Kona elevation questions (Kailua: rent, how much, house)

[AlohaHuey]

Aloha:

As soon as the house on the mainland sells, we're off to Kona. I've been looking at the various neighborhoods and have a few questions:

Does it rain much more at the 1K-1.5K elevation than 500-sea level?

How much cooler is the temp at 1.5 k feet? I've seen 3 degrees cooler for every 1K elevation change, is that about right?

I saw BICC is at 2.5K feet and Puu Lani ranch is across the road from the golf course, what is the temperature there compared to Kona?

I'm moving for the climate so these differences are a bit more important than to most people.

Mahalo!

[hotzcatz]

Rent in the area you are interested in for several months before buying anything. Many times folks find out after living somewhere that it is either too wet, windy, dry, humid, too much vog, etc. after they have been in the area for awhile.

My friend used to work in Kailua town and lived up in Kona Palisades. He had a thermometer on his motorcycle and when it dropped two degrees he'd turn left onto his street which was about halfway up the subdivision. He said it worked like a charm.

The Big Island consists of a lot of little micro-climates, so it is hard to find exactly the right spot without being there. Higher elevations are cooler than lower elevations, but there are also wind and rain to factor into it. It usually rains more on the windward side of the mountains when the wind pushes the clouds up into a higher and cooler elevation. On the leeward sides the wind is pushing the clouds away from the mountains and most of the rain has fallen on the other side first so the leeward side gets less rain than the windward side, just in general, of course.

What specific climate are you looking for?

[mdand3boys]

Another question would be if you want to have to run an air conditioner or not? Electricity is 3-4 times mainland cost, so running AC would really run the monthly bill up.

[Balad1]

Also factor in the VOG; at times it's quite bad on the leeward side.

I second Hotzcatz in saying rent first.

[cynmkolohe]

Due to forum rules, I can't post a link to a the rainfall map we use (with permission), but if you search "Oregon climate service Big Island rainfall" you will find it.

The climate is much more mild up at Puu Lani and BICC.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Rent in the area you are interested in for several months before buying anything. Many times folks find out after living somewhere that it is either too wet, windy, dry, humid, too much vog, etc. after they have been in the area for awhile.

My friend used to work in Kailua town and lived up in Kona Palisades. He had a thermometer on his motorcycle and when it dropped two degrees he'd turn left onto his street which was about halfway up the subdivision. He said it worked like a charm.

The Big Island consists of a lot of little micro-climates, so it is hard to find exactly the right spot without being there. Higher elevations are cooler than lower elevations, but there are also wind and rain to factor into it. It usually rains more on the windward side of the mountains when the wind pushes the clouds up into a higher and cooler elevation. On the leeward sides the wind is pushing the clouds away from the mountains and most of the rain has fallen on the other side first so the leeward side gets less rain than the windward side, just in general, of course.

What specific climate are you looking for?

Great advice, thanks. I want to make sure I don't end up at an elevation where I will be too cool. Rain/wind is not a factor, but I don't want to end up in Hawaii and live someplace chilly. Saw one place with a heated floor setup, seems to me that is overkill!

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

Another question would be if you want to have to run an air conditioner or not? Electricity is 3-4 times mainland cost, so running AC would really run the monthly bill up.

I am moving to Hawaii for the warmth...while I will probably buy a place with AC, I don't plan to use it if I can help it.

[Balad1]

If you're moving for the warmth as many of us did I would recommend not going above 1500' as a rule. A properly designed and situated island style home in the Kona area at this elevation or lower will not require A/C or heating. A wood stove or gas fireplace for esthetics and a little warmth on the occasional cooler winter morning would nice but not required.

[AlohaHuey]

Originally Posted by Balad1

If you're moving for the warmth as many of us did I would recommend not going above 1500' as a rule. A properly designed and situated island style home in the Kona area at this elevation or lower will not require A/C or heating. A wood stove or gas fireplace for esthetics and a little warmth on the occasional cooler winter morning would nice but not required.

I think I came to that same conclusion when I was looking at places at about 1,500'... Thanks Balad, I will heed that advice.

I'm pretty tolerant of warmth, and I don't want to sit inside at 68 degrees when the balmy Hawaiian air is so much nicer!

My wife wearing a "bunny suit" in Hawaii just wouldn't be right, either. She gets cold easily.

[Galactastica]

i lived 1,600 feet or so up Palani/Hina Lani/Kaloko Rd area. I would have never ever needed an air conditioner. A fan during the day was more than enough. it got cold at night! sometimes in the 40's. During the day it was much cooler but not cold. We left our windows open to let the sunshine in but i was never uncomfortable ( i worked from home so i expirienced it all) but at night you shut those suckers up tight. It rained once every day-3 days, and sometiems when it wasn't raining it was misting or foggy. The vog up there seemed below us for the most part. after that i moved about 300 feet el. so it was a big change in weather, temps and everything. there is DEF a difference!