Do I Need Impact Windows If I Have Hurricane Shutters?
The home you live in is important to you for many reasons. It’s the place where you relax and sleep each day, as well as an important investment you want to protect. Living in South Florida, one of the biggest threats to your home is serious storms known as hurricanes. Hurricanes are massive storms that bring seriously rain and winds with them.
When it comes to preparing for hurricanes, the two most popular options for hurricane home protection come in the form of hurricane shutters and hurricane windows, also known as impact windows. While hurricane shutters have been around for some time, hurricane windows are a relatively new form of hurricane protection.
If you currently have hurricane shutters, you may be wondering if you need impact windows at all. The Window Guys want to help answer that question and show you why impact windows are the best option compared to hurricane shutters and other forms of hurricane defense.
What are Impact Windows?
First, you need to understand what impact windows are and why they are considered to be the best form of hurricane protection for your home. Impact windows are made from durable glass that protects your home from strong winds and the flying debris caused by those winds. These windows were designed to withstand high-intensity impacts from even a category 5 hurricane.
These windows also provide the additional benefits of noise reduction, additional value to your home, and a clear picture of what’s happening outside, even during a hurricane.
Should I Buy Impact Windows If I Have Hurricane Shutters?
Hurricane shutters are considered to be an effective way of defending your home against a storm, but they aren’t perfect. Shutters will require manual closing and opening each time a storm is announced, which can be difficult to do when hurricane warnings are given only 36 hours in advance. Impact windows will provide passive protection all year long, regardless of the weather outside. Hurricane shutters can also be broken by flying debris. If a piece of debris hits the lock that holds the shutters together, it can fly open and leave your window exposed. So while they are effective, they aren’t going to provide 100% protection.
There’s no reason why you can’t combine both impact windows and hurricane shutters to create the ultimate form of hurricane defense, but it makes the most sense to go with one method.
Hurricane shutters can do an alright job of keeping you protected, but if serious storms roll in, there’s a chance that debris can cause them to break if a severe impact were to occur. When this happens, there is nothing keeping the hurricane from breaking the exposed window.
Hurricane windows on the other hand are designed to withstand severe impacts and hold strong. The Window Guys test all of our impact window products to ensure they won’t fail you when it matters the most. On top of that, they’re a passive form of protection which means once they are installed, you never have to worry about manually setting up hurricane protection ever again.
Putting hurricane shutters over impact windows won’t make them lose their passive protection, but it will remove the natural light and ability to view the storm as it’s hitting. Installing both hurricane shutters and impact windows will ensure you have the highest level of protection, but it will be costly and mostly unnecessary since impact windows can handle the task alone.
While both methods provide hurricane protection, impact windows are the best way to ensure you’re safe during a hurricane.
Stay Safe From Hurricanes With Impact Windows
Impact windows are the ultimate way to protect your home and family when a serious storm strikes. While shutters will still do an ok job when they break there is nothing protecting you from the storm outside. If you want to ensure you’ll stay safe, contact the Window Guys today. We have a large inventory of hurricane-proof impact windows and doors that will keep you safe when the weather outside becomes unpredictable.