Inward opening, "European style" windows

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richms

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#909526 7-Oct-2013 20:44

Would have to do a cost check on the less natural light being supplemented with artificial vs the heat savings on that one.

I know when I looked into the price of a solartube light vs leaving a 20w CFL on most of the time (about the same light output) the CFL won out with there never being a payback on the solartube. Now with LED it will be even less.

So the cost of a larger window, and the added heat loss of it vs paying to run a light. Would be a pain to even start to work out with the heat loss thing.

Richard rich.ms

timmmay

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#909537 7-Oct-2013 21:16

You have to balance livability with insulation. No windows at all means great insulation, but few people would want to live there. Small windows means you'll need more lighting in the room, and more lights turned on even during the day.

linw

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#909668 8-Oct-2013 09:25

Window size is not just about light or heat loss. We have a lot of window area in our living space and when the sun shines in winter, the heater gets switched off.

But there is the offset of heat loss for sure. Our full length curtains get fully drawn in the early evening in winter.

We certainly noticed how small the window area was on European houses as well. Different strokes for different folks (and climates!).

Ragnor

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#909806 8-Oct-2013 12:58

richms: If NZ would get over this mentality that high density housing is bad, then people would build nicer places to live instead of putting a single house onto the back half of an already oversized section that could easily house a lot more people.

But no, we have all these selfish nutters going around campaigning against 3 story developments, which they seem to think are 'high rise'.

Plenty of people come to NZ for the less dense lifestyle, it's a valid lifestyle choice. I don't agree it's nuts or really that selfish.

There are pro's (economies of scale for services/goods, etc) and cons (pollution, noise, etc) with more density.

Aredwood

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#913318 10-Oct-2013 21:58

If you want people to embrace high density living then you need to give them what they want. They want large floor areas. Just compare the sizes of the average new house with existing houses. http://www.qv.co.nz/resources/news/article?blogId=62 Problem is apartment developers are hellbent on trying to make apartments as small as possible. A quick search on Trademe property proves this. (all of Auckland). Number of 5+ bedroom apartments currently listed - 18. And 2 of those are for a building that hasn't been built yet. Number of 5+ bedroom houses - 1120. Number of 1 bedroom houses - 106. Number of 1 bedroom apartments - 418. Although I realise some of those 1 bedroom apartment listings will actually be carparks since Trademe don't have a separate category for carparks. Either way if you want to own a property that has a floor area of 200m2 or bigger it will most likely be cheaper to buy a house than an apartment.

mattwnz

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#913321 10-Oct-2013 22:08

Large windows also create a heat gain, especially if you have thermal mass, so can save heaps on heating. It's called passive solar heating.

langers1972

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#913407 11-Oct-2013 08:17

mattwnz: Large windows also create a heat gain, especially if you have thermal mass, so can save heaps on heating. It's called passive solar heating.

Only if they're North facing, should apply the reverse to non sun facing orientation

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jpoc

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#922982 28-Oct-2013 11:49

The main reason for inward opening windows in European dwellings is that it is normal to have external shutters. Either hinged ones that swing outwards or roller shutters.

webwat

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#926442 3-Nov-2013 04:34

Apparently inward facing windows are also less draughty since the window opens at the top, but I notice they have window vents built into the frame as well. Always wondered whats the main reason for shutters though, it can't be just to protect from storm damage or something.

Time to find a new industry!

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