Double Hung Vs. Awning

14 years ago

We live in a 70's built single wall construction home in Hawaii with original glass and wooden louvres/jalousies. Due to termite damage, we're planning on replacing all of our windows. We hate cleaning the jalousies, but I know they're good for ventilation. I really like the awning windows for the ventilation. But, they're expensive. Double hung is cheaper, but I worry about the ventilation. I know upgrading our windows will be better no matter double hung or awning because they'll be lo/e and double pane. But, we rely on tradewinds to keep us cool, especially because our house is single wall construction.

The problem is our house is isolated on a hillside, exposed to the direct heat from the afternoon sun on two sides of the house, with no trees or neighboring houses to help shade us.

No matter which windows we choose, I'll still need to consider getting a solar shade or something to help deflect the heat. The only issue with choosing awning windows (besides the cost) are that they would be over a wrap-around deck, which is on those 2 sides of the house with the most sun exposure/heat. So, when cranked out, the awnings would stick out and be a bother to people walking along the deck.

I know we could choose to get updated jalousies for the best ventilation/air flow, but I can never keep up with the cleaning (and we have a lot of bugs and red dirt all year round that get stuck to the screens and windows). I like the fact that both the double hung and awnings would be easier to clean.

Still, I'm not sure which ones we should choose. Any advice to help with the Hawaii heat?

Comment (1)

calbay03
14 years ago
If we consider convection type air flow, double-hung is not bad. We lower the top and raise the bottom so there are top and bottom gaps. The hot air exits through the top and cool air filters in through the bottom.

Depending on how fast we want to vent, we adjust the upper and lower gap accordingly. It has worked really well.

Having lived in Southeast Asia for many years on assignments, I learned that their houses make really good use of Casements. They would install Casements to open in the upwind direction to redirect cool breezes right into the house. Depending on local wind characteristics, they would have banks of casements that open in different directions all to take advantage of seasonal breezes from different directions.

Of course, they all have extended eaves too so the sun does not reach the windows during hottest part of the day. Can you use some sort of awning over these windows? Casements will impede movements on your deck, so that can be problem. It all depends on how often people are out there when the windows are open. One way to limit collision is to move a flower pot right under the window that is open.

Anyway, good luck and hope you find a good solution!
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