To think that houses in the UK should have window shutters on the outside?

[FinanceLPlates]

These are standard in many countries and so useful. Keep the heat out, provide extra safety and protection against burglary, help with sleep as it’s easier to have the bedroom properly dark…

Why aren’t they a thing in the UK?

And yes I understand it would be difficult to retrofit them to Victorian houses etc but why aren’t they standard for new builds?

Historically, the UK has not had a hot enough climate to warrant them. Plus, external wood fixings are not a good idea in a climate as wet as ours.

Also, they just wouldn’t really work with our windows, which open outwards (whereas in much of continental Europe, they open inwards, and are thus much more compatible).

Great idea. I used to live in Spain and we had metal electric shutters and inward windows. So nice being able to make the rooms like night time

My very old house it the only one in my street without internal wooden shutters

What a great idea!

Well yes, change the windows too while we’re at it… much more practical to have windows that open inwards!

I did start thinking about shutters because of the heat it is true, but they just generally help keeping outside things out - heat, cold, light, burglars…

Plus these heat waves are getting more frequent and more severe. Shouldn’t we rethink housing design with that in mind?

YANBU. New builds need to come with shutters, an air-source heat pump, an EV charger and solar panels as standard.

I had them when I lived abroad.

Windows and doors opening inwards is very annoying unless you have lovely large rooms and nothing on windowsills.

I think they are quite ugly too and people would be snobby about the look.

Very practical though and I felt safe sleeping with my ground floor windows open but shutters down in the hot summer.

Ummm because most times the weather is crap and it's only hot 2 days a year? 🙄

Consider plantation shutters. They work well and in the right house look great.

My house is Georgian and has wooden shutters on the inside of the sash windows. They work brilliantly for keeping the heat in in the winter and the heat out in the summer. Had them closed yesterday and the house maintained 23 degrees. So I'm with you OP.

Heat? what heat?

I had shutters when I lived in Germany. Hated it as it made the room so dark at night I really struggled to wake up in the mornings.

I have oak shutters on my house in France, the windows are permanently open so the house can breathe as it’s old. I love them.

I have shutters inside my house on all of um windows
the bedrooms also have blackout blinds and I have ceilings fans / lights always have for years

it’s been lovely and cool in my house

That is happening slowly. In our planning area, every house must have ev charging, and solar panels before they can have planning permission.

We're going for GSHP next but it's a battle.

Shutters that pull down to the ground? No thank you, I would be terrified that we wouldn't be able to get out if there was a fire.
I could cope with the shutters on the inside of the window because you can just fling those open.

Lol. I live in a new build and we didn't even get flooring as standard, do you really think builders are going to put shutters on? If you want shutters, get them. Where I live it's currently 12 degrees and raining so no, I don't think I need shutters.

@Meadowfinch thats brilliant, I live in the Thames Valley where literally thousands of houses are being built all around me; no solar panels, no EV chargers, no heat pumps. Shortsighted stupid little people at Planning letting vast profits be made with no thought to the future.

It is a crying shame.

I don’t know about shutters, but there are plenty of ways to keep houses cool and provide energy efficient cooling methods should be a responsibility of planners and developers alike.

This is where planning regulations would help. Why should builders get away with always providing the absolute minimum? Outside shutters are much harder to retrofit but can look good if they are part of the design from the off.

Maybe there’s more of a need for them in the South East than other parts of the country with regards to heat. But there are other uses too, like being able to let fresh air in at night while still being secure, protection against burglary etc.
Also keeps the windows clean for longer if you’re somewhere where it rains a lot!

Internal shutters work better with outwards opening windows and wood would just rot outside. We have them and close the east side of the house 10-12pm, then close the west side of the house from 12pm. Blackout blinds closed on the lower skylights, windows on the east side open when it gets cool enough. On the hottest days we can keep the house at 25 downstairs, 27 first floor. Still can't keep the top floor cool sadly; we basically abandon it if the temperature is over 30, though coolest we've found is top floor skylights tilted open all day with the blackout blinds closed to let some heat escape while blocking sun.

I agree all new houses should be built with green energy solutions.

German roller shutters look pretty cool

We have the original internal wooden shutters in our Victorian home. Super common in older Scottish houses and tenements. They keep the warmth in during winter.

We've got reflective film on windows which helps. The uk isn't hot often enough to warrant the cost, wood rots in the wet, its just a waste of resources to save a handful of days discomfort.