Owning and maintaining a home is the largest expense that many homeowners will have in their lives, which is why many people try to find a balance between cost and comfort for their home upkeep. Besides investing in energy-efficient appliances and improving home security, one simple yet effective solution to save on home costs is to acquire and maintain window roller shutters.
In Adelaide, window roller shutters are more than just nice-to-have decorative elements. If properly used, they can play a vital role in the energy efficiency and security of your home. Proper maintenance and care can ensure that these shutters last long and function optimally, which can make a big difference to your housing-related bills over time.
Regulating the Home Environment
Window roller shutters act as an additional barrier between the interior of your home and the external environment. They can help you regulate indoor temperatures in any season, which can be significant to your budget as around 40 percent of an average Australian household’s energy use is attributed to heating and cooling. As such, it is important to ensure they are well-maintained for optimal operation throughout the year.
Heat travels easily through windows, making them a thermal weak spot in the home and the culprit for up to 40 percent of the heat lost by Australian homes in winter. As a result, your heating system must work harder to keep your house warm. But if you have well-insulated shutters, you can trap the heat inside and reduce your energy consumption for heating.
In summer, around 87 percent of heat gain is through the windows, so window roller shutters can make an even bigger difference here. When the sun is out, these shutters can be used to block out sunlight and minimise solar heat gain. This alleviates the strain on your air- conditioning units to achieve a comfortably cool internal temperature, as well as reducing your energy bills.
Preventing Drafts and Air Infiltration
One of the ways that window roller shutters help regulate your house temperature is by creating seals around the windows that help keep warm air inside and cold air out – or vice versa in the warmer months.
However, over time, these shutters can develop gaps or become loose, allowing cold drafts to infiltrate your home. Similarly, in the summer, warm air can enter your home through these gaps, thus causing the temperature (and, in certain areas, humidity) to rise.
In both cases, these vulnerabilities disrupt your internal environment and make your HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system work harder, leading to higher energy bills.
Regular maintenance, such as routine inspections of the shutters, tightening hinges and replacing worn seals, can help to close these gaps, maintain seamless insulation and save you money.
Light Control and Solar Heat Gain Management
Light and heat have a symbiotic relationship when it comes to the environment in Adelaide, and properly functioning window roller shutters help you get the best of both worlds. By adjusting the angle of the shutter slats or opening and closing the shutters as needed, you can control the amount of natural sunlight that enters your living space.
On bright winter days, you can leave the shutters fully open in the daytime for sunlight to stream into and warm the house; for blazing summer afternoons, you might prefer to simply adjust the shutters to let in natural light while keeping the direct sunlight out to stay cool.
Besides reducing the burden on your HVAC system to counteract excessive heat loss or solar heat gain, being able to control natural lighting also means that you can reduce your usage of electric lights in the day, thus providing further savings on your energy bill.
Enhancing Privacy and Security
Besides improving home energy efficiency, window roller shutters can also provide enhanced privacy and security for homeowners.
Windows are one of the most common entry points for thieves because they can tamper with the latch or break the glass. Window roller shutters provide an added layer of security and tend to be made of durable aluminium, making them very difficult to break. Additionally, any tampering with the shutter will cause loud noises that will alert the homeowner or the neighbours.
You should always make sure that your shutters are working as intended, such as being able to close all the way, so as not to compromise the level of security they can provide. Additionally, you can adopt best practices such as closing the shutters at night or when you are away from home. This prevents people from seeing into your home and deters would-be intruders, reducing the chances of a costly break-in.
Extending Investment Lifespan
Do not forget: window roller shutters, like any element of your home, are investments in and of themselves. Regular maintenance of your shutters ensures that they last longer and are in proper working condition, which enables them to continue delivering benefits such as improved energy efficiency and security at an optimal level for longer.
While window roller shutters do not need constant cleaning, it is advisable to give them a quick wipe-down a few times a year to prevent dust and debris from accumulating, which can affect their performance. You can also use this time to inspect them for issues such as rust or mechanical failures – addressing these problems early can save you having to replace them too quickly at a higher cost.
Plus, well-maintained shutters can even increase a house’s value if you should think about selling your home in the future, so they are an investment worth maintaining.
Maintenance Made Easy At AllStyle Window Shutters
Maintaining your window roller shutters in Adelaide is more than just a house chore – it is about ensuring that you reap the full cost-saving benefits they can provide for energy efficiency, security and aesthetics for your home. Therefore, homeowners looking to optimise their home in these respects should make window roller shutters a priority in their annual house maintenance
schedule.
At AllStyle Window Shutters, we offer window roller shutters made from high-quality materials that require minimal maintenance. Our experts have considered weather protection, security, privacy, and other factors when producing our window roller shutters to ensure they are durable, energy-efficient, cost-saving and last you for a long time. Get in touch with us today to learn more about our window roller shutters and how we can help upgrade your home.