Tired of spending so much money on your energy bills? You’re not alone. Here in California, residents spend an average of $2,520 per year on their electric bills. That’s 17% higher than the national average.
And every year it just keeps getting more expensive with no end in sight. In fact, it is estimated that over the next 25 years, California residents will spend an average of $110,700 on electricity!
So finding ways to save on your electric bill should become a priority if you’d like to keep a significant portion of that cash. But how?
We suggest installing energy-efficient interior window shutters. Curious how they can help? Read on to learn more!
Energy Loss Through Windows
With all the attention that energy efficiency has gotten in recent years, most modern homes are buttoned up pretty tight. Insulation in the roof and walls as well as double-paned windows help to reduce the amount of heat exchange between the indoors and out.
However, even with those double panes, windows are still the weak point. As much as 50% of your home’s heating and cooling energy escapes through the windows.
Since space heating and cooling account for approximately 53% of your energy bill, savings in this area will have a huge effect on your bill!
How Interior Window Shutters Help With Energy Efficiency
So how do interior window shutters help with energy savings? They help insulate your home and drastically reduce heat exchange through your windows.
And they do this in more ways than one. Check this out.
Tightly Sealed to the Window
One of the biggest ways plantation shutters help to reduce heat exchange is by adding a layer of insulation. Custom shutters are made to perfectly fit each window, precisely enough to form a seal and help prevent drafts.
Once you have window shutters installed, you are taking advantage of this feature. So when the hot summer sun is beating straight through your windows and heating up your home, your shutters will block part of those rays.
This will keep a considerable amount of the heat out and your air conditioner will not have to work overtime to keep your home cool.
Louvers Can Be Open or Closed
Additionally, the louvers on your plantation shutters can be opened or closed. Closing the louvers affords the most protection against heat exchange. (Plus it’s nice for privacy at night when you don’t want passersby looking into your home).
Opening or closing the louvers is simply a matter of grabbing the stick and moving it up or down. Thus, it only takes a couple of seconds to close the louvers against the intense rays of the sun during the hottest part of the day.
You would be amazed at how much of a difference it makes!
Wood Is a Natural Insulator
Why are shutters so effective? One big reason is that wood is a natural insulator. Here at Shuttermart, we offer a couple of different materials for window shutters.
We know that many people love the wood look, though our sunny, humid climate can sometimes wreak havoc with wood building materials. But with over 7 decades in the business, we’ve found the perfect solution.
We offer two types of hardwood shutters. The first is beautiful basswood shutters that are crafted with kiln-dried woods, specially treated to withstand moisture and the intense rays of the sun.
The other type is our polyclad shutters which feature a hardwood core with a polyvinyl surface over the top. This surface protects the wood from scratches and fading and offers beautiful hardwood shutters without the maintenance typically associated with wood products.
Energy Efficiency Tax Credit
We’re excited to announce that our polyclad shutter product is so effective at reducing energy exchange that it has qualified for a federal tax credit!
When you purchase our ShutterSmart EnergyGuard Shutter Insulation System, you can qualify for a shutter tax credit equalling 30% of the cost of the shutters (up to a maximum of $1,200). So you start saving money right off the bat when you go to purchase your new shutters!
It is difficult for a product to qualify for this tax credit as the standards are high. Yet our polyclad shutters passed the tests with ease. They exceed both the U factor and SHGC requirements demanded by the Federal Energy Tax Credit.
During trials, it was found that the shutters reduce heat loss through windows by as much as 66%! Closing your ShutterSmart shutters will keep your home nice and cozy during the winter and at night with less help from your heating system.
Now, that’s something you can get excited about!
Benefits of Energy-Efficient Interior Shutters from Shuttermart
But improving your home’s energy efficiency isn’t the only thing plantation window shutters are good for. There are several benefits of installing this product in your home. Let’s take a look.
Added Security/Privacy
You can never be too careful these days as you never know what can happen.
Closing plantation shutters at night has the added benefit of helping to keep your home more secure. Thieves are less likely to break in because they can’t see into your home, plus there is a little added physical barrier.
Even if you’re not overly concerned about security, it’s nice to keep passersby from looking in your windows. Your home is your oasis and your family deserves their privacy.
The louver design also allows you to partially close your shutters during the day. This means you can let natural light into your home without having the windows completely open — not an option you can get with drapes or curtains.
Full Light Control
Following that thought, you also have full control over how much light is coming in. You can open the louvers all the way if you want to let in lots of sunshine or you can leave them at any point between open and closed.
Being able to change the angle of the light is also helpful in certain situations.
Custom Fit
Windows come in all shapes and sizes. If you have unusually-shaped windows in your home, you may have had trouble with ill-fitting window treatments in the past.
When you order plantation shutters from Shuttermart, you can kiss those problems goodbye. Before we do anything else, we first visit your home to measure your windows. Then, we craft each window shutter exactly to the specifications of each window.
With this precise custom fit, you don’t have to worry about window treatments that fit weirdly or don’t fit at all!
Low Maintenance
People these days are going a mile a minute. Thus the last thing many homeowners want to do is add another thing to their neverending list of home maintenance tasks.
So while some people look at plantation shutters and see beauty, others look and see a cleaning nightmare.
But we’re happy to report that the unique design of plantation shutters (and the materials used) makes them super easy to clean. A quick swipe with a feather duster is all you need most of the time. For cooking grime in the kitchen (or sticky little fingers) a damp cloth should do the trick.
So you can enjoy your beautiful window treatments without enjoying added hours of cleaning.
Ready for Your Energy-Efficient Plantation Shutters?
There’s never been a better time to install energy-efficient window shutters in your home. Now that you can take advantage of the shutter tax credit, you’ll start saving money from day one. The drop in your energy bill will be a welcome relief as well!
So, how do you get started even if you know nothing about window shutters?
Reach out to us here at Shuttermart. We are a family-owned and operated company and we have been serving the greater San Diego area for over 70 years!
In all that time, we’ve figured out what people both want and need in window shutters and we provide it. No stress, no mess!
We’ll help you every step of the way from choosing the style of your shutters to cleaning up after installation. Most jobs only take a few weeks from start to finish so in a short while you could be enjoying your lovely new plantation shutters.
Contact us today to get started!