Traditionally that height was meant to allow the placement of furniture under the sill.
Awning window height from floor.
Minimum net clear opening.
Regardless of style all windows must meet certain minimums which are.
Minimum width of opening.
The 2018 irc continues to require the bottom of openings created by operable windows to be a minimum height of 24 inches above the adjacent interior floor when they are more than 6 feet above the grade outside the window.
If you are installing windows within 2 feet of a door and lower than 5 feet from the ground you need tempered glass in the windows even though these might be higher than 18 inches from the ground.
Any windows in a door must have tempered glass no matter the height unless it is too small for a 3 inch ball to pass through the window.
The bottom height or sill of the window can vary within a room without affecting its visual appeal but the head heights must be uniform especially in the corners.
Refer to the drawing.
An exception from this requirement also remains in the 2018 irc for windows that do not open more than 4 inches or that are.
But if nothing is in front of the window lowering the sill will increase ventilation the more operable glass the greater the air flow and allow you to bring in.
Maximum sill height above floor.
You can choose either projection this will change the height of the awning and how far it projects out from the wall.
This translates to 6 foot 8 inches off the floor when you have an 8 foot high ceiling or 8 feet off the floor for a 9 or 10 foot ceiling.
Minimum height of opening.
The short answer is awning windows can be used for egress but there is a longer answer.