Single Hung vs Double Hung vs Casement Windows: Which Is Best for Florida Homes?

Choosing new impact windows for a Broward County home usually starts with a style question: single hung vs double hung vs casement. All three can be built as hurricane impact windows, so the choice is less about storm protection and more about how each window opens, cleans, seals, and fits the room it goes in. Here is how the three compare, and where each one tends to make sense.

The Short Answer

When it comes to single hung vs double hung vs casement, no one style is right for every opening. Single hung windows keep the cost down across a large number of standard openings. Double hung windows give you more control over airflow and make the outside glass easier to clean. Casement windows swing open on a side hinge and close against the frame for a tight seal. Many South Florida homes end up with a mix. The sections below walk through the trade-offs so you can match each style to the room it serves.

How Each Window Style Works

Single Hung Windows

A single hung window has a fixed upper sash and a lower sash that slides up to open. With only one moving sash there is less hardware involved, which is a large part of why single hung impact windows cost less per unit than double hung. The trade-off is that only the lower part of the window opens, and the outside of the fixed top glass has to be cleaned from outside the house.

Double Hung Windows

On a double hung window, both the upper and lower sashes slide, so you can open the top, the bottom, or both. On the double hung impact windows we install, both sashes also tilt inward, which lets you clean the exterior glass from inside the home.

Casement Windows

A casement window is hinged on the side and opened with a crank, so the whole sash swings outward like a door. That creates a full, unobstructed opening. When a casement impact window is closed, the sash presses against the frame, which gives it a tighter seal than sliding designs.

Single Hung vs Double Hung vs Casement, Side by Side

Once you know how each window moves, the practical differences fall into five areas.

Airflow

A single hung window opens at the bottom only. A double hung lets you open the top sash, the bottom sash, or both, which gives you more ways to move air through a room. A casement opens its entire sash, so the whole window area is available for fresh air instead of just part of it.

Cleaning and Upkeep

For second-floor rooms, cleaning is often the deciding factor. Double hung has the edge here, since both sashes tilt in, while a single hung window’s fixed top sash has to be cleaned from outside. On a casement, how easily you can reach the outside glass from indoors depends on the hinge hardware, so ask about it for upper-floor windows. Casements have no sliding sash, so the rest of the upkeep goes into keeping the crank and hinges clean and working smoothly.

Air Sealing

Energy-efficiency guidance from Natural Resources Canada notes that hinged windows, casements included, are more air-tight than sliding windows. Single and double hung windows both open by sliding a sash, which puts them on the other side of that comparison. A tighter seal helps keep humid outdoor air out and conditioned air in, which counts for a lot during a long South Florida summer.

Cost

Single hung is the lower-cost of the two hung styles, for the hardware reasons covered above. Casement pricing depends on the size, glass, frame, and hardware you choose, so compare it on a written quote for your actual openings. Style is only one of the factors that shape hurricane impact windows cost in South Florida.

Bedroom Egress

Under the Florida Building Code, every sleeping room needs at least one operable emergency escape and rescue opening. The code calls for a net clear opening of at least 5.7 square feet (5 square feet for a grade-floor opening), at least 24 inches of clear height, and at least 20 inches of clear width, with the bottom of the opening no more than 44 inches above the floor. On a hung window the sashes overlap, so even with both sashes of a double hung open, the clear opening is only about half the window. A casement fitted with egress hinges swings its sash fully clear of the opening, so it can meet those minimums in a smaller frame.

Replacement windows get some flexibility. The code exempts a replacement window from these minimums when it is the manufacturer’s largest standard size that fits the existing frame or rough opening, it is either the same operating style as the old window or a style with an equal or larger opening area, and it is not part of a change of occupancy. Switching a bedroom casement to a hung window of the same size can cut the opening roughly in half, so check egress before changing styles in a bedroom.

Hurricane Protection Is Available in All Three

Broward and Miami-Dade counties make up Florida’s High-Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ), where the Florida Building Code applies its own set of wind and impact provisions. Two things separate hurricane impact windows from standard windows. The first is laminated glass: two panes bonded to a tough plastic interlayer, commonly polyvinyl butyral (PVB). The second is a reinforced frame. Single hung, double hung, and casement windows can all be built that way.

What matters for protection is the specific product, not the style. Each window installed here needs a product approval that covers the HVHZ, and a Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA) is the approval most homeowners hear about. When you compare quotes, ask for the approval that goes with each window on the list.

Matching Window Styles to Rooms

Most homes do not need one style throughout, and the single hung vs double hung vs casement choice is usually made room by room. Here are some common ways to match the style to the room:

• Bedrooms: start with egress. A casement with egress hinges, or a hung window large enough for the clear-opening minimums, can meet the egress requirement when the sill height also works.
• Kitchens: over a sink or counter, turning a crank is often easier than reaching across to lift a sash, so casements are worth considering here.
• Second-floor rooms: double hung lets you clean the outside glass from inside, with no ladder needed.
• Living and dining areas, and other rooms with several standard openings: single hung, since the lower per-window price adds up across the whole run.
• Windows beside walkways, pool decks, or patios: a casement sash swings outward when open, while a hung window stays within its frame. Sliding impact windows are another option here, since the panel moves sideways along a track and nothing swings out over the walkway.
• Rooms where you want fresh air during a light rain: awning impact windows are hinged along the top and crank open from the bottom, so the glass overhangs the opening and sheds a passing shower.

Questions to Ask Before You Decide

• Which rooms are bedrooms, and which windows in them need to meet egress?
• Which windows are hard to reach from outside for cleaning?
• Is a walkway, deck, or patio in the path of an outward-swinging sash?
• In which rooms does airflow matter most to you?
• What product approval covers each window on the quote?

Answering those five questions usually settles the choice between single hung, double hung, and casement for each opening, and it makes quotes easier to compare line by line.

Get a Free Estimate From America’s Window & Door Store

America’s Window & Door Store is an authorized PGT dealer, including the former CGI lines, and a certified general and glazing contractor, based at 5908 Johnson Street in Hollywood. We also carry ECO Window Systems, ES Windows and ESR Impact System. We will go through your openings with you, compare single hung, double hung, and casement options for each one, and lay out the pricing side by side so you can decide with the full picture. Call 954-989-7722 or contact us online to schedule a free estimate.