There’s a lot to love about living in Scotland, but the Scottish winter is rarely listed in the top ten! Keeping your house warm becomes a priority as the biting winds and chilly temperatures approach.
Window coverings can make all the difference. Traditional window coverings, such as curtains, leave plenty of gaps for a draught to get through, no matter how thick and luxurious the material is. Rooms feel chilly—especially next to the window—and uncomfortable, as the cold air can lead to mould growth.
The solution to cold Scottish homes? The impressive insulation properties of shutters.
The Science of Shutter Insulation
Heat transfer occurs when something cold comes into contact with warm air. An uncovered window pane leading to the outside is a prime example of something cold, and as soon as the warm air inside your room (which you have spent money and energy heating) touches it, the energy is transferred rapidly away from your environment.
One of the best ways to prevent this heat transfer is to create a trapped pocket of air between the cold window and the room’s ambient air – and this is what shutters do incredibly well. Providing an additional layer of insulation, the shutter creates a separate zone of air between the window and the room, making it much harder for the heat to be transferred out of the window. A 2023 study from the University of Salford determined that shutters lower the heat transfer by 30%. This means less heat escapes from the room, leading to improved energy efficiency, less time running the central heating and a more comfortable environment.
The Best Type of Shutter For a Warmer Home
Not all shutters are equal when it comes to keeping your home warm, however, so it’s important that you pick the one best suited for your needs. Consider:
- Full-height shutters – A full-height shutter goes from the bottom of the window to the top and covers the entire expanse of glass, making it perfect for insulation.
- Tier-on-tier – The tier-on-tier style of shutter provides flexibility with separate top and bottom panels, but if you have it all closed then there’s no real difference in insulation between this and a full-height shutter, making it another excellent choice.
- Café style – A café style shutter is a half-height shutter, designed to maintain privacy while letting the light into the room. Although – the coldest part of your window is at the bottom, so while not as good as full-height shutters, Cafe style will help reduce some of the heat loss in the room
Each of these styles allows for either a louvred or solid-panelled shutter. The solid panel is clearly a good base here, but actually, a well-designed louvred shutter will close to fit perfectly, meaning there’s very little leakage. It’s entirely reasonable to have the beauty and adjustability of the louvred shutter without sacrificing the insulation properties.
Shutter Materials and Their Impact on Insulation
Of course, the next aspect to consider is what your shutters are made from. There are a lot of choices and each provides its own benefits:
- Wood – Wood is a natural insulator with excellent heat retention properties. Our Cuba or Fiji options are particularly suitable and will provide maximum warmth in your Scottish home.
- ABS – ABS is a high-grade plastic that provides great insulation Our Java range, for example, has a beautiful style and energy efficiency. As ABS is resistant to moisture and warping, it’s ideal for keeping bathrooms and kitchens warm.
- Aluminium – An excellent shutter for security purposes, the conductivity of metal makes aluminium a weaker choice for keeping a room warm. They’re durable but don’t offer the same level of insulation as other materials.
Additional Benefits of Shutters in Winter
Shutters aren’t just good at keeping the warmth in. During the winter months, shutters also offer:
- Superior light control – With edge-to-edge fitting, shutters are the premium window covering when it comes to controlling the amount of sunlight coming into the room.
- Noise reduction – Insulation isn’t just about heat. The powerful insulation properties of shutters make them similarly efficient at soundproofing, keeping out unwanted noises from the outside.
- Privacy – In the winter when your lights are on, privacy is an extra-important consideration – it’s so easy for people to see what’s going on in your home when it’s dark out and light in. Shutters provide the finest privacy of all window coverings, ensuring that your home is not a spectacle for unwanted onlookers.
Maximise Warmth In Your Scottish Home
Some tips for keeping your home toasty this winter:
- Combine shutters and blinds – Double the insulation by using honeycomb blinds, like our Luxaflex Duette blinds, in addition to the shutters. Like shutters, these blinds are among the best window insulators available and with both in place, the heat really will stay where it should be: inside the room.
- Cover doors – Shutters come in sizes and styles for doors as well as windows. Patio doors and French doors are areas of significant draft, so install the appropriate shutters to cover those and keep your home properly insulated.
- Add reflector foil for radiators – Radiators against the wall often leak heat directly through the wall. Reflector foil solutions bounce that heat back into the room, stopping unwanted leakage and improving energy efficiency.
- Use heating timers – There’s no need to keep heating the house when you are out or asleep. Properly programmed heating timers will minimise the time your heating is on and are much more efficient than leaving the heating on low all the time.
Keeping Warm in Winter with the Scottish Shutter Company
At SSC, we know a little about the cold of the Scottish winter – we’ve been providing solutions to fight it for years! Download our comprehensive brochure today to get a full overview of the shutter options for keeping your home warm and comfortable.
