You can probably understand why we have asked this question, especially now. Coming out of winter, it would be an understatement to say that energy costs have been a major topic of conversation among householders and in the news lately. That would have been the case even if there hadn’t been the announcement of a big rise in the energy price cap in the UK, by a whopping 54% from 1st April.
And even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, worries were being voiced about the potential for another big jump in the energy price cap when it is next due to be reviewed for October.
So, a lot of people’s concerns right now centre on how they can keep their homes warm enough for day-to-day comfort, without necessarily having to crank up the thermostat. You might therefore be wondering whether the solid, physical barrier that window shutters would provide between your windows and the rest of your home, could help in this regard.
There’s a lot more to be asked (and answered!) about window shutters and energy efficiency than that, though – so, let’s delve into the whole topic.
The short answer is – yes, window shutters are energy efficient!
If you don’t have much time to read further, let’s get to the point – yes, window shutters are definitely energy efficient. The Department of Energy in the United States – which, let’s be honest, is as reputable an authority as you can find on this subject – has cited shutters as being among the window coverings that can help with improving energy efficiency in a property.
The Department has said that such window coverings can help to prevent some of the energy loss that can occur in a home, pointing out that around 30% of a residential property’s heating energy is typically lost through the windows.
As for exactly how much energy or money you could save with the installation of window shutters at your property, this will depend – in the words of the Department – on “the type of attachment, the season, the climate, and how the attachment is used.”
In other words, not all window shutters will necessarily be as good as each other when it comes to bolstering your home’s energy efficiency. And even with that accounted for, you can further help optimise energy efficiency in your property by actually remembering to use the shutters appropriately in accordance with whatever the conditions are at the time.
Exactly how do window shutters save energy, anyway?
This may seem easy enough to explain – window shutters will constitute a physical barrier in your property that prevents heat from getting out of the building through the windows.
But it’s actually even better news than that; window shutters are great thermal insulators in that, when the louvres are closed, a pocket of air will be effectively created between your shutters and the window. Yes, trapped air really can be an insulator!
On the other hand, at the time of typing, we’re heading fast towards the spring and summer months, and this raises the possibility of a very different “problem”: that of your home becoming too hot on those sunny and sweltering days.
In that situation, you won’t have to waste further energy on air conditioning – you can just open the louvres of your shutters to allow the warm air to more easily escape your home. Window shutters really are energy efficient, then, in more ways than one.
What impact do different types of shutters have on energy efficiency?
We touched on this above, so let’s look at it in greater detail. As you’ll see when you browse the Shuttertec website, there are various forms of window shutter that can be potentially purchased and installed in a home. And the exact type you buy may have certain implications for the levels of energy efficiency you can achieve in your property.
You might imagine, for instance, that our strongest-selling window shutters – the full-height kind – would be particularly great for energy efficiency, and you would be right! After all, as they cover the entire height of the windows where they are installed, they will enable you to either completely cover the windows with the louvres as needed, or completely uncover the windows – or even have the louvres left in a slightly slanted position on medium-heat days.
But there are other types of window shutter that can also be excellent for optimising energy use, such as tier-on-tier shutters, blackout shutters, or even motorised window shutters.
The latter, for example, can be combined with ‘smart’ technology to enable you to control the louvres even when you aren’t at home. That could be ideal for shutting the louvres on those colder evenings long before you get home from work, so that greater heat can be retained in your property in advance of your arrival.
Most people, of course, don’t have window shutters installed at their homes solely for reasons of energy saving – they also tend to have certain requirements and expectations with regard to such things as aesthetics, light control, and privacy. So, some of these factors are also likely to dictate which type of window shutters you ultimately buy.
For a more in-depth conversation with our team at Shuttertec about your own preferences and needs as far as shutters are concerned, please don’t hesitate to give us a call, on 0800 023 5754, today.