I've cut down on my operable windows for my new build.

in my house with about 27 windows, I have 7 that operate. (not including patio doors)

and 5 of those are in bedrooms.

The fact is, that I don't open the windows. Our open window season here is SHORT. When the temp is right, we have the POLLEN - giant yellow dust storms of POLLEN. When it might be cool at night, we've jacked up the humidity which will be a struggle to eliminate in the new house anyway.

I have a screened porch to enjoy the outside and the breeze, but the reality is - I rarely open the windows now. And the ones I have planned in hew build are enough to create cross breezes during the approximately 8 days a year that it's "perfect".

Probably depends on the climate /region. About a month ago, the weather was gorgeous and we had all the windows open for a few days, and I about died of allergies. That being said, I would always want operable windows in bedrooms, the kitchen, and, if possible, bathrooms.

That covers just about everywhere, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen. I wonder how important cross ventilation is. Do you think people in general have operable windows to meet the egress code but not for ventilation?

Just because you don't have operable windows does not mean your house is poorly ventilated.

With HRVs and ERVs, I'll be managing the indoor air quality to the number of exchanges required to get fresh air. The difference is, that it will be managed - and air pulled in from the "best" location (not open windows next to fertilized grass or next to HVAC, for example - but up higher and on a cooler side of the house). And it will be year round - not just during when the windows can be open.

With houses being designed more tightly, controlling this is key.

Designing a system remembering that V in HVAC is ventilation is important.

The only windows in my new build that will NOT be operable are those in the center of a bank of windows. The flanking windows WILL open. I live in the upper Midwest, but I love a good cross breeze. Even the windows in the top of the vaulted great room will open by remote control.

I don't care to be sealed into a bubble any more than is necessary.

@Mark, I live in an old home at present. All 30ish windows are openable. Some fun when the windows get painted. I am not used fixed windows.

@just_janni, who do I ask to install proper air control? Is HRVs and ERVs a standard feature in a new build these days?

@Holly, I am with you in general. That's how I lived all my life so far. The new build is throwing me off. My windows as designed are big. Openable windows are a design challenge.

I limit operable windows to Code minimum. If I wanted to live outside, I'd build a tent on a platform. Of course, there's an exception to every rule!

Hangar door window on the beach in Sydney, Aus.

We have no operable ones in our living room, despite having a bank of windows and two cross ones that I especially wish could open. The house was built in 1979 (original owners here) and we are in eastern WA so I would like to be able to open them in the summer (AFTER the pine pollen is done) to get some cross ventilation in the living room. The rest of the house has 4 sliding glass doors, 2 patio doors, and 8 other windows that are all operable except one. DH is somewhat allergy prone, but even he likes things open whenever possible.

We did 1/2 non operable windows. Opening all the windows in a large house would be a job.

Our last house had 38 windows and 5 were opened regularly (or ever).

The need for sun out weighs the need for ventilation in my climate (and probably most peoples). So our window count is based on sun and view - not ventilation.

HRVs and ERVs are not standard but they exist. Most people meet ventilation requirements with good old fresh air fans - even in high performance homes (at least in NC).

I have an energy consultant / HERS rater that also is helping with indoor air quality. EPA site is as good a place as any to start - along with their Indoor Air Plus program

https://www.epa.gov/indoorairplus/basic-information-about-indoor-airplus

When I replaced the windows in my 1989 house, I reduced the number of operable windows to cut costs, but every room still has one operable window. Where I had 2 operable casement windows, now only one opens; in the living room and family room where I had 3 operable out of 3, now I have 1 of 3. Kitchen and bathrooms (with one casement each) remained the same (operable).

I do want to be able to open windows in each room, but I don't think I get that much more ventilation with 2 adjacent windows than with 1.

Every house I've ever lived in from childhood on has had only operable windows. Those houses were North of Chicago and within a few blocks of lake Michigan where lake breezes are coveted most of the year and we loved our cross ventilation. Fast forward to this house we built in Western North Carolina and again we have only operable windows with the exception of transom and clerestory. But it's a whole different ballgame here and we don't open our windows often. We never experienced pollen like this (DH is allergy prone), we live in the middle of 6 acres of wild meadow and woods, and we are 750ft off a gravel road. That said, what would be the advantage to having non-operable windows? Are the savings that significant? If a ball gets thrown through one of our casement windows or a seal breaks, we replace the sash. What happens with a non-operable window?

Our new house will have a LOT of windows. All operable are casements or awnings. Much like Holly, those in the center of a group will be fixed, but always operable on the ends. Most all of the lower awning windows will be operable as well- I anticipate using these quite frequently. We have a nice breeze most all the time and hope to take advantage of it.

