Hello everyone,
who here has exterior blinds and what has your experience been like? Our living room will face south, so I am naturally concerned about heat protection in the summer. We are now considering using exterior blinds instead of roller shutters as a shading solution. How wind-sensitive are these on windows about 1 meter (3 feet) wide? What about security against break-ins? Do they provide significantly better sun protection than roller shutters while still allowing an unobstructed view of the garden?
who here has exterior blinds and what has your experience been like? Our living room will face south, so I am naturally concerned about heat protection in the summer. We are now considering using exterior blinds instead of roller shutters as a shading solution. How wind-sensitive are these on windows about 1 meter (3 feet) wide? What about security against break-ins? Do they provide significantly better sun protection than roller shutters while still allowing an unobstructed view of the garden?
Bookstar schrieb:
Venetian blinds can be really annoying, they’re endlessly slow and that’s why they’re always down at every house I see in the neighborhood.Then it’s poorly planned. Here, with a 5-meter (16 feet) southwest orientation, we installed Venetian blinds with a fast motor from Warema. By the time I barely opened the door, they were already fully raised.Bookstar schrieb:
Also, they rattle like crazy when it gets a bit windy.Nonsense. S-shaped slats often fully exposed to the wind and guided by tracks. You hear NOTHING. So far (and we live on a windy mountain in the Sauerland) the wind sensor has triggered only once. And at that time, there were already many fallen trees in the nearby forest.Bookstar schrieb:
The look isn’t great either.Matter of taste.Bookstar schrieb:
They’re also hard to keep clean.Nonsense. Requires no more effort than cleaning windows.The advantages clearly outweigh the drawbacks! In sunny weather, we don’t sit in a dark cave like with roller shutters!
In favor of roller shutters. When you’re not at home, the shutter can definitely stay closed, making the interior relatively dark :p. In the middle of summer in the afternoon (because that’s when overheating mainly becomes an issue— in winter, I want to benefit from solar gains and won’t shade the windows), if I’m at home and not outside in the garden or on the terrace but inside the house, I simply raise the rollershutters in the living room and lower the blinds / awnings / sun sails or whatever outside, restoring the shading of the living room 😎
Roller shutters are easier to maintain and more affordable (+ a small advantage of better thermal insulation if they’re fully closed at night during winter 😉). Besides, I find them more visually appealing for a single-family house: Venetian blinds (or slatted blinds) always remind me of public buildings, schools, or office complexes, where they were originally mainly used— until they ventured into single-family homes over the past few years.
But as always, “to each their own.”
Roller shutters are easier to maintain and more affordable (+ a small advantage of better thermal insulation if they’re fully closed at night during winter 😉). Besides, I find them more visually appealing for a single-family house: Venetian blinds (or slatted blinds) always remind me of public buildings, schools, or office complexes, where they were originally mainly used— until they ventured into single-family homes over the past few years.
But as always, “to each their own.”
Wickie schrieb:
Then it’s poorly planned. Here, a 5-meter (16 feet) southwest-facing window with a Warema fast-running motorized Venetian blind installed. By the time I barely moved the door, they were already fully raised.
Nonsense. The S-shaped slats, which are often fully exposed to the wind and guided on rails, make no noise at all. So far (and we live on a windy hill in the Sauerland region), the wind sensor has only triggered once. And at that time, several trees had already fallen nearby in the forest.
A matter of personal taste.
Nonsense. It doesn’t require more maintenance than window cleaning.
The advantages clearly outweigh the disadvantages! When the sun shines, we’re not sitting in a dark cave like behind roller shutters! I see this nonsense every day at numerous houses 😀. Should I tell the owners they were all poorly planned, okay?
I actually cleaned the external venetian blinds on the ground floor this week for the first time since moving in, using a special slat cleaning tool. It was less annoying than expected, but cleaning just the slats took about 4 hours without cleaning the windows. In my opinion, cleaning every two years is sufficient.
I don’t really know how to take such statements from prospective homeowners or Silke seriously. Sorry. But in summer, it’s impossible to manage without external venetian blinds and roller shutters (you can clearly see this in every residential area – everyone, without exception, uses shading), and after 3 to 4 days of temperatures above 30°C (86°F), you simply can’t ventilate the heat out anymore. This experience with lots of glazing in the south is something everyone has to learn for themselves.
In my opinion, the worst affected are houses with 1.5 floors, where you end up sleeping upstairs during midsummer at 30°C (86°F) or higher.
I don’t really know how to take such statements from prospective homeowners or Silke seriously. Sorry. But in summer, it’s impossible to manage without external venetian blinds and roller shutters (you can clearly see this in every residential area – everyone, without exception, uses shading), and after 3 to 4 days of temperatures above 30°C (86°F), you simply can’t ventilate the heat out anymore. This experience with lots of glazing in the south is something everyone has to learn for themselves.
In my opinion, the worst affected are houses with 1.5 floors, where you end up sleeping upstairs during midsummer at 30°C (86°F) or higher.
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Oraclefile2 Apr 2021 09:29Good morning,
thank you very much for the many responses. They have already provided some new insights, but the consensus seems to be in favor of exterior blinds.
I am attaching the floor plan of our living room again, as I have some questions regarding it. As mentioned, the south-facing side is where the three windows are located at the top:
The window facing west will definitely have a roller shutter. On the south side, at the long wall section, the table will be placed outside, and we are currently planning an awning there. If this awning were extended across the two adjacent doors, we might not need exterior blinds in this area, since it would provide shading. But would an awning on the south side not work for this, or would it not provide enough shade? Since we want to be able to go outside in summer, it would be inconvenient to have to raise the blinds every time. That is also why we are considering the awning, so that at least one door to the outside remains usable.
However, then I would have to install blinds on both doors; otherwise, it would look odd. So either only exterior blinds on the kitchen door, or also on the section labeled “living room.” Do you have better ideas?
P.S.: Anything that does not get exterior blinds will definitely have a roller shutter.
thank you very much for the many responses. They have already provided some new insights, but the consensus seems to be in favor of exterior blinds.
I am attaching the floor plan of our living room again, as I have some questions regarding it. As mentioned, the south-facing side is where the three windows are located at the top:
The window facing west will definitely have a roller shutter. On the south side, at the long wall section, the table will be placed outside, and we are currently planning an awning there. If this awning were extended across the two adjacent doors, we might not need exterior blinds in this area, since it would provide shading. But would an awning on the south side not work for this, or would it not provide enough shade? Since we want to be able to go outside in summer, it would be inconvenient to have to raise the blinds every time. That is also why we are considering the awning, so that at least one door to the outside remains usable.
However, then I would have to install blinds on both doors; otherwise, it would look odd. So either only exterior blinds on the kitchen door, or also on the section labeled “living room.” Do you have better ideas?
P.S.: Anything that does not get exterior blinds will definitely have a roller shutter.
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