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

[DontSingSusan]

I just find it baffling that virtually no buildings in the UK have shutters.

I get that the climate is changing and they wouldn't necessarily have been needed in the past but why don't new builds have them?

Every time there's a heatwave, people are going on about AC, but shutters are a much easier, cheaper and more climate-friendly option.

It's really striking in the UK as everywhere else in Europe seems to have them.

We've got temperatures around 40 degrees all week (not in the UK) and couldn't survive without them.

New builds don't have them as builders build houses as cheaply as possible.
I agree with you though, we need to start changing what we do and how we do it, the climate and the world is and has changed.

A fair few buildings do have shutters. When we lived in Scotland loads of old houses / tenements (including ours!) had shutters. Or do you mean external shutters?

They aren’t needed

Our windows open outward in this country so you cant use shutters on them

Nothing to stop new builds working in the other direction of course but then you have to think about window clearance inside the house.

Sash windowed houses can work with shutters of course but theres not a huge number of original sashes left compared to other styles of windows.

We're not generally a hot country so its not really built for heat, we build for cold, hence the ridiciulous amount of insulation requirements now which is why people are cooking in their flats now and its unbearable for them.

We're looking into having shutters retrofitted. Because windows here open outwards it's a bit more awkward. They have to build a protruding frame and then have a winder on the inside that lets you put them up and down. It would be better if they designed them new builds, with the right window type. They could design in sun shades too, brise soleils I think they're called.

Because building regs don’t require them, and house builders are looking to maximise profits - so they won’t add things that cost them money that they don’t legally have to do.

Self builds tend to be people who can afford AC so will simply install that.

What we need is an update to building regs - all new builds should have solar panels with a battery to store the electricity generated, shutters on windows, maybe even look at building hard disks used given they are designed to retain the heat.

Yes, external shutters.

We also have internal shutters on some windows (on the north-facing side), but they're not as effective.

Ah, well then it’s as noted by others above - here, windows open outwards.

Everywhere else in Europe?

My husband is Danish and I've never seen shutters there on modern houses, only on old farmhouses/cottages much the same as here.

Windows open outwards as standard, you can’t retrofit internal opening on already installed upvc windows, so people would either need shutter frames that stick out as much as the full opening distance of the windows, or people would be paying thousands for new windows and then thousands for shutters. Upper windows would also need at least one quick release shutter as a fire escape, I have no idea if that would be more costly.

Tilt and turn, and inward opening windows are typically more expensive, I don’t know about now, but when there were free/subsidised window replacement schemes they weren’t an option due to the increased cost.

I live in europe, I rarely see a curtain at a window, I have never seen shutters on a building apart from places like banks for security.

Do people ever get baffled in real life or is it a Mumsnet phenomenon?

The climate has only changed this much in the last handful of years and architects and builders haven't caught up yet.

With our window types, you're probably better off having thermal blinds fitted, like these. They keep the house warmer in winter and cooler in the summer.

We currently have wooden Venetian blinds on our rooms. Although they block out 95% of light when closed, the rooms still get incredibly hot. Blocking light through windows does help a bit, but the sun heats up the building itself and heat rises internally. You'd keep cooler by installing AC.

Since my childhood, I have never lived in a house with windows that that open outwards!

External shutters, as are commonly seen in (for example) Spain would be great - a good time to set up a business, if anyone fancies getting in there early.

No, maybe not everywhere, but even in northern France, Germany etc where the climate has not typically been very hot, like it is in southern Europe.

What is also utterly baffling is why it isn't law yet for all new properties to have solar panels to generate electricity.

You're baffled as to why a country that historically has had a cold damp climate doesn't routinely have houses with shutters to keep out the heat? Ok

going forward new builds should definitely be fitted with shutters or other modifications to manage heat though

We managed to keep our south facing rooms at 25 yesterday when it was 38 outside with just removable window film on the windows. Cost less than a tenner.

But it's not just about heat. They keep homes cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

I realise they weren't traditionally needed but, as we've seen this summer, the climate has changed.

I have just opened ours. They are internal and you still get quite a heat coming off them when in the sun.

It’s a very old house.

Our weather is varied across the country though, a lot of it in the north and west is quite wet and cloudy so they wouldn't need them

Yes. I'm baffled about how anyone voted for Farage. I'm real.

If we had stuck with the Code for Sustainable Homes we had under Labour in about 2006, by 2016 (I think) all new builds would have been carbon neutral and adapted to future climates, designing in passive ventilation, thinking about solar orientation, etc. Then conservatives got in and 'cut the red tape', apparently we can trust market forces to get us to where we need to be... Not.

Absolutely this. It’s not baffling at all! But yes it’s a good idea going forward.

I'm baffled as to why people don't understand the climate and temperature averages of the UK prior to the recent 5 years.
I'm baffled at why people think shutters should have been installed to make a difference for about two days a year, in previous decades.
It's all so baffling.