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.

Slightly off topic but I live in a street that is 94% council houses and the street was built in 1898.
The council recently had a maintenance drive on the street and changed all the roofs, windows and doors.
They took out all the old windows and replaced then with lovely new sash windows, keeping in line with the architecture. They also put in traditional style doors, not the plain white bog standard ones. I was so impressed.

and I'm fuming about why people think air con is the answer, just LTB.

It's all part of a sinister plot orchestrated by a cabal of air conditioning companies.

Or UK houses being built down to a budget.

That’s a good idea. I agree about having the shading on the outside.
we’ve got huge south facing windows and in previous years I tried various blinds but they didn’t do much as the glass still heats up from the sun. Our quick free fix has been a couple of old bedsheets hung outside and we tie them up once the sun has gone round. It’s reduced the indoor heat enough that we can use that room to eat and relax. Might not be the prettiest thing but highly effective.

Shutters and fly screens are definitely the way to go. And screen doors.

I wish they would! We've lived in London for 24 years and there have been 6 heatwaves in that time. Despite fitting solar control blinds on all the west facing windows and putting solar control glass in the bedrooms, this year we've struggled to keep the temperature below 30 degrees upstairs.

Our windows probably need changing soon and if there's anything better on the market, I'm up for it!

Property building is an oligopoly (dominated by a small number of similar firms) with no incentive to change the way they do things.

The Tories really should have given a little thought to what type of market they were dealing with.

It's not 5 years though. There's been a heatwave in London on average every 4 years for the last 24 years. There's more than enough justification for change in the SE. People die as a result of the flats that can't be cooled down.

This summer has shown quite clearly that they are if you have south facing windows and no overhang.

That is a good idea. I'm going to check planning regulations on that as I've only seen them on flats.

What's the windows opening outward issue? If it's hot enough to have shutters down my windows would be closed to keep the heat out anyway.

All buildings are about ten years out of date by the time they're actually ready to be used. I think that has to be one of the reasons.

Heatwaves have mostly not been all summer though. We have tended to have longer periods when it’s cold and planning has been around conserving heat and making sure the elderly don’t die when it’s cold! Now we need to make sure they don’t die when it’s hot. My parents in law had an awning across the back of the house. Difficult at the front in many ways but even if half the house is shaded it’s not a bad thing. They take maintenance though. It’s still pretty easy to buy fans and blinds to keep out the sun.

I don't get that either. If you needed to open the window, you'd open the shutter, then the window, then reverse to close?