To feel baffled as to why buildings don't have shutters in the UK

Has anyone tried getting planning permission to add French style external roller shutters to their windows in the UK? I have, and was turned down. So even if builders / developers wanted to add them I reckon it wouldn’t be that easy. But they do make a real difference in winter and summer.

I've got shutters. Quite a few neighbours have external blinds on velux windows.

If someone wants to add shutters then surely they can do that, like any additional things we have on our houses we put them on or in

Op YABU I have lived in my house for 15 years, and until this year, have never needed external shutters. Some years, we havent really had a sumner.

I am looking to put some up now. But, rhis is global warming.

They did once.

Don’t think that’s how insulation works. It doesn’t differentiate between warm or cold.

This made me laugh!

It’s really obvious why we don’t have shutters here.

I’m mid 50s and there have only been two summers I can remember where we needed them. And both of them were recent years. And only for short periods of time.

@CoffeeCantata Yes so natural solutions are better!

And air con is basically refrigeration and will just exacerbate the problem of climate change.

Yes - shutters can restrict other options at a window. Also, if you're going for the sort which fold away into the wall as in Georgian houses, that's going to be expensive so modern build-em-fast-and-sell-em-not-so-cheap firms won't want to be bothered. They'd have to employ very good craftsmen!

They were common in the past, especially when glass was a luxury only the rich could afford. But until this scary change over the last decade or so, the UK hasn't been exactly sun-baked.

Air con is using electricity and many people cannot fit retrospectively. It will drain the electricity supply if we all get it. Fans and shutters are much cheaper and there’s no difference between external and internal ones. They both cut out the sun!

Well maybe it's time to think about changing that. But I guess they'd need to be plastic, right, unlike most European shutters? I have wooden window frames and the maintenance in terms of painting is no joke. Add in shutter maintenance in our wet climate and I'd lose the will to live.

I've lived in several properties in the UK with shutters, older properties. As pp said loads of tenement flats in Scotland have them.
As to how do they work, well yes you don't let your property get hot in the first place by keeping them closed and doing as pp suggested re opening windows early and late.
I have used blackout blinds to similar effect this summer and my house has never been unbearably hot, dark but not hot.
Most of my neighbours open their doors and windows when it's hot, I don't understand their logic, they are literally heating up their houses.

You need to let the heat out as soon as the external temperature is cooler than indoors. Then close all windows and shutters before it starts heating up mid morning. Then only open shutters and windows when the outdoor temperature has dropped below indoor temperature in the evening again. It keeps indoors noticeably cooler than outdoors.

I don't have shutters, but blackout blinds and curtains in all rooms bar the bathroom. Like a previous poster I've managed to keep indoor temperatues to 27 when outdoors it's been 34 by following keeping all windows shut, all blinds and curtains drawn before it heats up in the morning. Then as soon as temp drops in the evening all windows/doors/blinds opened for a couple of hours in the evening. Then up at 6, opening all windows and doors again. By 8.30 everything is closed and drawn, and left that way until the evening. It's been the difference between manageable and unbearable.

You can fit internal shutters. They fold back when not in use. Or have blinds and decent curtains. Both do the same job as external shutters and don’t need painting.

I couldn't recall which way it was! Defo don't need that 😬

That’s not true. Builders don’t design houses for one thing. New houses have to comply with the Building Regulations.

Overheating is addressed in new homes in the relatively new Part O of the regs. It has to be proven by a prescribed calculation or thermal modelling. There is no way to cut corners here.

Shutters are one recognised way of providing solar shading, but they’re not mandatory. The design can use a combination of glazing, orientation, shading and ventilation to comply. The design would not be approved by Building Control unless it demonstrates compliance wrt overheating.

We’ve installed rolling metal shutters on our velux windows - they are amazing at keeping heat out in summer and in over winter. Much more energy efficient than air con.

Proper external shutters make an enormous difference to keep out heat. All for free once they’re installed.

I've never been bothered by mosquitos in the UK. It tends to be the odd fly or wasp, easily extracted from the house. Oh and spiders. Nothing significant though.

I've got shutters and retractable awnings, which I wouldn't be without, but I do understand why they're not a thing in the UK.
What I don't understand is why people don't have fly screens. They keep all the insects out and you can keep your windows open without being bothered by mosquitos. Concertina pull-out ones work with patio doors and you can get ones which work like roller blinds for windows which open outwards. They're not even expensive.

Shutters don't make that much difference to the heat. You would be better off asking why all houses don't have air conditioning.

I’ve lived in the north of Germany, the climate there is very similar to large parts of the UK. Their windows with integrated external shutters are just soooo much better. Keep the house warm in winter, cool in summer. Make it properly dark and secure at night. The shutters even can protect from the rain - you can semi-close the shutters (rolling them down about a third of the way) and open the window “auf Kipp” behind - the window tilts inward slightly to let in fresh air.
They'd be perfect for all UK weather! However I imagine they’re more expensive to install initially so developers skimp on quality. The cost for the extra heating in winter/aircon in summer will not be on them of course.

Building regs in Scotland require heat pumps / solar panels on new builds.

In France most houses have external shutters, even in regions historically quite cold (Northern France, Alsace, Britanny, Lozère...) it doesn't just offer protection against the heat but also against the cold and the wind and intruders.

I must say, as a french person, I'm quite nostalgic of the ritual of opening the windows and shutters every morning.