How Well Do Plantation Shutters Insulate?

Creating a comfortable, stable temperature environment in your home in Australia can sometimes feel like you’re walking a tightrope – a tricky balancing act between maintaining a sustainable, eco-friendly home and a cost efficient one. The two often don’t go hand in hand, especially with Australia’s scorching sun, extreme UV exposure, blasts of cold and electricity prices at an all-time high. One way to combat unpredictable weather, without hurting the bank account or the environment, is to consider DIY Plantation shutters that provide insulation.

Not all materials are created equal, and not all window shutters provide the same level of insulation. Manufacturers will offer a wide range of options when it comes to what shutters are made of; your choice can vary from Basswood, Poplar wood, PVC and Aluminium. But which material provides the best thermal plantation shutters insulation?

The answer, in short, is PVC and Aluminium.

These materials are unique because they are both built to immobilise UV rays, keeping the heat out and interior temperatures down. Better still, the PVC material traps solar heat in, keeping your home insulated against cold winter spells. The thermal efficiency of insulated shutters is an important feature to consider in the varying weather conditions that Australia experiences. 

Although the role of windows is to allow daylight to enter a space, we now know they also result in heat gains and losses, affecting the temperature balance of an entire room. The University of Newcastle School of Engineering compared the most popular types of window coverings and learned that shutters provide up to 10% more insulation than curtains.

Additionally, the right colour palette for your shutters will play a significant role in sustained plantation shutters insulation. In the same study, the University of Newcastle School of Engineering, discovered that lighter panels reflect more energy to the external environment than its darker counterparts. This means white shutters reflect heat, significantly lowering the amount of entrapped heat within a space.

At the Shutters Dept we offer three variations of white; Snow White, Bright White, and Classic White, and we advocate these pigments for thermal regulation. The colour white repels heat around surrounding walls, stabilising the overall room temperature. So, is it affordable to add insulated shutters to your home? Definitely!

At the Shutters Dept we choose to order in bulk from our manufacturers, meaning we don’t have hefty additional costs that will affect our final price tags. We pride ourselves on keeping customer costs low, refusing to apply additional charges, such as individual panels or unique designs. 

For all your plantation shutter queries please contact us on 1300 161 650, or email us at info@shuttersdept.com.au.