help with cooling costs.

Low-E coating: A microscopically thin metallic coating on the glass that reflects heat while letting visible light through.

Argon gas: An inert gas sealed between panes that slows the transfer of heat better than regular air.

Operator: The crank-and-arm mechanism that opens and closes the casement sash.

Air infiltration rate: A measurement of how much air leaks through the window when it’s fully closed. Lower is better.

Egress window: A window large enough to escape through in an emergency. Bedrooms below grade typically require one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are casement windows a good choice for Chicagoland homes? Yes, for most rooms. They seal tighter than double-hungs, deliver better energy performance, and stand up well to Chicagoland’s weather. Where they don’t fit is when the architecture or egress code points a different direction.

How long do casement windows last? A quality casement from a top-tier brand, properly installed, will run 25 years or more with light maintenance. The operator hardware is the part most likely to wear first, and on the better brands it’s replaceable without changing the whole window.

Are casements more expensive than double-hung windows? Usually a little, yes. The cost difference is normally 10 to 20 percent for a comparable brand and size. The energy savings and longer hardware life close some of that gap over time.

Do casement windows have screens? Yes. The screen sits on the inside of the window, since the sash swings outward. Most brands include a half or full screen with the window.

Can I replace a double-hung with a casement? In most cases, yes. The rough opening dictates what will fit. We measure the existing opening, confirm the new unit will work, and handle the framing details on install day.

Not sure whether casement windows are the right fit for your home? Call McCann Window & Exteriors at (847) 562-1212 or schedule a free consultation to compare window styles, brands, and options for your space.