"That said, what would be the advantage to having non-operable windows? "

The sightline are narrower with fixed windows. It makes a clean installation. The glass panels can get bigger if fixed. My smaller glass is 5'x7'. To make it operable, I will have to cut it down. It will break the view. Some glass is butted. I wouldn't know how to make it operable. My bathroom window is 8'x7' taking up the entire width of one wall. Shall I break it up to get an opening? That's the question. The glass in the other bathroom is from floor to ceiling. Do I break it to install an awning window? At the bottom or the top? It just wouldn't look right.

Current ASHRAE ventilation standards for HRV/ERV's frequently do not provide enough fresh air in homes, particularly bedrooms with closed doors at night.

- The current target is 1,000ppm CO2. Bedrooms in new homes with code compliant HRV/ERV systems will often see 1200-1800ppm CO2.

- Cognitive function and sleep both begin to decline with any more than 600ppm CO2. An increasing number of people in the medical community are pushing for a 600ppm target.

- HRV/ERV systems can expensive to operate if both these and the AHU air handler do not use ECM motors.

- Open windows (and with a whole house fan some days) provides much fresher air and does a better job of reducing VOC's. Oh, and costs considerable less to operate.

Every window in our new house will open. And we'll have a whole house fan.

I would strongly prefer that, in general, all windows be operable (with the exception of transom windows, since I'm not going to climb a ladder to open a window).

For budget reasons, though, I totally understand making several windows fixed. The beauty of putting in fixed windows is that, at some point in the future, upgrading to an operable window is easier if the hole is already in place.

My bathroom window is 8'x7' taking up the entire width of one wall.
Shall I break it up to get an opening? That's the question. The glass in
the other bathroom is from floor to ceiling. Do I break it to install
an awning window? At the bottom or the top? It just wouldn't look right.

Are these the only windows in those bathrooms? It bugs me that neither of my bathrooms have operable windows, but with a great view, you may not care, lol.

i can’t imagine not opening the window. I can’t imagine not hearing the birds all join the morning chorus, or the crickets and the spring peepers in the evening.

The IRC minimum natural ventilation opening requirement for a habitable space is 4% of the floor area or a whole-house mechanical ventilation system is required. Bathrooms and utility rooms are not habitable spaces.

I easily meet that. there are two huge openings in the great room. One of the openings is 200 sq-ft. The house well under 2,000 sq-ft. It's just that bathrooms don't have an operable window and bedroom have only one operable window. I would have liked two on opposite sides.

This must depend on local climate. Another midwesterner here. We must keep our windows tightly shut from October thru most of May. Therefore, the minute the temperature is warm enough we can't wait to open our windows. The Starbucks near me just put out all their outdoor tables and lots of people were sitting there at 50 degrees--so much better than 20 degrees! The price we pay for harsh winters is paid back many-fold in delightful summers when the windows can be kept open. All my windows are openable except for 2 large picture windows.

"We must keep our windows tightly shut from October thru most of May."

We're in MN. We'll crack windows open and turn on a couple of bath fans even when it's 10°f out. Not the most energy efficient but the fresh air is wonderful - especially in our bedroom at night. We do have an HRV but even running continuously it doesn't maintain low CO2 levels so therefore not maintaining low VOC levels either.

We kind of embrace winter though and try to get outside as much as possible and I've been known to fire up the grill anytime.

All windows in our house except for two are operable (or would be operable if not for all the paint and caulk gluing many of them shut - thanks previous owner). The two non-operable windows are replacements. The original windows in those spots would have been operable, even the giant one in the living room.

Even the above-door transoms are technically operable (previous owner nailed/painted shut most of them). They have those cool iron mechanisms that let you pull the transom open without needing a ladder. All gummed up with paint currently. That'll be a project.

I couldn't imagine living in a place where I couldn't open the windows whenever I felt like it. I grew up in Northern California, so I'm used to having windows open pretty much all the time and the interior being around the same temp as outside, and that might be why I prefer an open window and fan to AC on a hot day. I also have some olfactory migraine triggers, so being able to air the house out is doubly important.

It's easier for me to count my non-operable windows: transom windows in FR and master BR, and the large center windows in my master BR, FR, LR, and front room. All of these large windows are flanked by operable windows on either side. In addition to those rooms I have operable windows in bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, mudroom, dining room, and basement; they are on 3 walls in my FR and 2 in my master. I have had every operable window open at one time or another and often several at once.

I love open windows! But I grew up in an older home without central air and I prefer to sleep with the windows open. Unfortunately my kids have pollen allergies so they want A/C on more days than I do.

We have lots of windows, in part because we have a Victorian-style tower on one corner of the house, and the tower rooms off the living room and my bedroom have six windows each. And our dining room has 9 windows and a pair of French/garden doors (one of which is screened and can be opened).

Since we live in Alberta where winter temps get to -40, and winter comes early (September last year, with snow) and stays late (April or May -- it's still freezing at night), so the "formula" for our new house was one operable window on each wall. I am big on cross-breezes, my husband not so much, so I also have a growing collection of doorstops : ).